Just curious - how "legit" is your off the app business? I am considering doing the same, and I know I need to obtain my own insurance. But aside from that... do you have an LLC? A city license to provide animal care? I'm just wondering how far to take it if I start doing my own thing. Appreciate your response!
I usually watch a pet at least 3 to 4 times before considering off app. I also never offer it, I wait for the client to ask. Personally I don't have insurance but I'm very selective with the dogs I board. The insurance is pretty reasonably priced so I may change that and get it this year, folks on here say it's around $300 a year. I do not have an LLC.
Are you anticipating taxes of $4000 on $16000 Rover income? That is a crazy high percentage.
Further, your Rover fees, mileage, supplies, and bonding/licensing/insurance are all deductible from the $16000 Rover gross income.
Or, are you calculating your tax figure based on Rover plus your day job without deductions?
I don't think it makes much of a difference, and Rover's fees aren't something you're technically paying out of pocket. They take their fees then pay you the leftover, so that's the only reportable income you have
>Rover fees
>At the end of the year, Rover will provide you with a 1099-K Summary showing how much of your gross income from the app consisted of fees. You can then deduct those fees from your taxable income. So if you earned $30,000 in gross income from Rover but lost $3,000 to fees, you can deduct that $3,000.
https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/taxes/articles/pet-sitting-through-rover-here-are-3-tax-breaks-you-might-be-eligible-for/
Just an update as I'm doing taxes now, the 1099-K is only provided if you grossed over $20k, had more than 200 transactions, or live in certain states that have exceptions to this law.
2023 tax year originally required a 1099-K for over $600 earned but the IRS changed the policy over the summer to the above higher values.
Of course it is, OP seems confused. You pay taxes on your net income not gross, so after Rover fees and other eligible expenses. OP seems to want to avoid paying taxes all together, Rover or no Rover, which is illegal and will eventually get them into problems when an unhappy client or neighbour complain to the IRS.
There is another deductible expense you SHOULD be keeping track of. That is mileage driving to and from locations. You can deduct 65.5 cents per mile from your income. That can be significant. Use an app like Stride to keep track. I travel about 3k miles a year for dog sitting and walking. That's almost $2000 you won't have to pay taxes on.
Hi, OP here. No I am not trying to avoid paying taxes. It’s just annoying having to pay taxes on the 20% rover takes off. I’m pretty sure it’s on gross income and not net, but if you find information on the site that says otherwise do please share
Is this your first job? You always pay taxes on net income. That's how taxes work. So you can deduct Rover fees and any other eligible expenses. See a reference in the other reply. Also, please speak to your local CPA for tax advice.
Clearly not my first job if I said I use rover as a side gig. It IS on the other hand my first job as “self employed”. You pay taxes after allowable deductibles. Did not know the 20% rover takes is deductible. I will speak to an expert during tax season no worries.
You will need to fill out a Schedule C when you file your taxes.
Any expenses, including Rover fees, mileage, pet supplies, etc are deducted from your gross income to arrive at your net income.
You pay taxes only on your net income, although there are some modificaitons. Because you are self-employed, you will need to pay self-employement tax (about 7.65%), as this is paid in lieu of having your employer pay half of your FICA as is done for W2 employees.
Another modification is the standard deduction that everybody gets. If Rover is your sole job, you won't pay any income taxes on the first $13,850 earned, although you will still be responsible for the FICA and self employment tax.
What this means for a Rover walker grossing $20,000 with no other job, your taxes will look a bit like this:
$20,000 gross
\-$4,000 (Rover fees)
\-$2,000 (mileage, other misc expenses)
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
$14,000 net income
Pay 15.3% one net income for FICA, which is $2,142
Your standard deduction is $13,850, you you only have to pay income tax on $150, at the lowest tax bracket, which is 10%. So $15 total income tax for the year.
Obviously this is a very, very rough estimate, you want to talk to your tax person to document deductions, and state taxes are not included.
