Updated October 23, 2026. Quick answer: The 2025 IRS chart lists 561720 for janitorial services, the closest wording for cleaning work. It goes on line B, beside your line A description. Rows such as 561740 for carpet and upholstery cleaning or 561790 for other services to buildings and dwellings may read closer, depending on the principal source of your receipts.
What the chart lists for house cleaning
The chart’s row for cleaning work is worded “Janitorial services”. It is the closest wording for cleaning homes or offices for pay.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 561720 | Janitorial services |
The chart has no row that names maids or house cleaners. The row’s own word is janitorial.
Filling in lines A and B
Line A asks for a description of the work: “Describe the business or professional activity that provided your principal source of income reported on line 1.” Line B asks for the code: “Enter on line B the six-digit code from the Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes chart” The code goes in the box on line B, beside the description.
An example of the kind of description, not IRS wording: line A could say residential cleaning for homeowners and small offices. Line A explains the work in your own words; line B takes the chart’s six digits.
Rows next to janitorial services
The rows around 561720 are worded for nearby building services, and each names something specific.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 561720 | Janitorial services |
| 561740 | Carpet & upholstery cleaning services |
| 561790 | Other services to buildings & dwellings |
| 561710 | Exterminating & pest control services |
Row 561740 is worded “Carpet & upholstery cleaning services”, so it names carpets and upholstery rather than whole rooms. Row 561790 is worded “Other services to buildings & dwellings”, a catch-all for building and dwelling work that is not named elsewhere. Row 561710 is worded “Exterminating & pest control services”, which is a different trade altogether. If most of your receipts come from one of those jobs rather than general cleaning, the chart’s wording points to that row.
The chart’s rule has two steps: “Select the category that best describes your primary business activity”, and then “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”.
A mix of cleaning jobs
Cleaners often split their work: regular house visits, move-out cleanings, carpet days, windows. The chart does not average the jobs. It asks for “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”. So the job type that brings in the largest share of receipts is the one to hold against the wording of each row.
If you also run an unrelated side business, the instructions say “If you owned more than one business, complete a separate Schedule C for each business.”
From the code to the rest of the form
Once line B is filled, the expenses a cleaning business tends to have show up in other parts of Schedule C. Start with the Schedule C guide for the layout. Supplies sit under Schedule C lines 20 to 22, rent, repairs, and supplies, and a cleaner who drives between clients can read Schedule C lines 8 and 9, advertising and car and truck expenses. The full chart is at Schedule C business codes.
Edition and chart year
This page reads the 2025 Schedule C (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-23 (byte-identical to the archived copies). They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-SS, 1040-NR, or 1041”. Check the tax year printed on the schedule you are filling in and use the chart that comes with that year’s instructions, because a different year’s chart can list different codes or reword them.
Common mistakes
- Looking for a row with the word maid: the chart has no row that names maids or house cleaners, so the wording to compare is the janitorial row, “Janitorial services”.
- Choosing by the job you do least often; the chart’s rule is “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”.
- Running two businesses on one schedule: “If you owned more than one business, complete a separate Schedule C for each business.”
Related: Schedule C (Form 1040), Schedule C lines 20 to 22 rent, repairs, and supplies, Schedule C lines 8 and 9 advertising and car and truck expenses, and Schedule C business codes: the full IRS list.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sc.pdf
- Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 23, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.