Can I claim expenses for business-related office cleaning services?

Understanding what “office cleaning” means for tax purposes

Business-related office cleaning services are one of those expenses that feel obviously “businessy” in day-to-day life, yet can become surprisingly nuanced when you try to claim them for tax. In principle, the idea is simple: if you’re paying for cleaning that’s necessary for running your business, you may be able to claim it as a deductible expense. In practice, the rules depend on how your business is structured, where the cleaning takes place, what portion is genuinely business-related, and how well you document the cost.

This article explains how office cleaning expenses are typically treated, the common situations where claims are straightforward, the scenarios where you’ll need to apportion (split) costs, and how to keep records so you can support your position if asked. While the broad logic is similar across many tax systems—business expenses are deductible when they are incurred wholly and exclusively for business—details can vary by jurisdiction. The aim here is to give you a practical framework for thinking about the question: “Can I claim expenses for business-related office cleaning services?”

The general principle: ordinary, necessary, and business-related

Most tax regimes allow businesses to deduct expenses that are incurred for the purpose of earning business income. Office cleaning usually fits comfortably within this category because it helps keep a workspace safe, usable, presentable, and compliant with health and safety expectations. In many industries, cleanliness is not just a nice-to-have; it’s part of maintaining operational standards and protecting employees, clients, and equipment.

To keep your thinking clear, it helps to apply three practical tests:

1) Business purpose: Was the cleaning cost incurred to support business activity (for example, maintaining a workspace used for staff, clients, or business operations)?

2) Reasonableness: Is the cost in line with what a typical business would pay for similar services? Unusually lavish or personal-style cleaning arrangements may raise questions.

3) Documentation: Can you prove what you paid, when you paid it, and what the service covered?

If you can confidently answer “yes” to all three, your claim is usually on solid ground—especially when the cleaning relates to a dedicated business premises or leased office.

When office cleaning is clearly deductible

Some circumstances are usually uncomplicated. In these cases, office cleaning is typically a normal operating expense and claiming it tends to be straightforward.

1) Cleaning for a dedicated office or commercial premises

If your business operates from a dedicated office, shop, studio, warehouse, clinic, or other commercial premises, cleaning services are commonly deductible. This includes routine cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, kitchens) and periodic deep cleaning (carpets, upholstery, windows), as long as the work relates to the business premises.

2) Cleaning required for health and safety or regulatory standards

Some businesses must meet cleanliness standards due to industry rules or client expectations—think medical practices, childcare settings, food-related businesses, labs, or personal care services. Where cleaning is integral to your ability to operate lawfully or safely, it typically has a strong business connection.

3) Post-construction or renovation clean-up for business premises

After office renovations, a “builders clean” may be necessary to make the premises usable. Whether the cost is treated as a day-to-day expense or as part of a larger capital improvement can depend on how the renovation itself is treated. Even if the cleaning is linked to a capital project, it can still be allowable in some form; the key is to classify it correctly rather than assuming every cleaning invoice is automatically a routine deduction.

4) Cleaning of business-only equipment and work areas

Cleaning that relates to business equipment, stock rooms, or workspaces (for example, sanitising shared workstations, cleaning tools, maintaining a workshop floor) is generally easy to justify, because it’s directly connected to producing income.

Home offices: where claims become more nuanced

Many people ask about office cleaning because they work from home. This is where you need to be more careful. The issue isn’t that home office cleaning can never be claimed, but that home expenses often include a personal element. Tax authorities typically require you to separate business and personal use and claim only the business portion.

Dedicated home office room vs. multipurpose space

Dedicated room: If you have a room used exclusively (or almost exclusively) for business—such as a spare bedroom that is set up as an office—then a portion of household cleaning costs may be claimable. You may need to apportion based on floor area (the percentage of the home used for business) and, in some systems, by time used for business.

Multipurpose space: If you work at the kitchen table or in a lounge area that is clearly shared with personal life, it’s harder to argue that general household cleaning is a business expense. While you might be able to claim certain incremental costs in limited cases, routine household cleaning is often viewed as personal and therefore not deductible.

What counts as “office cleaning” in a home setting?

If you hire a cleaner for your entire home, you may be able to claim a fraction that relates to the home office area—assuming you can reasonably apportion it. If the cleaner charges a flat fee to clean the whole home, you might allocate a proportion based on square metres of the home office compared to total living area. If the invoice itemises time spent in different rooms, you may be able to use that detail instead.

However, there’s an important practical reality: if you can’t demonstrate a reasonable basis for apportionment, claiming part of a whole-home cleaning bill can look arbitrary. A cleaner’s invoice that simply says “clean house” with no additional detail is harder to defend than an invoice specifying “office room cleaned” or “home office deep clean.”