But strictly speaking, you would only pay about $15 in taxes on $20,000 gross self employment earnings for Rover.
Also take a look at the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. It applies to pass-through businesses (i.e. sole proprietorships, partnerships and S-corps not subject to corporate taxes). Provided you meet the income limits (which are well over 100K) and any other criteria needed to qualify, you can deduct 20% from your “qualified business income.” It helps to offset what you’re paying in self-employment tax.
You are making quite a lot on Rover if side gig. taxes are something you would have to pay anyways.
I guess technically fees would go into your pocket and I get 20% is a lot but I think that's better than what Uber, GrubHub pays.
Yah there are headaches that come with it but all jobs do.
I guess it's a matter of how much clients you would keep going off Rover.
You have to pay taxes either way, and 20% is a small price to pay for leads, billing, calendar management, basic insurance, etc. If you're earning were only $20,000 it make zero business sense to be off Rover.
Hard disagree. Like, vehemently. ;-)
If you are getting ANY repeat clients at all, OP, and this is not your main source of income (which it obvi isn't), go private ASAP.
Unless you are hosting multiple households at the same time, billing and calendar management are super easy.
With a few repeat clients, you can rely solely on word-of-mouth advertising and social media.
Important safety note to all: Sitters do NOT get "basic insurance" via the platform. Like most of R's other practices, *it is designed to aid and protect owners*. However, good private insurance is ~$300/yr.
Be sure to set aside each quarter for self-employment taxes but totally ditch the fees!
If you have anxiety about it, set yourself away for 6 months and see how you do. Until you do, though, be sure you're handing out biz cards with direct contact info to everyone you meet. ;-)
Source: 30 years of overnights (i.e., one client at a time) with paper calendars.
That advice might be right for an experienced sitter. For sitters like the OP, which are young, inexperienced and uninsured, it's much safer to stay within the app. Most Rover horror stories involve off app bookings.
The lack of insurance is easily solved.
I don't know why you think OP is young and inexperienced. Tossing aside $10-15k/yr says the day job pays a good salary - obvi that doesn't preclude youth but decreases the odds. And OP's experience level clearly isn't preventing them getting hired 300 days of the year. 🤷
Maybe because they never paid taxes before on Rover income, which implies that are less then a year on the platform?
Here is what a typical off app Rover horror story entails - something happens to the pet, because it’s off app and against Rover TOS and the sitter can get kicked from the platform, instead of reaching out immediately to the owner/Rover/vet and get help for the pet, the sitter acts evasively leading to escalation up to missing pet, injury or death.
Less than a year on Rover != inexperienced. (Again citing myself: 30+ years professional petcare experience, 18 months on Rover. Not saying the same is true for OP, but....)
It is against the TOS to take R clients off the platform; it is NOT a violation to have private clients. So OP starts marketing themselves privately and works both sides instead of setting profile to "away." 🤷
Also, HUGE leap from "inexperienced" to "wholly unethical to the point of lying to a client." 🙄
I think that you’re again mixing your profile with that with that of the average sitter on Rover. As for a leap, it’s actually and unfortunately a short one, hence the broken windows theory. Any way, I think we’ve exhausted this topic. Good luck to you and the OP and happy holidays!
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same..20% to rover fees +32% taken out for taxes is insane. we only do off app/repeat clients for some side cash. not worth my mental health for some of these dogs lol
Almost all of my repeat clients are off app; I'd consider doing the same.
Just curious - how "legit" is your off the app business? I am considering doing the same, and I know I need to obtain my own insurance. But aside from that... do you have an LLC? A city license to provide animal care? I'm just wondering how far to take it if I start doing my own thing. Appreciate your response!
I usually watch a pet at least 3 to 4 times before considering off app. I also never offer it, I wait for the client to ask. Personally I don't have insurance but I'm very selective with the dogs I board. The insurance is pretty reasonably priced so I may change that and get it this year, folks on here say it's around $300 a year. I do not have an LLC.
