Who We Help · Laundromats · Tax Services
Laundromat and dry cleaner tax: coin revenue, machine CCA, and the water-bill audit
Every coin dropped into your machines already contains HST — a $5.00 cycle is $4.42 of revenue and 58 cents of tax to remit. Getting that arithmetic right, putting a floor full of machines into the correct CCA classes, and keeping records that survive a water-consumption audit are the three jobs that decide whether a laundromat T2 is routine or expensive. We do all three for laundromats and dry cleaning plants across the GTA.
By the AnalytIQ Accounting team · Last reviewed: August 12, 2026
Your posted price already includes the HST
Coin and card machines charge tax-included prices, so the remittance math is 13/113 of gross collections, not 13% on top of them. Remitting 13% of gross — the most common error on self-prepared GST34s in this business — overpays CRA by a full point of revenue every period. Card and app systems inherit the same math unless deliberately configured to add tax at the reader, and wash-and-fold or commercial linen accounts are ordinary invoiced sales with 13% added. One carve-out worth knowing: coin-operated washers and dryers in the common area of a residential complex are an exempt supply, which changes the answer for route operators who service apartment laundry rooms as well as running a storefront — the storefront is taxable, the apartment route is not, and input tax credits have to be split accordingly.
The water bill is CRA's audit tool — make it yours
An unattended cash business gets audited indirectly. CRA's method is straightforward: your water bills say how many litres flowed, machine specs say how many litres a cycle uses, and division says how many cycles you ran — multiplied by your posted prices, that is the revenue an auditor expects to see reported. If the implied number beats your filed number, the gap is presumed to be unreported cash. The defence is the records you can keep for free: collection logs by machine and date, card-system reports, water and gas meter readings taken when you empty coin boxes, and downtime notes for out-of-order machines. The same utility bills are also your largest deduction — water, gas, and hydro are fully deductible — so the file that proves your expenses is the file that defends your revenue.
Machines on the T2: where every asset sits
A laundromat is a capital-cost-allowance business more than most: the equipment outweighs everything else on the balance sheet.
| Asset | CCA class and rate |
|---|---|
| Washers, dryers, pressing and dry-cleaning machines | Class 8 — 20% declining balance |
| Card kiosk, POS, and back-office computers | Class 50 — 55% declining balance |
| Plumbing, venting, and flooring in leased premises | Class 13 — straight-line over the lease term |
| Wash-and-fold delivery van | Class 10 — 30% declining balance |
| Building, if you own it | Class 1 — 4%, or 6% with the eligible non-residential election |
Timing decides the deduction as much as the class does. A machine claims CCA only once it is available for use, so a December install helps this year and a January delivery does not, and first-year CCA rules have shifted several times in recent years — we time large orders so the write-off lands in the year that needs it. Repairs that keep a unit running are expensed now; replacing an entire machine row or re-plumbing the floor is capital and joins its class.
Dry cleaner extras: solvents, eco fees, and whose sale it is
Dry cleaning adds a compliance layer with its own deductions. Perchloroethylene is federally regulated, so licensed waste-carrier fees, filter changes, spill kits, and environmental handling charges are recurring, fully deductible costs — as are the servicing contracts on newer wet-cleaning and hydrocarbon machines. Cleaning, pressing, alterations, and repairs all carry 13% HST. Depot arrangements need care: a counter that sends garments to a central plant is either buying cleaning services and reselling them, or earning a commission as the plant's agent, and the two models put different revenue and different HST on each return. We match the paperwork to whichever deal you actually struck.
The T2 year
The corporate file itself is standard: the small business deduction on the first $500,000 of active profit, instalments once tax owing recurs, and owner compensation planned before year-end rather than after. Owners running two or three locations under separate corporations should expect the associated-corporation rules to share one $500,000 limit across the group, not multiply it. Financing new equipment through US lenders or distributors raises USD loan and payment questions we handle on our laundromat cross-border tax page, and the monthly coin-to-bank reconciliation that feeds all of this lives on our laundromat bookkeeping page.
Source: CRA — GST/HST for businesses.
Common questions.
How much HST do I remit on coin revenue?
Remit 13/113 of gross collections, because your posted machine prices are tax-included. A $5.00 cycle is $4.42 of revenue and $0.58 of HST — remitting a flat 13% of gross overpays every filing period.
What CCA class are commercial washers and dryers?
Class 8, at 20% declining balance — the same class as pressing and dry-cleaning machines. Card kiosks and computers go in Class 50 at 55%, and plumbing or venting work in leased premises is Class 13, written off straight-line over the lease.
Why would CRA ask for my water bills?
Water consumption divided by litres-per-cycle tells an auditor how many cycles you ran, and cycles times posted prices implies revenue. If that estimate exceeds what you reported, the difference is treated as unreported cash — collection logs and meter readings are the defence.
Related reading
Every cycle counted, every return clean.
Book a consultation and get a plain answer on exactly what applies to you.