Is exterior cleaning taxable in Wisconsin? What DOR lists
Do Wisconsin pressure washers charge sales tax on exterior cleaning jobs?
Start from the Department's list of taxable services
Wisconsin taxes retail sales of products and a named list of services. A service is taxable only if it is on that list.
The Department of Revenue's Publication 201 sets out the list under the heading of what is taxable. It names amusement devices, cable television, landscaping and lawn maintenance, laundry and dry cleaning, parking, photography and others.
Cleaning the outside of a building is not among the names. That is a reading of the list, not a ruling on any one job, so treat it as the place to start.
Publication 201 names landscaping and lawn maintenance, laundry and dry cleaning, and parking among taxable services, and not building exterior cleaning. — Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Publication 201, retrieved 2026-09-29
Cleaning taxable property is a different line
Publication 201 taxes the repair, service, alteration, fitting, cleaning, painting, coating, towing, inspection and maintenance of taxable products.
That line reaches items you may clean on a job. The Department lists canvas awnings, electric signs, furniture and furnishings, and swimming pools among items that keep their character as tangible personal property for this purpose.
So a quote that bundles a storefront wash with its awning and sign has a taxable part and a part the list does not name. Itemize them.
Publication 201 taxes the cleaning of taxable products, and lists canvas awnings, electric signs and furniture as retaining tangible personal property character. — Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Publication 201, retrieved 2026-09-29
The rates and the register
The state sales tax is 5 percent, and the same publication lists a 0.5 percent county tax. Some places add stadium or premier resort area taxes.
If any part of your work is taxable, you need a seller's permit from the Department of Revenue. Register through the business tax registration, which costs $20 and covers two years.
Registering before you invoice keeps you from collecting tax without a permit, and from owing tax you never collected.
5% + 0.5%Wisconsin's state sales tax is 5 percent, and Publication 201 also lists a 0.5 percent county tax. — Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Publication 201, retrieved 2026-09-29
$20The $20 business tax registration covers seller's permits and employer registration and lasts two years. — Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Business Tax Registration, retrieved 2026-09-29
Ask the Department before you rely on this page
Publication 201 as read here is the edition dated January 2019. Rules and rates change, and the Department may have issued updates since.
A line that does not appear on a list may still be taxed through a rule, a ruling or a bundled sale. Wisconsin also treats some mixed transactions as taxable in full.
Write to the Department with your exact service, such as a house wash, a roof treatment or a fleet wash, and keep its answer with your records. The registration guide shows where registration is filed, and the startup cost page shows what registration adds.
The Department's Publication 201 covers 5 percent state and 0.5 percent county sales and use tax and is dated January 2019 in the edition read here. — Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Publication 201, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Do I charge tax on a house wash?
The Publication 201 list of taxable services does not name cleaning the exterior of a building. That is not a guarantee, because rulings and later publications can change the answer. Confirm in writing with the Department of Revenue before you leave tax off an invoice.
What if I clean a customer's patio furniture too?
Cleaning furniture and furnishings falls under the taxable line for cleaning taxable products. Itemize that work on the invoice so the taxable part is clear from the rest.
Do I owe use tax on the chemicals I buy?
This page does not cover purchases. Publication 201 has separate parts on use tax and on items bought for resale or consumed in a process. Read those parts, or ask the Department about your supply purchases.