Pets aren’t just cute companions; they're your co-pilots on road trips, cozy lap buddies during winter, and sometimes, real heroes.
If you’re a tax-paying pet parent in the U.S., and your pets also act as service animals, you may be wondering if your pet can also get you a tax break. Let’s get started answering all your questions.
First off, here’s the most important information you need to know:
Service animals can score you tax deductions if they help with a specific disability.
Emotional support animals, who don’t have specific training, don’t usually qualify for deductions.
If your pet makes the cut, you can deduct things like food, vet bills, and more.
Do service dogs count?
Service animals, like guide dogs, are lifelines for people dealing with specific disabilities. They alert, guide, and offer emotional support, especially for people with conditions like PTSD.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are dogs “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.” This includes guiding the blind, alerting the deaf, pulling wheelchairs, or providing comfort during seizures or anxiety attacks.
These animals aren’t just pets: they're working animals allowed where pets aren’t. So, if you have a service animal “primarily for medical care to alleviate a mental defect or illness,” and you can prove it, you might be able to get a tax break for pet-related expenses.
What about emotional support animals?
Now, if your pet is more of a therapy buddy, offering comfort without specific training, they're probably not going to help with tax deductions. That’s because, however helpful emotional support animals (ESAs) may be, they’re technically seen as pets, not service animals.
How does a pet qualify as a service animal for a tax deduction?
For your pet to qualify as a service animal for a tax deduction, the following conditions must be met:
1. You must have a medical condition: A doctor should diagnose you and recommend an animal for treatment.
2. The treatment must be linked to the condition: If others with your condition have used pets for similar treatments, your chances of getting a tax break will be higher.
3. The treatment must be proven to work: If your condition has improved with your pet around, that’s a win.
Deductible pet expenses
If the IRS recognizes your pet as a service animal, you can deduct expenses like:
Food
Grooming
Training
Buying the animal
Vet bills and medical care
Boarding
Supplies like leashes, vests, or harnesses
Other miscellaneous costs
How to deduct your pet’s expenses
If your pet qualifies, and you're ready to make those deductions, here’s one final tip: itemize your deductions instead of taking the standard deduction, but only do this if your total itemized deductions are higher than the standard deduction.
For the 2023 tax year, the standard deduction is $13,850 for individuals and $27,700 for married taxpayers. Don’t forget to review all your medical costs. If you've got a diagnosed condition needing a service animal, you might have other medical expenses to deduct.
Deduct your pet expenses under medical expenses, which means Schedule A on Form 1040.