If you clean homes in Philadelphia and are thinking about working for yourself, the first question is usually what the City and the State make you register before the first client. The answer sits on a handful of government pages, and the order matters. This guide walks through them in the order the City's own pages put them, and quotes what each one says.
We are a cleaning marketplace, not an accountant or a lawyer, and this is a reading of public pages, not tax or legal advice. We read every page below on October 18, 2026, and these pages change, so check each one before you file. This guide covers registrations. It does not cover insurance, what is left of your pay after income tax, or whether a booking through any platform changes your own filings.
The short answer
- Pennsylvania's cleaning guide lists one item for a cleaning business, a sales tax license, and says "Besides the items mentioned above, there are no other requirements for a cleaning business." (PA Business Hub, cleaning businesses, revised 4/4/2025)
- Philadelphia says "Any person or legal entity that does business in Philadelphia needs" a Commercial Activity License (CAL). "There is no cost for a Commercial Activity License," and you need a City tax account first. (City of Philadelphia, Commercial Activity License)
- The State guide says "Residential and commercial building cleaning services are subject to sales tax in Pennsylvania," and "There is no fee to submit your application" for the sales tax license. (PA Business Hub)
- The IRS says "You never have to pay a fee for an EIN." The CAL page accepts a Social Security number in its place. (IRS, get an EIN)
Step 1: a Philadelphia tax account
This comes first because the next step needs it. The City's tax-account page says "In order to pay City taxes, you need a Philadelphia Tax Identification Number (PHTIN)," and "You also need a PHTIN to get a Commercial Activity License (CAL), which is required to do any business in Philadelphia." (City of Philadelphia, get a tax account)
To get one, "You can register yourself or your business as a new taxpayer on the Philadelphia Tax Center." The page adds that "If you can't apply online, you can use a paper application for a business tax account instead." It lists no fee and no processing time, so we do not give either.
A tax account is also what you use to pay the City's business taxes, BIRT among them. The Business Income & Receipts Tax (BIRT) page says "Every individual, partnership, association, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation engaged in a business, profession, or other activity for profit within the City of Philadelphia must file a Business Income & Receipts Tax (BIRT) return," and "You must file and pay the BIRT by April 15 of each year for business activity from the previous calendar year." It also says "There's no longer a $100,000 BIRT exemption," "Some tax credits reduce the amount of BIRT owed to the City," and it names the Department of Commerce's Free Business Tax Preparation Program, whose eligibility we did not check. (City of Philadelphia, BIRT) What a one-person cleaning business owes, if anything, is a question for the Department of Revenue or a tax professional. This guide gives no tax amount.
Step 2: the Commercial Activity License
The CAL page puts it plainly: "Any person or legal entity that does business in Philadelphia needs this license." The license "links all of your businesses and the legal entity you registered for your Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT)." The page lists what the application asks for:
| What the CAL page lists | In the City's words |
|---|---|
| Tax ID | "Federal Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number" |
| City tax account | "Business Income and Receipts Tax ID" |
| Tax compliance | "Applicant must be current on all City taxes." |
| Your legal name | "Your license application must identify the legal entity, exactly as registered with the corresponding Philadelphia Tax Account." |
| A trade name | A trade name or "Doing Business As" (DBA) "must also be listed on your Philadelphia Tax Account." |
The page names two ways to apply: "Apply online through eCLIPSE or in person at the Permit and License Center." Online, "The license is issued automatically." In person, you need an appointment, and "This license is issued while you wait." The cost line reads "There is no cost for a Commercial Activity License," and the renewal line reads "This license does not need to be renewed."
Two details are worth knowing before you start. The CAL page asks for a "Business Income and Receipts Tax ID," while the tax-account page calls its number a PHTIN, and we did not find a page that says whether those are the same number. Use the number your Tax Center registration gives you, and if the form asks for something else, the page's own contact line is "submit an online request to 311 or call 311." The page also says "You should always make sure you have a Commercial Activity License before applying for other business licenses."