Incremental vs. baseline household cleaning

A useful way to think about home office cleaning is to separate baseline household cleaning (which you would pay anyway for personal living) from incremental cleaning (which arises because of business use). For example, if clients visit your home office, you may clean more often than you otherwise would. Or if you operate a business that creates dust or debris (such as product assembly or packaging), the extra cleaning might have a clearer business rationale.

That said, even incremental reasoning should still be supported with a clear method and records. In many cases, the simplest and safest approach is to claim only the portion clearly tied to a dedicated office area rather than trying to carve out a fraction of the entire home.

Types of cleaning services you can often claim

Office cleaning isn’t just one thing. It includes a range of services, some of which are routine and some of which are occasional. The more clearly the service supports business operations, the more defensible the claim tends to be.

Routine cleaning

Regular scheduled cleaning—weekly, fortnightly, or daily—usually includes tasks like vacuuming, mopping, wiping surfaces, emptying bins, and cleaning bathrooms and kitchenette areas. In a business premises, these are usually standard operating expenses.

Deep cleaning and specialist cleaning

Deep cleaning, carpet steam cleaning, upholstery cleaning, window cleaning, and high-level dusting can be allowable when they maintain a professional and functional workplace. Specialist cleaning can also include sanitisation services, particularly relevant when workplaces have higher hygiene needs.

Waste disposal and hygiene services

Commercial bin services, sanitary disposal units, and hygiene services may be claimed if they’re part of running a workplace. These are common for offices that host staff and visitors.

Pest control linked to office hygiene

Pest control is sometimes bundled with cleaning or facilities services. If it’s necessary to keep business premises safe and compliant, it’s often treated similarly to cleaning as a business expense.

Ad-hoc cleaning after events

If your business hosts events, workshops, client meetings, or training sessions in your premises and you pay for extra cleaning afterward, that expense generally has a direct business connection.

Cleaning supplies vs. cleaning services

There’s a useful distinction between paying for a cleaning company and purchasing cleaning supplies. Both can be business expenses, but they’re recorded differently and should be documented differently.

Cleaning services typically come with invoices from a provider and may include labour, equipment, and materials. You’ll generally record them as an expense under premises costs, office expenses, or cleaning and maintenance.

Cleaning supplies might include detergents, disinfectants, bin liners, paper towels, and vacuum bags. If these are used for business premises, they are often deductible. If they’re used in a mixed home setting, apportionment may still apply.

The key point: keep receipts and be consistent. If you work from home and buy cleaning products for the entire household, claiming them as business expenses without an apportionment method is likely to be challenged.

How to apportion cleaning costs fairly

Apportionment is simply the process of splitting a cost between business and personal use. It’s most relevant for home offices and mixed-use properties, but it can also apply when a business shares premises with another entity or when an area is partly rented out.

Common apportionment methods

Floor area method: Calculate the percentage of the property used for business and apply that percentage to eligible household costs. Example: if your home office is 10 square metres and your home is 100 square metres, the office represents 10% of the floor area. You might claim 10% of a whole-home cleaning invoice—if the invoice truly covers cleaning the entire property and you can justify the approach.

Room-based method: If your home has clearly defined rooms and your office is one room, you might allocate a portion based on number of rooms. This method is rougher than floor area and can be less precise, but it may be acceptable in some situations if it reasonably reflects usage.

Time-based method: If a room is used for both business and personal use, you might allocate based on time. This can get complicated and requires careful records, especially if usage varies week to week.

Itemised invoice method: The most defensible method is when the cleaning invoice specifically identifies the office or business area. If a cleaner charges separately for the office room or spends a documented portion of time cleaning it, you can claim that portion with less ambiguity.

A practical example of apportionment

Imagine you run a small consultancy from a dedicated home office (12 m²) in a 120 m² house. You hire a cleaner fortnightly for a flat fee of £100 to clean the whole house, including the office. Using the floor area method, the office is 10% of the home. You might claim £10 per clean, assuming your rules allow it and the office is genuinely business-only. Over a year (26 cleans), that’s £260. Your records would ideally include the invoice schedule, proof of payment, and notes showing the office is used for business.

Now compare that with a situation where you work in the living room and the cleaner tidies the living room as part of routine household cleaning. Even if you spend 30 hours a week working there, claiming a portion of the living room cleaning could be harder to defend because the room is clearly personal as well. In that case, a conservative approach is often safer unless you have strong documentation and a clear method permitted in your system.

Capital vs. revenue: when cleaning might be treated differently

Most cleaning is a “revenue” expense—ongoing costs that help you operate from day to day. But occasionally, cleaning is closely connected to a capital project such as a major renovation, an office fit-out, or the acquisition of a new premises. In those cases, the cleaning cost may be treated as part of the capital expenditure rather than an immediate deduction.

