In short. French personal services cover routine household cleaning inside the home and on balconies and terraces, with exclusions for specialist work and landlord changeover cleaning.
Definition: French personal services include routine household cleaning under the activity entretien de la maison et travaux ménagers (home maintenance and housework). Its scope covers the home's interior, balconies and terraces, with exclusions for specialist cleaning and certain outdoor equipment.
Key facts
- As of 17 October 2026, the Direction générale des Entreprises (DGE) activity list excludes gutter, swimming-pool and tennis-court maintenance from this household activity.
- The DGE's personal-services FAQ places home cleaning under the declaration procedure, which enables access to the scheme's tax benefits.
- The French tax authority's home-employment guidance covers services at a main or secondary residence in France, whether the occupant owns the property or rents it.
Which cleaning activities are included or excluded?
The DGE's activity list includes routine maintenance inside the home and on balconies and terraces. It distinguishes this work from specialist services requiring qualified professionals: sanding and sealing parquet floors and cleaning exterior walls are expressly excluded. Outdoor location alone therefore does not determine the scope: terraces appear among the included areas, while gutters, pools and tennis courts appear among the exclusions.
The same guidance allows the worker to use the householder's equipment, giving a vacuum cleaner, brush, mop and detergent as examples. A service organisation may supply the equipment itself. The household service excludes sales of cleaning products or equipment.
Does cleaning a rental property qualify?
The DGE's rental-property explanation permits the tax credit for an owner who occasionally rents out all or part of their main residence for short stays. It excludes cleaning paid for by an owner in a property let to others that is outside the owner's main residence, whether furnished or unfurnished and whether rented occasionally or regularly. Housework arranged by a landlord when occupants move in or out also falls outside personal services.
The tax authority's residence rule separately covers services provided at the taxpayer's own main or secondary home in France. The occupant may be a tenant: ownership is not a condition of that residence rule.
What must a cleaning provider declare?
The DGE's FAQ for service providers says that a business offering cleaning and gardening selects the corresponding personal-services activities in its declaration. Home cleaning belongs under entretien de la maison et travaux ménagers. The FAQ also requires household cleaning within the scheme to take place at private individuals' homes. It addresses work for professional or collective premises separately and describes exemptions from the usual exclusive-activity condition.
The tax authority's supporting-document guidance requires customers using a service provider to retain the annual certificate issued by the association or company for production on request.
Related terms
- What conditions belong beside a home-support company's tax-credit claim?
- Which gardening services fall within the French personal-services scheme?
- Which handyman jobs fall within French personal services?
FAQ
Can cleaning a secondary home qualify?
Yes. The tax authority's home-employment guidance includes your secondary residence in France, whether you own or rent it.
Can a provider include cleaning-product sales in the household service?
No. The DGE's activity list allows the organisation to supply equipment for the work but excludes sales of cleaning products and equipment from this service.
Sources
- DGE, "Les 26 activités de services à la personne", updated 21 September 2026
- DGE, "Foire aux questions sur les services à la personne", updated 10 April 2026
- Direction générale des Finances publiques, "Emploi à domicile", updated 7 April 2026
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