Cleaning supplies, mileage, public liability — all in one app
Track your weekly cash & carry shop, drive time between client homes, new equipment and your insurance premiums — no spreadsheet, no shoebox.
Cash receipts disappear; cleaning supplies add up fast
A typical self-employed cleaner buys supplies weekly from B&M, Costco or local cash & carry, drives between 5–10 properties a day, and pays insurance, DBS and trade subscriptions. Most of those receipts are tiny, easy to lose, and add up to thousands by year end.
What PocketReceipt tracks for cleaners
Cleaning products
Sprays, cloths, mops, polishes from cash & carry, B&M, Costco. Auto-categorised as consumables.
Equipment & tools
Hoovers, steam cleaners, carpet machines, ladders. Capital allowance flagged on big-ticket purchases.
Mileage between jobs
GPS or manual log between properties. HMRC 55p/25p auto-calculated. No spreadsheet.
Insurance
Public liability, equipment cover, treatment risk. Premiums logged monthly.
Per-job supply tagging
Tag specialist supplies — oven detailer, carpet shampoo, descaler — to the deep clean, Airbnb turnover or end-of-tenancy job they belong to, ready for client invoicing.
Subscriptions & DBS
Trade body fees, DBS renewal, accounting software. Fully allowable.
A typical cleaner's week, tracked
- Monday — top up supplies at cash & carry, scan receipt
- Tuesday — 4 houses across town, mileage logged automatically
- Wednesday — buy steam-cleaner replacement parts, scan receipt
- Thursday — end-of-tenancy deep clean, tag specialist supplies to that client
- Friday — pay public liability premium, receipt forwarded
- Sunday — export weekly summary to your accountant
Allowable expenses for self-employed cleaners
HMRC lets you deduct any cost that is wholly and exclusively for your cleaning business. The table below maps the real day-to-day spending of a UK cleaner to the categories HMRC uses on the SA103F self-employment pages — so when your tax return asks "Cost of goods bought" or "Repairs and maintenance", you know exactly what goes there.
| Expense | Claim it? | SA103F box | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning products (sprays, polish, bleach, descaler, oven cleaner) | Yes | Box 17 — Cost of goods bought for resale or goods used | Bulk cash & carry, Costco and B&M receipts all go here. |
| Consumables (cloths, sponges, mop heads, bin liners, gloves) | Yes | Box 17 | Anything used up on the job. |
| Small tools and refills (under £150 each, short useful life) | Yes | Box 22 — Repairs and maintenance of property and equipment | Mop handles, brush heads, hose attachments. |
| Capital equipment over £150–£1,000 (Henry hoover, steam cleaner, carpet machine) | Yes | Box 49 — Annual Investment Allowance | Full first-year deduction under AIA, currently up to £1m a year. |
| Mileage between client properties (own car or van) | Yes | Box 20 — Car, van and travel expenses | Simplified rate: 55p first 10,000 miles, 25p after; or actual costs. |
| Vehicle insurance, MOT, servicing, fuel, parking (actual-cost method) | Yes | Box 20 | Only if you are not using simplified mileage on the same vehicle. |
| Public liability insurance, equipment cover, treatment-risk policy | Yes | Box 21 — Rent, rates, power and insurance costs | Annual premiums fully allowable. |
| Mobile phone bill (business proportion) | Partly | Box 23 — Phone, fax, stationery and other office costs | Estimate honestly — typically 50–80% for a working cleaner. |
| Booking software, scheduling app, accounting software | Yes | Box 23 | Monthly subscriptions count too — keep the email receipt. |
| Advertising (Facebook ads, flyers, Checkatrade, Bark, business cards, website) | Yes | Box 24 — Advertising and business entertainment costs | Client gifts and Christmas drinks for clients are not allowable. |
| Accountant or bookkeeper fees | Yes | Box 28 — Accountancy, legal and other professional fees | Including the cost of preparing your own tax return. |
| Trade body subscriptions (BICSc, NCCA, FSB) | Yes | Box 30 — Other business expenses | Listed by HMRC as an example of allowable subscriptions. |
| DBS check renewal, training courses (COSHH, infection control, end-of-tenancy) | Yes | Box 30 | Refresher training counts; courses to retrain into a new trade do not. |
| Branded uniform, aprons, tabards, shoe covers, gloves, masks | Yes | Box 30 | Uniform and protective clothing only — see "common mistakes" below. |
| Working from home flat rate (admin, invoicing, scheduling) | Yes | Box 21 | £10/£18/£26 a month for 25–50 / 51–100 / 101+ hours of business use. |
| Plain black trousers, white t-shirts, ordinary trainers | No | — | HMRC: "you cannot claim for everyday clothing (even if you wear it for work)." |
| Childcare while you work, lunches on the job, your own NICs | No | — | Specifically excluded — not "wholly and exclusively" for the business. |
| Speeding fines, parking penalties between jobs | No | — | Fines are never allowable, even on a clearly business trip. |
Box numbers are from HMRC SA103F Notes 2026 (traditional accounting). If your turnover is under £90,000 you can use the shorter SA103S — boxes 11–19 map to the same expense categories. Under cash basis (the default for sole traders since 6 April 2024) equipment costs can be included with other expenses rather than passing through the separate AIA box — the relief is the same; only the form layout differs.