For example, if you do a substantial refurbishment that significantly improves the premises, and then pay for a builders clean as part of making the upgraded premises ready for use, that cleaning might be considered part of the overall project cost. This doesn’t necessarily mean you “lose” the benefit; it may just be recovered differently (for example, over time through depreciation or capital allowances, depending on the tax system).

A practical way to navigate this is to look at the context. If the cleaning is routine maintenance or periodic deep cleaning to keep the office in usable condition, it’s usually a revenue expense. If the cleaning is inseparable from a major improvement or acquisition project, it may be capital in nature. If you’re unsure, it can be worth categorising carefully and keeping a note explaining your reasoning.

What if you’re self-employed, a company director, or in a partnership?

Your business structure can influence how cleaning costs are paid and claimed, even if the underlying logic is similar.

Sole traders or self-employed individuals

If you’re self-employed, you typically claim business expenses against your business income. Office cleaning for a rented office or dedicated business premises is often straightforward. For a home office, you may claim a portion of eligible household expenses using an acceptable method, but you must avoid claiming personal living costs as business expenses.

Limited companies

If you operate through a company, the company can pay for cleaning of its premises and claim the expense. The tricky area is when the “premises” is your home. If the company pays for cleaning your private residence, you can create complications because that payment may be treated as a personal benefit. A more cautious approach is often for the director or employee to claim a home-working allowance or reimbursements based on an agreed and documented method rather than having the company directly pay for whole-home services.

If your company rents a separate office, the company paying the office cleaner is generally uncomplicated.

Partnerships

Partnerships typically claim expenses incurred in running the partnership business. As with sole traders, the biggest issue arises when the premises is a partner’s home. Apportionment and documentation remain key, and consistency across partners helps avoid confusion.

Mixed-use premises: shop with a back room, studio attached to a home, or shared spaces

Not all businesses fit neatly into “office” or “home office.” You might have a studio attached to your home, a shop with personal living quarters above it, or a shared workspace that you co-rent with another business. In these situations, cleaning costs should be allocated in a way that reflects the business portion.

Shop with living space above: Cleaning the retail area is clearly business. Cleaning the private living area is personal. If a cleaning contract covers both, you should split the cost based on an objective measure such as floor area or itemised service details.

Studio or workshop at home: If the workspace is separate and used exclusively for business, the related cleaning is more clearly business. If it’s an integrated area within a home, you’ll likely need a fair split.

Shared offices: If you share an office and split costs with another tenant, your claim is generally limited to the portion you pay. Keep the agreement or records showing how the split is calculated.

Record keeping: what to keep to support your claim

Even when an expense seems obviously deductible, poor records can turn a reasonable claim into a headache. Solid documentation is your best friend.

Invoices and receipts

Keep invoices from your cleaning provider that show the provider’s name, date, amount, and description of services. If you pay cash, try to obtain a receipt. Digital copies are often acceptable, but make sure they are legible and backed up.

Proof of payment

Bank statements, card statements, and payment confirmations help establish that you actually paid the amount claimed. If you pay a cleaner regularly, consistent entries can support the pattern.

Notes about business use

For home office claims or mixed-use scenarios, keep a simple record explaining how you calculated the business portion. This might include:

• The size of the office and total home size (for floor area calculations)

• Photos or a basic floor plan showing the dedicated office setup

• A brief note stating the office is used exclusively for business

• Copies of any agreements if you share premises

This doesn’t need to be complicated. A small folder—digital or physical—containing the rationale and a few supporting items can make a big difference.

Consistency over time

Try to be consistent in how you treat cleaning costs year to year. Large swings without explanation can look suspicious. If your circumstances change—new premises, home office becomes dedicated, staff count changes—make a note of the change and why your expense pattern changed.

Common mistakes to avoid

Many disputes around office cleaning claims come from a few repeat issues. Avoiding them makes your position much stronger.

Claiming personal cleaning as business cleaning

If the cleaning relates to private living areas, claiming it as a business expense can be risky. This is especially true if the cleaning is broadly “housekeeping” rather than clearly office-specific.

No apportionment method for home cleaning

Claiming an arbitrary percentage without a clear basis can undermine your claim. If you’re splitting costs, pick a method you can explain and apply it consistently.

Poor descriptions on invoices

Invoices that simply say “cleaning” might be fine for a dedicated office, but can be less helpful for home office claims. If possible, ask the provider to include details such as “office room cleaned” or “business premises cleaning.”

Mixing personal and business payments

When possible, pay for business premises cleaning from a business bank account. If you pay personally, you can still claim in many cases, but it adds another layer of documentation. For companies, be particularly cautious about the company paying for cleaning of a director’s private residence.

Misclassifying renovation-related cleaning

If cleaning is part of a major fit-out or renovation, it may not be treated the same as routine cleaning. Keeping notes and separating invoices can help ensure correct treatment.

