Tax for dog walkers and pet sitters
Reviewed by Rob Webb, practising accountant since 2015 · Last reviewed September 2026 · Figures are for the 2026/27 tax yearReviewed by Rob Webb, practising accountant since 2015 · Last reviewed September 2026 · Figures are for the 2026/27 tax yearEarn £1,000 or less a year from dogs? Walking, sitting and boarding added together. If so, the trading allowance covers it: no registration and no tax return.
Earn more than that? You must register, but you may still owe nothing. On £14,300 of takings with £3,765 of costs, the tax bill for 2026/27 is nil.
Want to check your own costs? See what you can claim as a dog walker →
Start here, because for a lot of people the honest answer is no.
The trading allowance gives you £1,000 of gross trading income a year, tax free, with no return to file. If you walk two dogs for a neighbour on weekday lunchtimes and take £18 a walk, you will be under. If you feed cats for a few holidays a year, you will be under.
Three things to hold on to:
The £1,000 is on gross takings, before you take off petrol, treats or insurance. Take £1,450 and spend £600, and you are over — the test looks at £1,450.
It covers all your self-employment added together, not £1,000 per activity. Dog walking plus selling on Vinted plus a bit of gardening all share the same £1,000.
It is separate from the £1,000 property allowance. Those are two distinct allowances of £1,000 each.
The government announced in March 2025 that the reporting threshold would rise to £3,000. No start date has been confirmed on gov.uk, so £1,000 is the operative figure for 2026/27.
| Walking and sitting takings, 2026/27 | £940 |
| Trading allowance | £1,000 |
| Taxable amount | Nil |
| Return required for this income | No |
Keep a simple record anyway. If next year's takings reach £1,200 you will need to register, and you want to know the month you crossed the line.
A walker with a regular round of four or five dogs a day, plus holiday boarding, in 2026/27.
| Takings for the year | £14,300 |
| Mileage — 5,400 business miles at 55p | £2,970 |
| Pet business insurance including care, custody and control | £185 |
| Leads, harnesses, waste bags, treats, towels, crates | £310 |
| Phone and booking or GPS tracking app | £180 |
| Working from home flat rate, £10 a month | £120 |
| Total expenses | £3,765 |
| Profit | £10,535 |
| Less personal allowance | £12,570 |
| Taxable profit | Nil |
| Income tax | £0 |
| Class 4 National Insurance | £0 |
| Total due | Nil |
Two things to notice. First, there is tax to declare but no tax to pay — the profit is inside the £12,570 personal allowance, and Class 4 National Insurance also only starts at £12,570. The return is still required, because gross takings are over £1,000.
Second, the profit is above the Small Profits Threshold of £7,105, so Class 2 National Insurance is treated as paid at no cost. That is quietly valuable: it builds a qualifying year towards the State Pension without you paying anything.
If your profit is below £7,105 nothing is due, but the year will not count. Voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week is available to protect the record if you want it.
This example assumes the personal allowance is not already used elsewhere. If you also have a job or a pension, that income uses the allowance first and the walking profit is taxed on top.
| What you can claim | What to watch |
|---|---|
| Mileage between clients at 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p after | This is the largest claim most walkers have. Keep a log of date, route and miles. Once you use the flat rate for a vehicle you must keep using it for that vehicle and cannot also claim capital allowances on it |
| Van or car crates, guards, boot liners, ramps, seat covers | Fitting out a personal car for dog transport is business spending; claim only the business share of a shared vehicle |
| Pet business insurance — public liability plus care, custody and control | Ordinary pet insurance for your own dog is a private cost |
| DBS check where a client, council or franchise requires it | Personal documents such as a passport or driving licence renewal are not allowable |
| Council licence for home boarding or day care under animal activity licensing, and the vet inspection fee it involves | Your council sets the fee and the renewal period. Budget for it, and keep the licence with your records |
| Leads, slip leads, harnesses, poo bags, treats, toys, towels, drying coats | Food and toys for your own pets are not claimable |
| Canine first aid course, animal care CPD, professional association membership | — |
| Extra washing, drying and van cleaning caused by wet dogs | Claim a fair business share of household costs, not the whole utility bill |
| Working from home flat rate — £10 a month for 25–50 hours, £18 for 51–100 hours, £26 for 101+ | Covers bookings, admin and client messages done at home. No flat rate below 25 hours. Excludes phone and internet, claimed separately as a business share |
| Booking software, GPS tracking apps, website, local advertising, printed cards | — |
Assuming you are below the trading allowance when you are not.
