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Property Maintenance profit margins

What one-owner property maintenance businesses report to the IRS, where the money goes on a property maintenance job, and a calculator to check your own margin.

84.3%Gross margin, IRS sector
21.2%Net margin incl. owner pay
$36,687Average receipts per return
What do you want to work out?
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Leave at 15% if you do not know it yet. The business mode works it out.
Gross margin
35.7%
$1,250 over job costs
55.6%Markup
$725Net profit
20.7%Net margin
Free. Your numbers become an estimate you can send from your phone.

How we got this

  1. Job cost$1,200 materials + $900 labor + $150 other = $2,250
  2. Gross profit$3,500 − $2,250 = $1,250
  3. Gross margin$1,250 ÷ $3,500 price = 35.7%
  4. Markup$1,250 ÷ $2,250 cost = 55.6%
  5. Overhead share15% of $3,500 = $525
  6. Net profit$1,250 − $525 = $725 (20.7%)
MarkupGives a margin of
25%20%
33%24.8%
43%30.1%
50%33.3%
67%40.1%
100%50%

Property Maintenance profit margin benchmarks

The IRS reports what one-owner businesses filing Schedule C earn, by sector. Property Maintenance falls under Administrative and support services. For tax year 2023, 3,118,914 returns reported $114.4 billion in receipts, $17.9 billion in cost of sales and $24.2 billion in net income less deficit (the table gives thousands of dollars):

BenchmarkValue
Gross margin84.3%
Net margin, owner pay included21.2%
Average receipts per return$36,687
Average net income per return$7,769

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 property maintenance

Property maintenance is labor, small materials and drive time between units. Turnovers pay when the punch list is priced per unit, not by the hour with no cap.

Where property maintenance margin leaks, and how to win it back

  • Turnovers that run past the quoted price
  • Materials bought at retail
  • Drive time between properties
  • Small extras added by tenants
  • Slow payment from property managers

Ways property maintenance companies raise margin: price turnovers per unit; buy materials on a pro account; charge for extra tenant requests; sell a monthly retainer.

Check your property maintenance prices against the costs

The typical national prices from our sourced calculators are a check on whether your prices leave room for margin:

ServiceTypicalRange
Interior painting$1.50$1.00 to $2.00 a sq ft of wall
Move-out cleaning, 2,000 sq ft home$650$400 to $900 a visit
Drywall patch, small hole$70$20 to $120 a hole
Drywall patch, large hole$125$50 to $200 a hole
Interior door, prehung, installed$522$365 to $679 a door
Gutter cleaning, one story$1.10$0.83 to $1.38 a foot

Work out the margin on each line of your menu, not just the big jobs. The usual property maintenance menu: interior painting; move-out cleaning, 2,000 sq ft home; drywall patch, small hole; lock change or rekey; make-ready punch list; drywall patch, large hole; interior door, prehung, installed; faucet, toilet and drain repairs; appliance swap; gutter cleaning, one story; concrete washing; filter changes and smoke detector checks; common area and grounds upkeep.

Overhead comes out of the margin before profit. In property maintenance it includes general liability insurance, which Insureon's customers who are property preservation businesses and other contractors 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 property maintenance 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

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.

FAQ

What is a good profit margin for a property maintenance business?

As a benchmark, one-owner businesses in administrative and support services reported a 84.3% gross margin and a 21.2% net margin to the IRS for 2023, with the owner's pay inside that net figure.

How can property maintenance companies raise their margin?

Price turnovers per unit, buy materials on a pro account and charge for extra tenant requests.

What are the biggest costs in property maintenance?

Property maintenance is labor, small materials and drive time between units. Turnovers pay when the punch list is priced per unit, not by the hour with no cap.

Where do property maintenance companies lose margin?

Turnovers that run past the quoted price, materials bought at retail and drive time between properties.

More for property maintenance companies

Tools listProperty Maintenance tools listWhat property maintenance companies buy first, then the pro kit and van stock.Services and pricesProperty Maintenance services listThe property maintenance service menu with typical prices.InsuranceProperty Maintenance insuranceWhat property maintenance companies pay for each policy, and state rules.SuppliersProperty Maintenance suppliersWhere property maintenance companies buy, and the pro programs.Maintenance plansProperty Maintenance maintenance plansPlan tiers and a sales script for property maintenance companies.Koira for property maintenanceHow property maintenance companies run on KoiraThe office side of a property maintenance business, done for you.

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Property Maintenance Profit Margins: Benchmarks and a Calculator | Koira