Special scenarios: client-facing spaces and brand presentation

In some businesses, cleanliness is part of client experience and brand reputation. If clients regularly visit your office—whether it’s a studio, consulting room, or reception area—cleaning is not just maintenance; it’s part of delivering your service. This tends to strengthen the argument that cleaning is a necessary business expense.

That said, the “client-facing” argument won’t rescue a claim that is clearly personal. A pristine living room where you sometimes take Zoom calls is still mainly a personal space. But a dedicated office with clients visiting is much easier to justify.

How to decide what to claim: a practical checklist

If you want a practical way to decide whether you can claim office cleaning expenses, work through this checklist:

1) Where did the cleaning take place?
• Dedicated business premises: usually straightforward.
• Dedicated home office room: often possible with apportionment.
• Shared personal space: often difficult and may be disallowed or risky.

2) What exactly was cleaned?
• Office floors, desks, bathrooms, kitchenettes used by staff/clients: strong business link.
• Entire home: requires careful apportionment and may be limited.

3) Can you show evidence?
• Invoice with clear description, date, provider details.
• Proof of payment.

4) Do you have a reasonable method if it’s mixed-use?
• Floor area percentage or itemised invoice details.
• Consistent approach across time.

5) Are there structural considerations?
• Sole trader vs company: be cautious about company paying private home costs.
• Renovation/fit-out: consider whether costs are routine or part of a capital project.

Examples to make it concrete

Sometimes examples make the boundaries clearer. Here are several common situations and how they’re typically approached:

Example 1: Rented office suite

You rent an office suite for your consultancy. You hire a cleaning company to clean weekly. The invoice is addressed to your business and paid from your business account. This is usually a clear business expense.

Example 2: Home office in a dedicated spare room

You work from home and use a spare bedroom exclusively as your office. You hire a cleaner to clean your home every two weeks. You claim a percentage based on the office floor area compared to total home area, and you keep a note showing your calculation. This may be claimable depending on local rules and how strictly “exclusive use” is interpreted.

Example 3: Working at the kitchen table

You run your business from a laptop at the kitchen table. You pay for a cleaner for the home. Claiming part of that cleaning is often difficult because the space is clearly personal and multipurpose. In many systems, this would be treated as personal cleaning rather than a business expense.

Example 4: Salon with a back office

You operate a small salon and pay for cleaning of the premises, including the customer area, bathrooms, and back office. This is generally a standard business expense. If you also live on-site and the cleaning invoice includes private living quarters, you would usually split the cost and claim only the business portion.

Example 5: Post-renovation builders clean

You refurbish your office and pay for a builders clean afterward. The treatment may depend on whether the refurbishment is a capital improvement. You may still be able to claim the cost, but it could be categorised differently than routine cleaning. Keeping the renovation invoices separate and clearly labelled can help.

What about VAT or sales tax on cleaning services?

If your business is registered for VAT or a similar sales tax system, the tax treatment of the VAT component can matter. In many systems, businesses can recover input tax on expenses that relate to taxable business activities, but restrictions can apply where there is personal use or exempt activities. If your cleaning relates to a dedicated business premises used for taxable business supplies, recovery is often more straightforward. If the cleaning relates to a home office or mixed-use property, the recoverable portion may be reduced or require apportionment.

Because VAT rules can be more technical and vary significantly, it’s wise to keep detailed invoices that show the tax charged and to apply a consistent apportionment approach where relevant.

How to make your claim more defensible

If you want to claim office cleaning expenses with confidence, a few practical steps can make your position much stronger:

Keep services clearly business-focused: If you work from home, consider hiring a cleaner specifically for the office room (or having the invoice explicitly list the office cleaning portion) rather than trying to apportion a whole-home service.

Use clear payment channels: Pay business expenses from a business account where possible. For home office situations, keep reimbursement records or expense logs that show why and how the business portion was calculated.

Document business use: A short note with your office floor area calculation and a statement of exclusive business use can go a long way. If your office use changes, update your notes.

Be conservative when uncertain: If the business connection is weak or the personal element is strong, claiming may not be worth the risk. Conservative claims are often easier to defend and reduce stress later.

So, can you claim expenses for business-related office cleaning services?

In many cases, yes. If the cleaning is for a dedicated business premises, office cleaning services are typically a normal deductible business expense. If you work from home, it may still be possible to claim a portion, especially when you have a dedicated office area used for business and you apply a reasonable apportionment method supported by good records.

The key is to match the claim to the reality: claim what is genuinely business-related, split costs fairly when there is mixed use, and keep paperwork that explains what you did and why. When you do that, office cleaning becomes what it should be—an ordinary cost of running a business, claimed in a sensible, defensible way.