Pressure washing business rules in Wisconsin

What this site covers, and the one rule behind it

The wash water is the part of this trade the state cares about most. The paperwork for an LLC or a tax account is routine by comparison.

Wisconsin's DNR has a general permit that names mobile commercial power washing. It does not say every crew needs it. It sets conditions for water that reaches a water of the state, and a storm sewer counts. Each page here sits on one side of that line or explains where it falls.

Start with where wash water can go if you take paved-lot or roof jobs.

Every figure comes from a Wisconsin agency or a federal one, and each page links the document it read. Where a rule depends on facts the agency does not state, the page says so instead of guessing.

Where the wash water goes

Four places are open to a crew: a storm sewer, a sanitary sewer, the ground, or a hauled tank. Each has different rules and a different owner.

The permit page explains what the DNR permit covers and what it costs. The application guide gives the order of the notice, the plan and the coverage letter. The parking lot scenario walks one job through all of it.

What the permit will not cover

Some work leaves the permit. Oily equipment, certain degreasers, spills and sensitive waters all do.

The exclusions page lists them. The building and surface page covers roofs, siding, concrete, soap, foam and pH. The job-site checklist turns the rules into a crew routine.

The business behind the truck

A pressure washing company can stay a sole proprietorship or become an LLC. Either way, the setup follows one order.

The setup guide gives the steps. The structure comparison covers costs, the registered agent rule and self-employment tax. The formation services page lists each service's own published prices next to the state's file-it-yourself route.

Fees, tax and registration

The state fees are small and the tax question is narrower than most owners expect.

The startup cost page lists every state and federal fee with its date. The sales tax page reads the Department of Revenue's taxable list. The registration guide covers the EIN, the seller's permit and the employer account.

What changes when you hire

A helper changes your insurance duty, your tax accounts and your training duty in one move. Owners often plan for the pay and miss the other three.

The hiring page covers the workers' compensation triggers, the nine-part contractor test and OSHA's chemical rules.

Where does the wash water go?

• Where pressure washing wash water can go in Wisconsin — Storm sewer, sanitary sewer, soil or a hauled tank: what Wisconsin's DNR permit and city sewer rules say about each place wash water can end up.
• Wisconsin's low-impact discharge permit for power washers — What the DNR low-impact discharge general permit covers, names mobile power washing, costs nothing to apply for, and asks of a Wisconsin crew.
• Getting DNR wash water permit coverage in Wisconsin — The order for applying to the Wisconsin DNR low-impact discharge permit: route, notice of intent, BMP plan, coverage letter and upkeep.
• A parking lot wash beside a storm drain, step by step — A worked Wisconsin scenario: a crew quotes a strip mall lot with an inlet at the low corner, and the permit rules that decide what it does.

What will the permit not cover?

• What Wisconsin's wash water permit will not cover — Oily engines, halogenated degreasers, spills, impaired waters and other work the Wisconsin low-impact discharge permit leaves out of its coverage.
• Washing buildings and surfaces under Wisconsin's permit — The best management practices Wisconsin's low-impact permit sets for building washing, paved surfaces, detergents, foam and pH.
• A wash water checklist for every Wisconsin job site — A crew checklist from walk-through to truck paperwork, built on the Wisconsin DNR low-impact permit's plan, inspection and record requirements.

Who owns the business?

• Setting up a pressure washing business in Wisconsin — The order for starting a Wisconsin pressure washing company: structure, registered agent, EIN, tax accounts, insurance and DNR wash water coverage.
• LLC or sole proprietor for a Wisconsin pressure washer — What a Wisconsin LLC costs to form and keep, who can act as its registered agent, and how self-employment tax works for a sole proprietor.
• LLC formation services for Wisconsin pressure washers — Formation services for a Wisconsin pressure washing LLC: each one's own published prices, registered agent terms, and the $130 file-it-yourself route.

What does it cost, and what is taxed?

• What the Wisconsin paperwork for a washing business costs — Every fee the state charges a new Wisconsin pressure washing LLC: formation, annual report, tax registration, EIN and DNR permit, with dates.
• Is exterior cleaning taxable in Wisconsin? What DOR lists — What the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's Publication 201 says is taxable about cleaning work, and where a pressure washer should ask before charging.
• Registering a Wisconsin washing business for tax accounts — The order for getting an EIN, a Wisconsin seller's permit and an employer account for a new pressure washing business, with fees.

What changes when I hire a crew?

• Hiring a crew: Wisconsin workers' comp and chemical rules — When a Wisconsin pressure washing owner must carry workers' compensation, how the nine-part contractor test works, and OSHA's chemical duties.

Questions