Chimney profit margin benchmarks
The IRS reports what one-owner businesses filing Schedule C earn, by sector. Chimney falls under Specialty trade contractors. For tax year 2023, 2,521,516 returns reported $257.8 billion in receipts, $80.4 billion in cost of sales and $40.5 billion in net income less deficit (the table gives thousands of dollars):
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 68.8% |
| Net margin, owner pay included | 15.7% |
| Average receipts per return | $102,220 |
| Average net income per return | $16,054 |
The owner's own draw is not an expense on a Schedule C, so that net margin is mostly the owner's wage, not profit on top of it.
Where the money goes in chimney
Chimney work is labor for sweeps and inspections, plus materials and masonry labor for repairs.
Where chimney margin leaks, and how to win it back
- Inspections done free with no sale
- Masonry repairs underestimated
- Roof access time
- Callbacks
- Drive time
Ways chimney sweeps raise margin: sell the sweep with the inspection; quote repairs from photos the same day; sell caps and dampers on the visit; book yearly reminders.
Check your chimney prices against the costs
We do not have sourced price ranges for chimney services yet, so start from your own costs with the labor rate calculator and list your prices on the services list.
Work out the margin on each line of your menu, not just the big jobs. The usual chimney menu: chimney sweep; chimney inspection with camera; dryer vent cleaning; chimney cap install; crown repair; damper replacement; flashing repair; tuckpointing; liner install; waterproofing.
Overhead comes out of the margin before profit. In chimney it includes general liability insurance, which Insureon's customers who are contractors as a group pay an average of $83 a month for; commercial auto at $270 a month on the same figures.
Work out your own margin
Put one recent chimney job into the calculator above, or switch it to "My margin for the year" to set your year next to the IRS benchmark. A 50% markup is a 33% margin; the markup calculator shows the rest.
Sources
- IRS Statistics of Income: Nonfarm sole proprietorships, Table 2, income statements by industrial sector, tax year 2023, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: SOI tax stats, nonfarm sole proprietorship statistics, checked October 9, 2026
- Insureon: Insurance cost for contractors as a group, checked October 9, 2026
Last checked October 9, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.