Dog Walker and Pet Sitter Deductions: The Miles, the App's Commission, the Bite Insurance, the Overnight at the Client's House, and the Boarding in Your Own Home

Dog walking and pet sitting are driving businesses. The largest deduction is miles — between clients, to the park, to the vet — and the second is the commission the booking app keeps before paying out. The rest is insurance against the bite and the escape, supplies, and a home office. Sitters who board in their own homes have a home-use allocation to make, and sitters who stay overnight at a client's house have no travel deduction for a night spent a few miles from their own bed.

The miles

A sitter with a qualifying home office — a space used regularly and exclusively for scheduling, client records, and supplies — deducts every mile from home to the first client, between clients, and home again, at the standard mileage rate or under the actual-expense method. Without a home office, the first and last legs are commuting. A log or mileage app with the client visits is the record; apps that track visits often export one. A dedicated vehicle fitted for transporting dogs (crates, barriers) can justify the actual-expense method.

The apps

Booking platforms collect the client's payment, keep a commission, and pay the sitter the net, reporting gross payments on Form 1099-K once they exceed $20,000 across more than 200 transactions in a year (a platform may send one for less). The sitter reports the gross and deducts the commission. Direct clients who pay by app or cash are income too; a return that matches only the 1099-K totals when the sitter also has direct clients understates income.

Insurance and bonding

Pet-sitter liability insurance (for the dog that bites, the escape, the damage to the client's home), a bond (for access to clients' homes), and care-custody-control coverage are deductible and are the policies clients ask about. Auto insurance is built into the standard mileage rate; under the actual-expense method, the business-use share of the premium is deductible — and a personal policy that excludes business use needs a business or commercial endorsement to cover the walks at all.

Supplies, certification, and the phone

Leashes, waste bags, treats, water bowls, a first aid kit, and cleaning supplies are supplies. Pet first aid and CPR certification, professional association dues, and background checks are deductible. The phone is deducted at its business share; a second line for the business is fully deductible.

The overnight at the client's house

Staying overnight at a client's home in the same metro area is not travel away from the tax home — no lodging or meal deduction, and the sitter's own meals are personal. A sitter who travels out of town to house-sit for an extended period is away from home and deducts transportation and 50 percent of meals (actual or the federal meal per diem), provided the tax home remains the sitter's own residence and business base.

Boarding in your own home

A sitter who boards dogs in her home uses part of the home for business, but not exclusively — the dogs share the living room with the family. The home office rules' exclusive-use test blocks a deduction for that space, with an exception only for day care of children, people 65 or older, or people physically or mentally unable to care for themselves, by a provider licensed (or exempt from licensing) under state law — it does not extend to pet boarding. Supplies, food for boarded dogs, crates, and bedding are deductible; a share of utilities and rent, repairs, and a fence for a home and yard the family also uses are not. A dedicated room, outbuilding, or fenced run used only for boarding qualifies — repairs to that space are deducted in full and improvements to it are depreciated.

Florida sales tax

Dog walking, pet sitting, and boarding are services, not taxable in Florida. A sitter who sells treats, toys, or supplies to clients has taxable sales and registers.

Worked example. A dog walker earns $56,000 — $34,000 through an app (1099-K gross $40,000; $6,000 of commission deducted) and $22,000 from direct clients. From a home office used only for the business, she logs 11,400 miles between clients at the standard rate — about $8,465 for 2026 if the miles fall evenly across the year (72.5 cents a mile through June 30, 76 cents from July 1). She deducts $740 of liability and bonding insurance, $480 of supplies, $120 of first aid certification, and the business share of her phone. She boards two dogs at a time in a spare room used only for boarding, which qualifies as business space — its share of rent and utilities is deducted under the home office rules, and the dogs' food is a supply; a $1,900 fence around a yard her family also uses is a cost of the home, not a business deduction. Her 14 overnight sits at clients' homes across town produce no travel deduction. None of her services are taxable in Florida.

Official sources

The IRS explains: “If you have an office in your home that qualifies as a principal place of business, you can deduct your daily transportation costs between your home and another work location in the same trade or business.” — Internal Revenue Service, Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463

The IRS explains: “You must be in the trade or business of providing daycare for children, persons age 65 or older, or persons who are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves.” — Internal Revenue Service, Publication 587 (2025), Business Use of Your Home, https://www.irs.gov/publications/p587

The IRS explains: “Third party settlement organizations (TPSOs) (payment apps and online marketplaces) are required to report payments on Form 1099-K when the total amount of payments you receive for goods or services through the platform exceeds $20,000 in more than 200 transactions.” — Internal Revenue Service, Understanding your Form 1099-K, https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k

Related guides

• Dog Walker and Pet Sitter Entity and Estimated Taxes: The Sole Proprietor, the LLC for the Bite, the Walkers Who Join You, the Holiday Weeks, and the Tax Set Aside From Every Payout
• Dog Training Business Deductions: The Facility, the Equipment, the Yard at Home, and the Vehicle That Carries the Dogs
• Pet Grooming and Boarding Deductions: The Tables and Dryers, the Kennel Build-Out, the Mobile Van, the Tips on the Counter, and the Food You Buy for Other People's Dogs
• Business Mileage or Actual Costs: Deducting a Vehicle
• How to Report Self-Employment Income Without a 1099

Next step

Fairlight Accounting handles U.S. domestic, cross-border (U.S.–Canada), and international tax returns, plus bookkeeping, payroll, and CFO advisory. Our U.S. Tax Desk sets up the home office that unlocks the mileage and reconciles app payouts to gross income for sitters and walkers. See pricing or book a free fit call.