Verified on Sep 16, 2026
You feed, water, and check on pets in an owner's home, or stay overnight there. It isn't boarding at your place. No source publishes a sitter's pay.
You go to a pet owner’s home while they are away. You feed the pet, give it water, and clean up after it.
Some visits are short. You arrive, do your tasks, and leave. This is called a drop-in visit.
Other jobs run longer. You sleep in the owner’s home overnight, sometimes for several nights in a row. This is an overnight stay.
This page covers care inside the pet owner’s own home. It does not cover keeping a pet at your own home instead. New York City has a rule for that kind of work. A place where animals stay for a fee is a boarding business there. It needs a permit.
This page does not cover dog walking as its own job. See Walk Dogs on Your Own for that gig instead.
You work straight for the pet owner, with no booking platform between you. Before the first visit, you and the owner settle exactly what you will do. Feeding, freshening water, and scooping a litter box are common tasks. Giving medicine is common too, when a pet needs it. Some owners also want a short walk or some play time.
You may care for dogs, cats, or both.
There is no single number for this trade. We looked at two things: federal wage tables, and the pricing pages of two pet-care companies. Neither one states what a self-employed sitter actually clears.
One close government figure exists for a related job: animal caretaker. That is the kind of employee a kennel, shelter, or grooming shop hires and pays by the hour. Those staff earned $17.94 an hour on average in 2025, which comes to $37,300 over a year. That is a hired worker’s wage. It is not what a sitter who visits an owner’s home and sets a price will earn.
In practice, price depends on the visit. One pet-care company lets sitters post a starting price, and those prices differ a lot from city to city. That same guide quotes a veterinarian and a working pet sitter. Both say more time with the pet, or tasks like giving medicine, are reasons to charge more.
An overnight stay is billed differently. It is usually a per-hour or per-day rate, set before the sitter moves in for the night. A sitter quoted there splits an overnight day rate by the hours worked. It comes out higher than a usual visit. Insurance, and being able to show proof of it, is another reason a sitter can ask for more.
A second pet-care platform also runs overnight sitting inside the owner’s home, and leaves the rate to the sitter.
The price an owner pays you is gross pay. Take-home pay is the part left once taxes and costs come out. One of those taxes is self-employment tax, 15.3%, owed on top of regular income tax. The downsides below cover what else comes out.
You and the owner agree on how you get paid. Cash in hand works. So does a check or a payment app. Settle it before the first visit, not after the stay.
Once your net self-employment earnings reach $400 in a year, the IRS expects a return. Net earnings is what is left after you subtract your costs from what you charged. Two forms come into play. Schedule C reports the income itself. Schedule SE works out the 15.3% self-employment tax. For your own return, ask a tax preparer.
Basic gear does not cost much. A portable lock box for a house key costs $44.92 at one lock maker’s own store. Insurance is optional and is covered in the questions below.
This fits you if you like animals and enjoy a quiet routine.
It fits someone happy to price each job by its length and type.
It fits someone who can show up at the times an owner sets for meals and medicine.
You do not need to walk for miles here. See Walk Dogs on Your Own if walking dogs is the job you want instead.
Finding your own customers is part of the job. No app lines up bookings for you.
See more caregiving and pet gigs like this one, including visiting older adults with Papa.
Skip this if holding a stranger’s house key alone makes you uneasy.
Skip this if you are allergic to cats or dogs. Fur and dander can be part of a visit.
Skip this if you cannot sleep well away from your own bed.
Skip this if you cannot follow written notes closely. Feeding amounts and medicine times matter to an owner.
Skip this if a sick or hurt pet on your watch would be too stressful to handle.
Skip this if your bills need the same amount every month. Nobody books you on a set schedule.
Skip this if you plan to keep pets overnight at your own home instead. That is different work, tied to a New York City permit rule. Check your own city first.
Skip this if you expect someone to pay you to start. Real work pays you, not the other way around. Read Scams That Look Like Side Gigs for more warning signs.
Day 1. Pick up a portable lock box for the house key. It runs $44.92.
Day 2. Call your city or county about any pet-care or boarding rule that might apply.
Day 3. Set two prices: one for a drop-in visit, one for an overnight stay.
Day 4. Mention pet sitting to five people you see often, like neighbors or coworkers.
Day 5. Meet the pet and owner in person. Agree on the price and how you will be paid. Get the house key and their care notes.
Day 6. Do the visit, or begin the overnight stay, following the notes exactly.
Day 7. Collect payment for the visit or stay. Move a share of it to a tax pot right away.
A portable lock box holds a house key safe outside a client’s door. You skip carrying a ring of keys.
A small pet first-aid kit keeps basic supplies close for a minor scrape. Call the owner and their vet for anything more.
Bring your own leash, collar, or harness, in case the owner’s gear breaks or a pet needs a bathroom break.
Keep a notebook or phone app for feeding and medicine notes, so instructions do not get mixed up.
An overnight bag is worth packing if you stay the night. Pack it like a short trip.
Pet-sitting insurance is optional. One insurer sells it for $29.43 a month.
Your tax bill comes later, all at once. No one takes the 15.3% self-employment tax out as you go. It sits on top of regular income tax. Time behind the wheel between houses is unpaid, and so is every text you answer or price you quote. A lock box or a first-aid kit wears out eventually and has to be replaced.
There is no steady paycheck, and nobody guarantees you work.
A pet can get sick, get hurt, or run off while it is in your care. You are the one there when it happens.
You hold other people’s keys. A visit or a stay can mean letting yourself into an empty home.
If you get sick, the pets still need to eat. You earn nothing that day, and you must find a backup sitter the owner trusts.
Rules can differ by place. We checked only Texas, Florida, and New York City. Check your own city or county before your first job.
Do I need a license to pet sit? Texas lists no pet-sitting license, and neither does Florida. Those are the only two states we looked at. Check your own city or county before your first job.
How do I set my price? You pick it. One pet-care company’s rate guide says an overnight stay is priced by the hour or the day. That price is agreed before the stay. The same guide says giving medicine and carrying insurance can raise the price.
Do I need insurance? No legal page we checked for this trade names it as required. One insurer prices coverage at $29.43 a month, or $332.20 a year. Buying it is up to you.
Does the IRS need to know about pet-sitting money? Yes, once you net $400 or more from self-employment in a year, you must file a return. Income goes on Schedule C and the self-employment tax on Schedule SE. A tax preparer can walk you through both.
Is this the same as boarding a pet at my own home? No. This page covers visits and stays inside the pet owner’s home. New York City treats a place where animals stay for a fee as a boarding business needing a permit. Call your own city before keeping a pet at your own address instead.
You set the price
You walk dogs for owners who hire you straight, no app between you. A walk is priced by its length, your area, and whether the dog walks alone or with others. No company or the government publishes what a solo dog walker takes home. You need only a leash and bags to start, no vehicle required.
$4 an hour
$4.00 an hour is the rate AmeriCorps uses to build its grant budgets, not a promise to any one volunteer.
You spend a few hours a week helping an older adult or a child one to one. If your income is low enough, you get a small tax-free stipend. It is budgeted at $4 an hour and does not count against other benefits.
$13-18 an hour
Papa states this as its base pay.
You visit older adults to talk, run errands, and sometimes drive them places. Papa says base pay is $13 to $18 an hour, but it also advertises a much higher number it never explains. You need an insured car and a driver's license to do this job.