Starting a Caretaker Service in Germany 2026: Registration, Insurance and Taxes

A caretaker service (Hausmeisterservice) is one of the most accessible paths to self-employment in Germany: low startup costs, predictable contracts, steady demand from property managers, owners' associations and commercial clients. But a caretaker service is almost always a trade (Gewerbe) — not a liberal profession. Miss that, and you're already late 30 days after you start. Here are the key steps for 2026.

Key points up front

• Trade, not liberal profession: A caretaker service is almost always a Gewerbe under § 15 EStG. There is no "caretaker" catalogue profession in § 18 EStG.
• Registration: Gewerbeanmeldung at the trade office (€20–65) before your first job, then the tax registration questionnaire arrives automatically.
• No master craftsman certificate needed for pure caretaking (cleaning, garden care, winter service, small repairs) — those are non-licensed trades.
• Mandatory insurance: Berufsgenossenschaft (BG BAU) is compulsory; business liability cover is practically essential.
• Three taxes: income tax, trade tax (above €24,500 profit) and VAT (19 %).
• 2026 hourly rate: typically €28–45 net for a self-employed caretaker.

Liberal profession or trade? The most common myth

You'll repeatedly read online that a caretaker is a freelancer who only needs to notify the tax office. In the vast majority of cases that's simply wrong — and it can get expensive. Liberal professions are exhaustively defined in § 18 EStG: medical, legal and tax-advisory professions, technical-scientific and artistic work (doctors, lawyers, engineers, designers, journalists). A "caretaker" isn't on that list.

A caretaker service delivers craft-adjacent, physical services — stairwell cleaning, green-space maintenance, winter service, small repairs. That's a commercial activity under § 15 EStG. Three duties follow that a freelancer wouldn't have:

• Trade registration at the Gewerbeamt (a freelancer only notifies the tax office).
• Mandatory IHK membership (freelancers are exempt).
• Trade tax above €24,500 of profit (freelancers pay none).

For the full classification test — and what happens if the tax office later reclassifies a supposedly freelance activity as a trade — see the Freelancer vs. Trader guide. In short: when in doubt, a caretaker service is a trade. Plan for that from day one and there's no back-payment.

What a caretaker service may — and may not — do

The second big question is the master craftsman certificate (Meisterbrief). The Crafts Code (HwO) helps here: licensed trades (Anlage A) require a master certificate or an employed master; non-licensed and craft-like trades (Anlage B) don't. Pure caretaking falls under Anlage B — you need no master certificate to start.

Rule of thumb: as long as you clean, maintain, inspect and handle small jobs, you're non-licensed. The moment you commercially touch electricity, water, gas or load-bearing structure, you need a craft-register entry — or you pass those jobs to a specialist firm and bill them as a referral.

Expert opinion

The most expensive mistake I see with new caretakers is believing they're freelancers — because they read it somewhere online. Two years later the tax audit comes, the Finanzamt reclassifies the activity as a trade retroactively, and suddenly there's trade tax and back-payments nobody budgeted for. My advice: assume from day one that your caretaker service is a trade and register it properly — you'll save yourself every later argument.

Gewerbeanmeldung step by step

1. Book a slot at your local trade office or register online via the federal portal — cost €20–65.
2. Bring your ID, and for non-EU citizens, your residence and work permit.
3. Describe the activity narrowly: "Caretaker service and building cleaning, excluding licensed craft trades."
4. Wait for the forwarding: the registration goes automatically to the Finanzamt, IHK, Berufsgenossenschaft and statistical office.
5. Complete the questionnaire: within four weeks the Tax Registration Questionnaire arrives — file via ELSTER, and you'll receive your tax number.

A full walkthrough with all the forms and the online option is in Gewerbeanmeldung step by step.

What does starting cost?

A caretaker service is cheap to start — if you begin small and cleaning-focused. It only gets expensive once you add your own vehicle and machines.

Start with a bucket, a pressure washer and your own car and you're often under €1,000. Still, set aside a small reserve for the first months until recurring contracts start paying.

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Mandatory insurance

Berufsgenossenschaft (BG BAU) is mandatory for all building cleaners and caretakers — you must register within a week of founding. The minimum contribution starts around €150/year for solo operators and scales up with the wage base once you hire staff.

