Self-employed pet sitter: How to correctly claim business mileage deductions

You can absolutely deduct mileage from your home to client houses even without claiming the home office deduction! Since your business is mobile by nature (pet sitting at various locations), your "primary place of business" is actually considered to be wherever your clients are located. For pet sitters and similar service businesses, the IRS generally treats each client location as a temporary work location. This means your drives from home to clients are considered business mileage, not commuting. The key is that you don't have another regular place of business outside your home. Keep tracking all those miles from your home to client houses - that's exactly right for your situation. On days when you only visit one client, those miles are still deductible business expenses. Your mileage isn't excessive; it's just the nature of your business! Make sure you're keeping good records with dates, starting/ending odometer readings, and the business purpose for each trip. Also track any miles between clients when you go from one appointment to another.

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Pet sitter here for 5 years! Pro tip: get the MileIQ app to track your miles automatically. Saved me so much hassle. And yes, you can totally deduct home-to-client miles without the home office deduction. My tax person confirmed this is legit for our type of business. For Schedule C, you'll report your total business miles on Part IV, and calculate the deduction (standard mileage rate is 65.5 cents per mile for 2023). Just make sure you have good records - date, mileage, and business purpose for each trip. My mileage deduction was over $8,000 last year - it's usually one of my biggest tax breaks!

From my experience as a mobile notary, CPA told me something different from what others are saying here. He said I can only deduct home to client mileage IF I have a qualified home office (separate space used EXCLUSIVELY for business). Otherwise my first and last trips of day are considered commuting and not deductible??? Now I'm confused again. Maybe different rules for different mobile businesses? Or did my CPA give me bad advice?

Great question! I went through this exact same confusion when I started my mobile dog training business. The key distinction that helped me understand it is that for truly mobile businesses like pet sitting, your clients' homes ARE your workplace - not just places you occasionally visit. Since you don't have a separate business location (like an office or storefront) where you regularly conduct business, and your pet sitting services can ONLY be performed at client locations, the IRS treats each client's home as a temporary work location. This means your drives from home are business travel, not commuting. The home office deduction is completely separate from this mileage issue. You don't need to claim it to deduct your travel miles. Your living room desk setup is perfectly fine as your administrative base without needing to be a formal "home office." One thing that really helped me was keeping a simple log: date, client name, starting/ending odometer reading, and total business miles. On single-client days, those miles are just as deductible as multi-client days. Your CPA appointment in March will definitely confirm this, but you're absolutely on the right track with tracking all those miles from home to clients. Don't second-guess yourself - that mileage adds up to significant tax savings for mobile service businesses like ours!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who's been running a mobile pet grooming business for 3 years - you're absolutely right to track all those miles from home to clients! The confusion often comes from CPAs who deal mainly with traditional businesses that have fixed office locations. For truly mobile service businesses like pet sitting, dog walking, mobile grooming, etc., the rules are different because our "office" is wherever our clients are. I track every single mile from my house to client locations, even on days when I only have one appointment. Last year my mileage deduction was over $12,000 - it's typically my largest business expense! The IRS has never questioned it because it's completely legitimate for our type of work. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given: make sure you're also tracking any stops you make for business supplies between clients (pet store runs, gas stations, etc.). Those miles count too! And if you ever drive directly from one client to another without going home first, those are definitely business miles. Your record-keeping sounds solid. The key is being able to show the business purpose for each trip, which is easy for pet sitters since every trip is to provide services to a client. Keep doing what you're doing - you'll be in great shape when tax time comes!

As someone who's been through multiple IRS audits for my mobile business (not by choice!), I can confirm that tracking mileage from home to clients is absolutely legitimate for pet sitting businesses. The auditors actually complimented my documentation system because I had clear records showing each trip was for a specific client appointment. What really sealed it for me was when the auditor explained that since pet sitting can ONLY be performed at the client's location (you can't bring someone's cat to your house for sitting!), every trip from your home base to provide services is considered business travel, not commuting. Here's what I learned saves time and headaches: create a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, client name, starting odometer, ending odometer, total miles, and purpose. For repeat clients, I calculate the round-trip distance once and just reference it. Takes maybe 2 minutes per day to maintain. The fact that you're asking these questions and tracking everything from the start puts you way ahead of most new business owners. Your CPA will definitely confirm what everyone here is telling you, but you can feel confident moving forward with those deductions. The mileage savings alone will probably be one of your biggest tax benefits! Don't let the complexity scare you - mobile service businesses like ours are supposed to have high mileage. It's the nature of what we do.