Sarah, a Croydon cleaner earning £35,000
The setup
Sarah is 32, lives in Croydon and has been self-employed for three years. She has 15 weekly domestic clients across South London and picks up two or three end-of-tenancy jobs a month. Turnover for 2025–26 is £35,000. She drives a 12-plate Vauxhall Combo van that does 12,000 business miles a year.
What she claims
Sarah keeps receipts on PocketReceipt as she goes. At year end her HMRC-aligned export shows:
The tax bill
Taxable profit: £35,000 − £10,244 = £24,756. After the £12,570 personal allowance, £12,186 falls in the basic-rate band. Income Tax at 20% is £2,437. Class 4 NICs at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 add £731. Total bill: £3,168.
What it would have cost without good record-keeping
If Sarah had only claimed the obvious — fuel receipts, insurance and her steam cleaner, say £4,500 — her taxable profit would jump to £30,500. Income Tax would be £3,586 and Class 4 NICs £1,076, for a total of £4,662. The difference she saves by tracking everything is £1,494 a year — almost a full month's takings.
Common tax mistakes cleaners make
- Claiming everyday clothing as a "uniform"Plain black trousers and a white t-shirt are not allowable, even if you only wear them to clean. HMRC's rule is explicit: uniforms, protective clothing and branded items only. Aprons, tabards, gloves, masks and shoe covers count; a fresh Primark t-shirt does not.
- Not claiming expensive equipment at allA £900 commercial vacuum, a £400 carpet machine, a new ladder — all deductible. Plenty of cleaners assume "big purchases" can't be claimed and never put them on the return. Under cash basis (the default for sole traders since 6 April 2024) you can include equipment costs with your other expenses. Under traditional accounting you claim them through Annual Investment Allowance instead (Box 49 on SA103F, Box 23 on SA103S). Either way: claim it.
- Mixing simplified mileage with actual van costsOnce you pick simplified mileage (55p / 25p) for a vehicle, you keep using it for that vehicle's whole working life with the business. You cannot also claim fuel, insurance or servicing for the same van — that's double-dipping. Switching costs you the right to claim capital allowances on that vehicle later.
- Forgetting the £1,000 trading allowance is "either/or"If you claim the £1,000 trading allowance you cannot also deduct actual expenses. For any cleaner whose real expenses are more than £1,000 a year — almost everyone — claiming the allowance costs you money. Tick the box only if your expenses genuinely are under £1,000.
- Missing cash-receipt purchasesCash & carry trips, parking meters, top-up cleaning supplies from the corner shop, laundromat costs for shared linen — small cash receipts add up to several hundred pounds a year and are the single biggest category of missed claims by domestic cleaners. Snap each one in the app the moment you get it.
- Mixing the household and business bank accountHMRC does not require a separate business account, but mixing personal spending with business spending makes a tax-return reconstruction painful and signals untidy records if you are ever queried. A free e-money current account (Starling, Tide, Monzo Business) takes ten minutes to open.
- Treating the home flat rate as optionalIf you spend at least 25 hours a month doing admin, invoicing, ordering supplies and scheduling from home you can claim the working-from-home flat rate — £10/£18/£26 a month. Most full-time cleaners hit 101+ hours easily once you add up admin and quote-writing time.
- Missing the 5 October registration deadlineIf you started cleaning in the 2025–26 tax year you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2026. Miss it and HMRC can issue a "failure to notify" penalty as a percentage of the tax due. Registration is free and takes around 15 minutes online.
Year-end tax tips for cleaners
- Bring forward big-ticket purchases before 5 AprilIf you are buying a new commercial vacuum, a carpet machine or a replacement van, completing the purchase before 5 April pulls the deduction into the current tax year. AIA is £1,000,000 a year — no cleaner gets close to the cap, so a £1,200 carpet extractor knocks 26p off your tax bill for every £1 spent.
- Pay your annual insurance premium in MarchIf you use the cash basis (the default for self-employed cleaners) the deduction lands when you pay. Renewing public liability or van insurance in March instead of April brings the full premium into this tax year.
- Reconcile personal-card business buys before the deadlineCleaners often use a personal card at B&M or the petrol station when in a rush. Pull a January bank statement export and tag every business spend before 31 January — those receipts are still deductible as long as you can prove the purchase.
- Check your Class 4 NI band crossingFor 2025–26 Class 4 NICs are 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. If you are close to £50,270 a small extra purchase before year end might tip you into the lower-rate band on a chunk of profit.
