The mileage nobody logs
Six short drives a day between bookings is thousands of deductible miles a year. Start counting.
Short trips, cash-feeling payouts, and a platform that keeps 20% before you ever see the money. The tax math on pet care is small per job and very large per year.
Get started — from $19/mo No credit card required · Cancel anytimeThe platform takes its service fee. Then self-employment tax takes 15.3% of your net. Then income tax. Walkers who don't track mileage are handing back the one deduction that would have offset most of it.
Pet care income is self-employment income from the first booking. There's no withholding, no employer match, and no reminder — just four quarterly deadlines and a return in April.
Mileage between back-to-back clients is the single most under-claimed deduction in this category. Six short drives a day is a five-figure deduction over a year, and almost nobody captures it.
Every drive from one booking to the next. Short trips, tracked all year, are the whole game.
Leashes, harnesses, waste bags, treats, toys, towels, and cleaning products.
Liability coverage and bonding beyond what a platform provides.
Pet first aid and CPR, handling and behavior training, background check fees.
Business-use share of your phone, plus GPS tracking and scheduling software.
Shirts, jackets, and signage with your business name — not everyday clothing.
If you board at home, the share of home expenses tied to that use.
The cut Rover or Wag takes before payout is a deductible business expense.
The rules changed for 2026. The 1099-NEC threshold moved from $600 to $2,000, and the 1099-K threshold went back to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions.
With the 1099-NEC threshold now at $2,000 and the 1099-K threshold at $20,000 with 200 transactions, most part-time walkers will receive no tax form at all. The income is still fully reportable. No form does not mean no obligation.
The rule that didn't move: all income is reportable whether or not a platform sends you a form. If your books are the only record, your books had better be right.
Here's what the year looks like when someone else holds the calendar.
Prepared by licensed CPAs and EAs who handle dog walkers & pet sitters constantly — not a seasonal preparer meeting your situation for the first time.
Your return comes out of reconciled monthly records, so nothing is reconstructed from memory in March.
On the Professional plan, a CPA reviews the return before it is filed.
Included on the Professional plan, so a notice is a phone call rather than a crisis.
Tax Hotline access on every plan. Ask before you sign the deal, buy the equipment, or take the write-off.
Keeps your records clean and current so you always know where you stand.
Builds the year-round strategy that shrinks the bill through planning, not scrambling.
Files accurately and on time, claiming every deduction you have earned.
Keeps everything on track and nudges you when we need something.
We handle the tax side of whatever they pay you.
Six short drives a day between bookings is thousands of deductible miles a year. Start counting.
Service fees, gross bookings, and which number belongs on your return.
The thresholds moved for 2026. Part-time sitters are the most affected — and the most exposed.