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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8802L0865A11 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1988-02-05

Were house-cleaning services taxable when an individual, rather than a janitorial-service employee, was treated as the household's employee?

Short answer: No. For sales-tax purposes, the individual was treated as an employee of the households that hired them, and the service earnings were treated like wages rather than taxable sales.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1988. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1988
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official February 5, 1988 Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter concerning one individual house cleaner, published on STAR. Its employee-versus-janitorial-service distinction is historical and fact-specific; verify current sales-tax and worker-classification law before applying it today. Letters on STAR can support detrimental reliance only for the taxpayer directly issued the letter and may no longer represent current policy. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

An individual provided house-cleaning services outside a janitorial-service business. For sales-tax purposes, the Comptroller treated the cleaner as an employee of the households that hired the individual.

The earnings were treated like wages and were not subject to sales tax.

What this means for you

The result depended on the individual being treated as the household's employee rather than as a janitorial-service provider. The letter does not supply a broader worker-classification test.

Common questions

Were the house-cleaning earnings taxable? No.

How did the letter classify the cleaner? As an employee of the hiring households for sales-tax purposes.

Citations and references

The letter did not cite a rule or statute by number.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

February 5, 1988

Dear *****:

On behalf of Mr. Bullock, I hope you'll accept my apology for the delay
in answering your question involving changes in the sales tax law. This
isn't the way we normally do business.

Our people were, and still are, swamped by a deluge of inquiries as they
attempted to interpret provisions of the new law and draft rules which
would not adversely impact businesses. In many instances, an answer to a
question just wasn't available when the question arrived.

House cleaning services performed by an individual who is not an
employee of a janitorial service are not taxable. In your case, for
sales
tax purposes you are considered the employee of the persons who hire you
to clean their houses. Your earnings for your services are treated more
like wages and, as such, are not subject to sales tax.

This opinion is based upon the facts you presented. If there are
additional or different facts, this opinion may change.

Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. You may
write me, call toll free 1-800-531-5441 from anywhere in the U.S., or
phone
(512) 463-4600.

Sincerely,
Mona Shoemate
Tax Policy Division

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