Who does these $90 housecleanings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the dollar amount in utilizing an independant contractor, before IRS payments become an issue? TIA

I believe it is $1800.

[Anonymous]

I'd be happy to refer you to mine. I'm going to cut back after the holidays and I'd love to be able to give her more business. I pay 85.00 a week for a 4 bedroom house in MC.

[Anonymous]

I use The Maids (national company but I use the franchise in Fairfax). They charge $120 every 2 weeks for 2 bed, 2 Bath house. They do and adequate job for a surface clean. I'm not jumping up and down, but it looks decent. With our jobs, we can't play games with taxes and immigration, so it's just easier to use a service.

[Anonymous]

An anti-recommendation for Merry maids here. I decided to use a service thinking they'd do a better / more thorough job for my 1 time clean than someone independent. Nope - the cleaners did come back a 2nd time when I pointed out the house was still dirty, so they have that going for them. But basically it seemed like the cleaners believed they just needed to "swoosh" over a given set of surfaces and not actually ensure that things were clean (e.g. dust on window sills & blinds as well as on light fixtures that was undisturbed despite cleaners saying they "got those").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are not really "deep cleanings" (at least mine aren't). Our house looks nice and clean after they finish, but it is by no means spotless.

I think a lot of people say "deep cleaning" when they just mean doing things they don't usually get to. For some people, it's mopping. For others, it's dusting or toilets.

I would check Angie's List and Consumer Checkbook. They give good advice on market prices and companies.

[Anonymous]

I pay $90 every other week, but I'm in Rockville. It's a cleaning service and they do a fantastic job. They clean 1,300 square feet for that price.

[Anonymous]

Person with the cleaning service in Rockville, can you please post the name? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Person with the cleaning service in Rockville, can you please post the name? Thanks!

Cleaning Authority. They are based in Gaithersburg, but they handle Rockville too (20850).

http://www.cleaningauthority.com/Locations.aspx

[Anonymous]

I use Purrfectly Kleen http://purrfectlykleen.com/

We pay $150 every other week for 2,000 sf, 3 BR 3 BA house. Dog, cat and 2 kids (which they factor in). It's a service. They are very thorough. Baseboards, ceiling fans, blinds, polish stainless steel, vacuum and mop all floors. A team of 4 is here 2.5 hours. The bonus is that they use natural products. All my neighbors use them now too.

[Anonymous]

Jessy's cleaning service. I pay 90 $ for having close to 3000 sf cleaned every 2nd week. A few times I have noticed they could have been more detailed, but they have been good at correcting. Generally I find it fine. And I am very comfortable knowing that it is all legal.

[Anonymous]

Our house cleaners are El Salvadorean and they offered to charge us $80 per cleaning, every two weeks. That's what they charge our neighbors with a similar largish house. We pay them $100 per cleaning because they bring 2-3 people (family members) and stay for 2-3 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jessy's cleaning service. I pay 90 $ for having close to 3000 sf cleaned every 2nd week. A few times I have noticed they could have been more detailed, but they have been good at correcting. Generally I find it fine. And I am very comfortable knowing that it is all legal.

ditto this. 85 for us for bi-monthly, 3 bedroom home, 2 ba, finished basement (which we only ask them to clean part of). They do a pretty good job; miss some things but for the money I'm ok with that. They're also VERY nice and we have the same team each time.

[Anonymous]

Are you required to give a 1099 to an independent cleaner if you pay them more than 1800 per year?

[Anonymous]

The 1099 threshold is under $600 per year. But I don't think a housekeeper would qualify as an independent contractor. You'd have to consider them a household employee and the threshold is $1,700 for 2009 - you'll have to file Sch H and pay both the employee and employer portion of FICA (15.3%). If you use a company as opposed to an individual you are their customer as opposed to their employer, and would not be responsible for paying any taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:our housekeeper is bolivian and charges $90 if weekly, more if every other week.

with an independent contractor such as a weekly housekeeper (such as lawncare or painter, etc.), I don't think you need to worry about immigration or taxes - not my area of expertise. different rules obviously for nannies and childcare.

The independent contractor thing has no bearing on whether the person is a household employee and subject to withholding, Schedule H, etc. It's a facts and circumstances test. From what I remember (I was an IRS lawyer a long time ago), among the key factors was how much control you had over the housekeeper and whether they used you supplies and equipment (i.e. your own mop, fluids, vacuum cleaner, etc.). That's why most commercial cleaning services have a list of set things they clean and use their own supplies and equipment. It's not specifically required, but is powerful evidence that they are not a household employee. Also, if it is a company, the amount of control that you have over the individuals that clean your house is small compared to the owner of the company.

I think there is an IRS publication about household employees on the IRS website or you can always consult a tax advisor.