Step 3: a Pennsylvania sales tax license
This is the only item Pennsylvania's cleaning guide lists. It says "You will need a sales tax license to collect and remit sales tax on your cleaning service," and "You can obtain a sales tax license by completing an online business tax registration in the Department of Revenue's myPATH," and "There is no fee to submit your application." The guide closes the list with "After completing any requirements as determined by reviewing the items above, your business should be ready to begin operating." (PA Business Hub)
What this means for a cleaner who is booked through Hometress is not settled in this guide. On the Hometress site, prices are stated before sales tax, and tax is added at checkout, which is how our sales tax guide for Philadelphia customers explains it from the customer's side. This guide does not say whether a Hometress booking changes your own registration; ask a tax professional.
Which number goes on the forms: an EIN or your Social Security number
The CAL page lists "Federal Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number," so either is accepted there. If you want an EIN, the IRS page says "Use this tool to get an EIN directly from the IRS in minutes for free," and "You never have to pay a fee for an EIN." The IRS list of when you generally need one includes hiring employees and paying sales and excise taxes, among other things; whether that second item reaches a cleaner who collects Pennsylvania sales tax is a question for the IRS or a tax professional. If you form an LLC, the IRS says to "form your entity through the secretary of state before you apply for an EIN." (IRS, get an EIN, page last reviewed 16-Oct-2026)
The order, in one list
- Register as a new taxpayer on the Philadelphia Tax Center and get your PHTIN.
- Apply for the Commercial Activity License in eCLIPSE, with your EIN or Social Security number and your City tax account number.
- Complete the Pennsylvania business tax registration in myPATH for the sales tax license.
- Put your insurance questions to your own broker and to Pennsylvania's labor department; our guide to insurance for independent cleaners in Pennsylvania separates the three different demands.
Going solo or joining a platform
The City and State pages above do not mention marketplaces, so they cannot tell you whether working through one changes your registrations. What clearly differs is who finds the work. Working for yourself means you find the clients, set the schedule, send the quotes and chase the payment, and you set your own price. Joining a marketplace trades some of that for rules you work inside. Which one suits you depends on how much of that you want to run.
For reference, here is what the Hometress apply page says a cleaner can expect:
| Question | What the page says |
|---|---|
| What do I need to apply? | "Experience in residential cleaning, a valid ID, and eligibility to work in the US." |
| How does vetting work? | "It's a background check, a short reference call, and a standards walkthrough." The page publishes no fixed turnaround. |
| Do I bring supplies? | "Yes. You bring your own supplies and equipment to every visit." |
| Who picks the schedule? | "You choose the cadences, areas, and time blocks that fit your week, and you decide which visits to take." |
| How do I see my pay? | "The household-facing price is set up front, and your pay for a visit is visible before you accept it." |
This guide makes no promise about income. It is free to join, and cleaners carry their own insurance.
Questions cleaners ask
Do I need a license to clean houses in Philadelphia?
The Commercial Activity License, yes: the City says any person or legal entity that does business in Philadelphia needs it, and it costs nothing. Pennsylvania's cleaning guide lists a sales tax license and no other requirement.
Do I need an LLC to start?
None of the pages above says a house cleaner must form one. The CAL page asks you to name "the legal entity, exactly as registered," and the IRS says to form an LLC before applying for an EIN if you choose one. Whether an LLC suits you is a question for a lawyer or an accountant.
Do I register a business name?
If you work under a name other than your own, the City says the trade name "must also be listed on your Philadelphia Tax Account." The State guide points to its Business Registration Checklist for the basic registration steps; we did not run that checklist for your situation.
Do I pay anything to register?
The pages we read state no fee for the CAL, no fee to submit the sales tax license application and no fee for an EIN. The City's tax-account page states no fee either way, so confirm that one with the City. Taxes you owe are separate from registration.
What this guide leaves out
Not covered: income tax and what is left after it, insurance limits, workers' compensation, how a helper changes your status, and whether any platform changes your own registrations. For your own case, the Philadelphia Department of Revenue, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and a tax professional are the people to ask.
Where Hometress fits
Hometress is a cleaning marketplace that connects independent cleaning professionals with customers. It is free to join, and cleaners carry their own insurance. If you want to see where we are onboarding, see what working with Hometress looks like or go straight to the application. For the customer side of the same choice, see our guide to hiring an independent cleaner or a cleaning company in Philadelphia.