What can a handyman do in Bradford, PA?
Pennsylvania's figure is $5,000 in yearly earnings. The exact wording below decides whether you fit.
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Not a home improvement contractor (no registration needed) if 'the total cash value of all of that person's home improvements is less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year' (strictly under $5,000; at $5,000 or more registration is required). FAQ elsewhere phrases it as 'less than $5,000 of work in a calendar year'. Separately, a job only counts as a 'home improvement' when the total cash price agreed is more than $500. Other exemption: home improvement retailers with net worth over $50,000,000. Written contracts are required for home improvements over $500; deposit limits apply to projects over $5,000.
What counts toward it: other: total cash value of all of the person's home improvements in the previous taxable year (annual business volume, not per job); a 'home improvement' itself is only work where total cash price agreed is more than $500
"A person for whom the total cash value of all of that person’s home improvements is less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year."
Source: attorneygeneral.gov · checked November 2, 2026
What Bradford adds
Reroofing a single-family home, two-family home or townhouse in Bradford needs an application to the City first, unless the work already has a building permit, and the approval must be posted in view while the work runs (City Code Ch. 171, 2024). Contractors pay the 6-mill Business Privilege Tax on the job when the permit is pulled.
Source: ecode360.com · checked November 14, 2026
Local business license
Required
- Name: Business Privilege Tax registration and return (City Code Ch. 196, Art. VI)
- Applies when: A separate $25 Mercantile License (Ch. 196, Art. I) applies only to wholesale or retail dealers in goods, not to service-only work.
- Trigger: Engaging in any business in the City; for contractors, each job at the time the building permit is obtained
- Office: City Treasurer, City of Bradford
- Fee: 6.0 mills on each dollar of gross receipts; contractors pay on the contract amount at permit time
"Every person engaging in any business in the City in the year 1987 and for each and every year thereafter shall annually pay a tax of 6.0 mills on each dollar of gross receipts generated by the exercise of that privilege."
Source: ecode360.com · checked November 14, 2026
Local contractor or handyman license
Depends
- Name: City of Bradford Master Plumber License (City Code Ch. 159)
- Applies when: Only plumbing work; property owners may do plumbing on their own property. The code chapter list (Ch. 1 to 220) has no general contractor licensing chapter.
- Trigger: Engaging in the business of plumbing or installing, altering or repairing any plumbing system in the city
- Office: Plumbing Inspector, Department of Public Works, Municipal Building
- Fee: Set by City Council resolution (annual)
"No person, business or corporation shall engage in the business of plumbing in the City of Bradford unless licensed as a master plumber or has in their employ a licensed master plumber who is duly qualified and licensed under the provisions of this chapter."
Source: ecode360.com · checked November 14, 2026
Jobs a handyman usually takes
Everyday jobs handymen take. In Pennsylvania, read the rule above first, because paid work may need registration whatever the job size:
- Mounting TVs, shelves, mirrors and pictures
- Assembling furniture and flat-pack cabinets
- Patching drywall and interior painting
- Caulking, weatherstripping and sealing
- Repairing doors, locks, screens and windows
- Basic carpentry, trim and small repairs
- Pressure washing and gutter cleaning
Trade work in Pennsylvania
OAG FAQ confirms electrical contractors and master plumbers doing home improvements must still register under HICPA.
Source: attorneygeneral.gov · checked November 2, 2026
Nearby places
Rules change. This page shows what official sources said on the dates above. It is not legal advice, so confirm with the office named before you take the job.
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