Accounting for cleaning companies

How the RUT deduction works for a cleaning company

RUT is handled using the invoice model. The customer pays the labour cost minus the RUT deduction, and you claim the rest from the Tax Agency. The RUT deduction is 50 per cent of the labour cost. ROT and RUT deductions together can be at most SEK 75 000 per person per year, of which ROT can be at most SEK 50 000. The deduction only applies to the labour cost, not to materials. We book each claim as a receivable from the Tax Agency and reconcile it when the money arrives, so you can see what is still unpaid.

Claiming payment: what is required

• The company must be approved for F-tax (F-skatt) when the agreement is made or the payment is received
• The customer must pay electronically, as cash payment does not qualify for the RUT deduction
• The work must be carried out and paid for before you claim payment
• The claim must reach the Tax Agency by 31 January of the year after the customer paid
• The invoice must show, among other things, the customer's personal identity number (personnummer), what work was done, where and when, the split between labour, materials and other costs, and the amount of the RUT deduction

The Tax Agency recommends that you agree with the customer in advance on what applies if the claim is rejected. Claims are made in the e-service Rot och rut för företag. See also our article on ROT and RUT deductions.

VAT on cleaning services

Cleaning is subject to the standard VAT rate of 25 per cent, both for households and businesses. One exception is construction cleaning for a construction company: it is covered by the reverse charge rules in the construction sector, so you should not charge VAT but instead state the buyer's VAT registration number and "omvänd betalningsskyldighet" (reverse charge) on the invoice. Read more on our page for construction companies.

Do cleaning companies need a staff register (personalliggare)?

No, not as a general rule. Cleaning is not among the businesses that, under the Tax Procedure Act (skatteförfarandelagen), must keep a staff register at their business premises: restaurants, vehicle servicing, food and tobacco wholesale, personal and beauty care, and laundries. If you clean on a construction site, ask the client (byggherre) whether you should be registered in the site's electronic register. The law also treats activities carried out in support of construction work as construction work.

How we help cleaning companies

• Ongoing bookkeeping and reconciliation of RUT payments
• Payroll and employer declarations, see payroll
• VAT returns, including reverse charge VAT for construction cleaning
• Year-end closing, annual report and tax return

Fixed monthly price based on the number of vouchers and employees, no lock-in period, three months' notice. See prices.