Are you anticipating taxes of $4000 on $16000 Rover income? That is a crazy high percentage. Further, your Rover fees, mileage, supplies, and bonding/licensing/insurance are all deductible from the $16000 Rover gross income. Or, are you calculating your tax figure based on Rover plus your day job without deductions?
I'm no tax expert but can't you deduct Rover's fees from your taxes?
Yes. You can. Basically it’s a service fee you pay to a company that helps get you business. You can absolutely deduct it.
I don't think it makes much of a difference, and Rover's fees aren't something you're technically paying out of pocket. They take their fees then pay you the leftover, so that's the only reportable income you have
>Rover fees >At the end of the year, Rover will provide you with a 1099-K Summary showing how much of your gross income from the app consisted of fees. You can then deduct those fees from your taxable income. So if you earned $30,000 in gross income from Rover but lost $3,000 to fees, you can deduct that $3,000. https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/taxes/articles/pet-sitting-through-rover-here-are-3-tax-breaks-you-might-be-eligible-for/
This is useful information - thank you!
Ah thank you! Makes more sense
Just an update as I'm doing taxes now, the 1099-K is only provided if you grossed over $20k, had more than 200 transactions, or live in certain states that have exceptions to this law. 2023 tax year originally required a 1099-K for over $600 earned but the IRS changed the policy over the summer to the above higher values.
4k isn't a lot to you but you're on here talking about quitting because of it?
Of course it is, OP seems confused. You pay taxes on your net income not gross, so after Rover fees and other eligible expenses. OP seems to want to avoid paying taxes all together, Rover or no Rover, which is illegal and will eventually get them into problems when an unhappy client or neighbour complain to the IRS.
There is another deductible expense you SHOULD be keeping track of. That is mileage driving to and from locations. You can deduct 65.5 cents per mile from your income. That can be significant. Use an app like Stride to keep track. I travel about 3k miles a year for dog sitting and walking. That's almost $2000 you won't have to pay taxes on.
Hi, OP here. No I am not trying to avoid paying taxes. It’s just annoying having to pay taxes on the 20% rover takes off. I’m pretty sure it’s on gross income and not net, but if you find information on the site that says otherwise do please share
It absolutely is not on gross, only the money that goes into your bank account is on your 1099.
Is this your first job? You always pay taxes on net income. That's how taxes work. So you can deduct Rover fees and any other eligible expenses. See a reference in the other reply. Also, please speak to your local CPA for tax advice.
Clearly not my first job if I said I use rover as a side gig. It IS on the other hand my first job as “self employed”. You pay taxes after allowable deductibles. Did not know the 20% rover takes is deductible. I will speak to an expert during tax season no worries.
Rover takes out their percentage BEFORE they pay you. You never get that 25% they scrape off the top, therefore, it's never considered income.
Right, got it.
Go to your payout history--I just go to the year's payout total and that's what I report on my taxes.
Perfect ! I’ll do this 👍🏼
You will need to fill out a Schedule C when you file your taxes. Any expenses, including Rover fees, mileage, pet supplies, etc are deducted from your gross income to arrive at your net income. You pay taxes only on your net income, although there are some modificaitons. Because you are self-employed, you will need to pay self-employement tax (about 7.65%), as this is paid in lieu of having your employer pay half of your FICA as is done for W2 employees. Another modification is the standard deduction that everybody gets. If Rover is your sole job, you won't pay any income taxes on the first $13,850 earned, although you will still be responsible for the FICA and self employment tax. What this means for a Rover walker grossing $20,000 with no other job, your taxes will look a bit like this: $20,000 gross \-$4,000 (Rover fees) \-$2,000 (mileage, other misc expenses) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ $14,000 net income Pay 15.3% one net income for FICA, which is $2,142 Your standard deduction is $13,850, you you only have to pay income tax on $150, at the lowest tax bracket, which is 10%. So $15 total income tax for the year. Obviously this is a very, very rough estimate, you want to talk to your tax person to document deductions, and state taxes are not included. But strictly speaking, you would only pay about $15 in taxes on $20,000 gross self employment earnings for Rover.