The threshold is on gross takings and it catches people out in two ways.
It is easy to add up wrong. Four walks a week at £15 is £60. Over 46 weeks that is £2,760 — nearly three times the allowance, from what feels like a favour for neighbours. Holiday boarding is worse, because a fortnight of overnight sitting at £35 a night is £490 from one booking.
And it is all your self-employment combined, not just the dogs. A walker who also sells homemade dog treats at a market, or does a few hours of cleaning, adds those in before testing the £1,000.
If you are over, you must register by 5 October after the end of that tax year. Filing late costs £100 straight away even when, as in the example above, there is no tax to pay at all. That is the most avoidable penalty in this trade: a nil return filed on time costs nothing.
Probably not, for now. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is phased in on qualifying income — gross self-employment turnover plus gross property income added together, before expenses, as shown on your previous year's return.
Anyone whose qualifying income is £20,000 or below is outside Making Tax Digital altogether as the rules stand. The walker on £14,300 of takings above stays on the ordinary annual return. A larger walking business with staff, or a walker who also lets a property, could easily go over — remember the property rent is added to the walking takings for the test.
If you are brought in, quarterly updates are due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, each one cumulative from the start of the tax year, with the final declaration still due 31 January.
If your takings are under £1,000, you need nothing — not us, not HMRC, not software. Keep a note of what you took and revisit it next year.
If you are over £1,000 but your profit is inside the personal allowance and your figures are takings, mileage, insurance and a few supplies, the free HMRC online return is the right tool. A nil return takes well under an hour, and paying a monthly fee to file a return with no tax on it is hard to justify.
If you have a job on PAYE and walk a couple of dogs on the side under £1,000, you have nothing extra to file.
Come to us, or to any accountant, when the business grows past one person: taking on walkers, running licensed boarding from premises, buying a van, or crossing into Making Tax Digital. That is where the decisions start to cost real money.
No. £800 is inside the £1,000 trading allowance, so there is no registration and no return for that income. Keep a record in case you grow past £1,000 in a later year.
Yes, where a client, a council or a franchise requires it for the work. It is a cost of trading. Personal identity documents you would hold anyway are not deductible.
Usually yes. Home boarding and day care for dogs are licensable animal activities and your local council runs the scheme, including an inspection. The council sets the fee. Arrange it before you take bookings — this is a licensing requirement rather than a tax one.
No. Food, vet bills, insurance and toys for your own pets are private costs. Equipment you buy for client dogs is a business cost.
At the 2026/27 rates, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p a mile after that. Keep a log of dates and journeys. Once you claim the flat rate for a vehicle you must continue with it for that vehicle and cannot also claim capital allowances on it.
Yes, once you are required to register. A nil return still has to be filed, and the late filing penalty of £100 applies even when there is no tax due.
If you are under £1,000 you do not need Filed Tax. If you are over it, we file Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital returns for dog walkers, sitters and boarders. £25 a month covers all four quarterly updates, the final declaration, unlimited questions and deadline reminders, and the first month is free. Call 020 3637 6060.
Rob is a Certified Xero Advisor with a BSc from the University of Salford. Last reviewed September 2026 against GOV.UK guidance current at that date. This guide is general information, not personal tax advice. Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year and can change at each Budget — always confirm the current numbers on GOV.UK or ask us to check your situation.