- Get ready for MTD ITSA quarterly updatesFrom 6 April 2026 cleaners with gross self-employment + property income over £50,000 must file quarterly cumulative updates to HMRC. The first quarterly update for 2026–27 is due 7 August 2026, then 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, plus the Final Declaration on 31 January 2028. PocketReceipt's exports are built around the MTD quarterly window.
- Decide simplified vs actual before the year endsIf your van is cheap to run and you do a lot of miles, simplified (55p/25p) usually wins. If you bought a newer van with high insurance and depreciation, actual-cost plus capital allowances can be better. Once you pick a method for that vehicle you are stuck with it — model both before choosing.
FAQ for cleaners
Can I claim my hoover and steam cleaner?
Yes. Equipment used wholly for the business is allowable. Under cash basis (the default for most cleaners since April 2024) the cost goes in with your other expenses. Under traditional accounting it goes through Annual Investment Allowance (Box 49 on SA103F, Box 23 on SA103S) — a 100% deduction in year one for any cleaner, up to the £1,000,000 AIA cap. The relief is the same; only the box changes.
How do I track mileage between client homes?
Start a trip in PocketReceipt or log it manually. HMRC's simplified mileage rate (55p first 10,000 business miles, 25p after that) is applied automatically. Year-end export shows total miles and the £ deduction for Box 20. The journey from home to your first client of the day counts as business mileage as long as you don't have a fixed workplace.
Is my cleaning uniform allowable?
Branded uniform, tabards, aprons and visible logo wear: yes. Protective clothing — gloves, shoe covers, masks, knee pads, PPE: yes. Plain trousers, t-shirts and ordinary trainers: no, even if you only ever wear them to clean. HMRC publishes this rule on gov.uk: "you cannot claim for everyday clothing (even if you wear it for work)."
Do I need to register for VAT?
Only if your taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period (2025 threshold). Most domestic cleaners stay well under. End-of-tenancy specialists who take on a lot of agency work sometimes get close — use our VAT calculator if you are approaching the threshold or planning to scale.
Can I claim the business-use part of my phone and broadband?
Yes — but only the business proportion. HMRC expects a reasonable estimate. For a working cleaner who runs bookings, quotes and client messages through one phone, 60–80% is usually defensible. Document how you reached the figure in case you are ever asked.
What if I work as both employed and self-employed?
Plenty of cleaners do agency shifts (PAYE) plus their own clients (self-employed). Your employment income is reported on the SA102 employment page; your cleaning business goes on SA103S or SA103F. Personal allowance applies once across both. Your tax code on the PAYE side may need adjusting once HMRC sees the self-employment profit.
When is my tax due?
Self Assessment for the 2025–26 tax year is due online by 31 January 2027. If your tax bill is more than £1,000 you also pay 50% of it again as a "payment on account" on the same date, and another 50% on 31 July 2027. From April 2026, cleaners earning over £50,000 also file quarterly MTD ITSA updates.
Can I use the trading allowance instead of claiming expenses?
Only if your total cleaning income is under £1,000 a year — in which case you don't need to register for Self Assessment at all. Above that, you choose either the flat £1,000 trading allowance OR actual expenses. For working cleaners with real costs (products, mileage, equipment), actual expenses almost always beats the flat allowance — but it's worth comparing once a year.
Can I claim use of home as office?
Yes, even as a cleaner — bookings, quotes, invoicing and admin done at home all count. HMRC's simplified flat-rate scheme pays £10/month (25–50 hours), £18 (51–100) or £26 (101+ hours). Goes in Box 19 on SA103S, Box 31 on SA103F. No receipts needed if you use the flat rate.
HMRC and PocketReceipt references used on this page
- HMRC, Expenses if you're self-employed — overview
- HMRC, Expenses if you're self-employed — clothing
- HMRC, Simplified expenses if you're self-employed
- HMRC, Simplified expenses — vehicles (55p / 25p / 24p flat rates)
- HMRC, Simplified expenses — working from home (£10 / £18 / £26 flat rates)
- HMRC, Capital allowances — Annual Investment Allowance
- HMRC, SA103F Notes 2026 — Self-employment (full) (PDF)
- HMRC, Self Assessment deadlines
- PocketReceipt, Sole-trader allowable expenses — full guide
- PocketReceipt, Simplified expenses vs actual costs — which is better?
- PocketReceipt, MTD ITSA quarterly checklist
- PocketReceipt, Mileage calculator · VAT threshold calculator
- PocketReceipt, Best receipt scanner apps for the self-employed
Worked example figures are illustrative. Tax rates use 2025–26 thresholds: personal allowance £12,570; basic rate 20%; Class 4 NICs 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270. PocketReceipt is a record-keeping app, not a tax adviser — speak to an accountant for advice on your situation.