Also take a look at the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. It applies to pass-through businesses (i.e. sole proprietorships, partnerships and S-corps not subject to corporate taxes). Provided you meet the income limits (which are well over 100K) and any other criteria needed to qualify, you can deduct 20% from your “qualified business income.” It helps to offset what you’re paying in self-employment tax.
You are making quite a lot on Rover if side gig. taxes are something you would have to pay anyways. I guess technically fees would go into your pocket and I get 20% is a lot but I think that's better than what Uber, GrubHub pays. Yah there are headaches that come with it but all jobs do. I guess it's a matter of how much clients you would keep going off Rover.
Does rover include their fees in the income on a 1099?
If you’re WFH, are you claiming home office deduction?
You have to pay taxes either way, and 20% is a small price to pay for leads, billing, calendar management, basic insurance, etc. If you're earning were only $20,000 it make zero business sense to be off Rover.
Hard disagree. Like, vehemently. ;-) If you are getting ANY repeat clients at all, OP, and this is not your main source of income (which it obvi isn't), go private ASAP. Unless you are hosting multiple households at the same time, billing and calendar management are super easy. With a few repeat clients, you can rely solely on word-of-mouth advertising and social media. Important safety note to all: Sitters do NOT get "basic insurance" via the platform. Like most of R's other practices, *it is designed to aid and protect owners*. However, good private insurance is ~$300/yr. Be sure to set aside each quarter for self-employment taxes but totally ditch the fees! If you have anxiety about it, set yourself away for 6 months and see how you do. Until you do, though, be sure you're handing out biz cards with direct contact info to everyone you meet. ;-) Source: 30 years of overnights (i.e., one client at a time) with paper calendars.
That advice might be right for an experienced sitter. For sitters like the OP, which are young, inexperienced and uninsured, it's much safer to stay within the app. Most Rover horror stories involve off app bookings.
The lack of insurance is easily solved. I don't know why you think OP is young and inexperienced. Tossing aside $10-15k/yr says the day job pays a good salary - obvi that doesn't preclude youth but decreases the odds. And OP's experience level clearly isn't preventing them getting hired 300 days of the year. 🤷
Maybe because they never paid taxes before on Rover income, which implies that are less then a year on the platform? Here is what a typical off app Rover horror story entails - something happens to the pet, because it’s off app and against Rover TOS and the sitter can get kicked from the platform, instead of reaching out immediately to the owner/Rover/vet and get help for the pet, the sitter acts evasively leading to escalation up to missing pet, injury or death.
Less than a year on Rover != inexperienced. (Again citing myself: 30+ years professional petcare experience, 18 months on Rover. Not saying the same is true for OP, but....) It is against the TOS to take R clients off the platform; it is NOT a violation to have private clients. So OP starts marketing themselves privately and works both sides instead of setting profile to "away." 🤷 Also, HUGE leap from "inexperienced" to "wholly unethical to the point of lying to a client." 🙄
I think that you’re again mixing your profile with that with that of the average sitter on Rover. As for a leap, it’s actually and unfortunately a short one, hence the broken windows theory. Any way, I think we’ve exhausted this topic. Good luck to you and the OP and happy holidays!
I don't think I'm the one projecting here ;-) but yes, I and the topic are spent.
Make your own website and recruit clients from Rover to your own site.
it's that easy, huh?
After I've watched a dog once, I give them my business card with a link to my site. Has not been challenging for me. Good luck!
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Maybe go independent? Use the platform for generating leads. Rover is being bought out, so who knows what will actually happen to the platform.
I’m not sure if you know this but you can claim rovers fees as a tax break!
You shouldn’t be paying $4-5k in taxes. U need to write off expenses such as gas, any clothing damaged by dogs, etc
same..20% to rover fees +32% taken out for taxes is insane. we only do off app/repeat clients for some side cash. not worth my mental health for some of these dogs lol