Business liability insurance is not legally required but practically essential: a single water-damage claim or a slip on un-gritted ice can run into five figures. Premiums for caretaker services typically sit at €200–500/year for €5M coverage.

If you hire staff, payroll, social contributions and — in cleaning/construction-adjacent work — possibly SOKA-BAU come into play.

Taxes for your caretaker service

Three taxes apply to you as a commercial caretaker:

As a sole trader you determine profit via the income-surplus calculation (EÜR) — income minus business expenses, no double-entry overhead. Trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) only bites at higher profits thanks to the €24,500 allowance for individuals, and § 35 EStG credits most of it back against income tax — so it's rarely the big burden many fear.

A sales argument on the side: caretaker and cleaning services at private homes are deductible for your private clients as household-related services (§ 35a EStG, 20 % of labour costs, up to €4,000/year). Itemise labour and materials separately on the invoice — it raises willingness to pay.

Kleinunternehmer or standard VAT?

If your prior-year turnover is below €25,000 and the current year stays under €100,000, you can use the Kleinunternehmer rule: no VAT on invoices, no UStVA. Tempting, but often an own goal in this trade.

The reason: your main clients — property managers, landlords, businesses — can recover input VAT. Whether your invoice shows 19 % or not is irrelevant to them, since they get the VAT refunded anyway. You, meanwhile, pay 19 % on machines, vehicle, fuel and tools — as a Kleinunternehmer with no refund. If you invest or plan to grow, standard VAT usually wins. Only if you serve almost exclusively private clients and invest little can Kleinunternehmer make sense.

Hourly rates and packages

Typical 2026 hourly rate for a self-employed caretaker: €28–45 net. Flat packages for stairwell cleaning in a multi-family building run €80–250/month, winter-service standby €30–80/month plus call-outs. Run your numbers in our hourly rate calculator to check whether your rates cover realistic living costs, taxes, insurance and enough days off — many founders set rates too low at first and effectively work below minimum wage.

Day-to-day bookkeeping

Caretaker services churn out small invoices, fuel receipts, supply receipts and recurring contracts — exactly the receipt flood that ends up in a shoebox and causes year-end stress. Tools like Norman read receipts via photo, match bank movements automatically and generate UStVA, EÜR and e-invoices (mandatory for B2B since 2025 — your property-manager clients expect them too). You save two to three hours a week — time better spent on the job.

Frequently asked questions

Is a caretaker service a liberal profession or a trade?

Almost always a trade. There's no "caretaker" catalogue profession in § 18 EStG, and the activity (cleaning, maintenance, winter service, small repairs) is craft-adjacent under § 15 EStG. So you need a trade registration, become an IHK member and pay trade tax above €24,500 of profit.

Do I need a master craftsman certificate to start a caretaker service?

No, not for pure caretaking. Cleaning, garden care, winter service and small repairs are non-licensed activities (Anlage B HwO). You only need a master certificate once you commercially offer licensed trades such as electrical, plumbing or roofing work.

What does it cost to start a caretaker service?

Cleaning-focused and solo, often under €1,000 (trade registration, basic kit, insurance). With your own van and machines, €5,000–15,000 can add up. The trade registration itself is only €20–65.

How much does a self-employed caretaker earn?

The typical hourly rate in 2026 is €28–45 net. With good utilisation, €2,500–5,000 turnover per month is realistic — after vehicle, materials, insurance and taxes, the profit is well below that.

Is the Kleinunternehmer rule worth it for a caretaker service?

Usually not if you serve property managers and commercial clients: they recover input VAT anyway, and you can't reclaim your own VAT on vehicle, machines and materials. Only near-pure private-client work with low investment makes Kleinunternehmer worthwhile.

Which insurance is mandatory?

The Berufsgenossenschaft (BG BAU) is mandatory and must be registered within a week of founding. Business liability is not legally required but practically essential — a single water or ice-slip claim can run into five figures.

Bottom line

A caretaker service can be up and running in two days in 2026: Gewerbeanmeldung, Fragebogen, BG BAU, liability cover. Tax-wise, three things matter — the correct classification as a trade (not a liberal profession), the choice between Kleinunternehmer and standard VAT, and a clean bookkeeping setup from day one. With Norman, registration, invoices and UStVA live in one app — so you can focus on the service, not the paperwork.