How to start a pet sitting business in Illinois (2026)

1Pet sitting demand in Illinois

About 51% of Illinois households own at least one pet. O'Hare and Midway make Chicago one of the busiest travel hubs in the country, so Thanksgiving, the winter holidays, spring break and summer bring waves of overnight requests from the city, the North Shore and DuPage County. Consultants who fly out Monday and back Thursday need recurring drop-ins more than walks. Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago and Scott Air Force Base near Belleville add military families who travel and move on short notice, and Champaign-Urbana staff book sits around university breaks.

The biggest markets: Chicago (North Side and downtown), North Shore suburbs, Western suburbs (DuPage County), Downstate college and capital towns.

2Can you board pets at home in Illinois?

Sitting in the client's home needs no state license. Boarding at your home is different. Illinois's Animal Welfare Act defines a kennel operator as anyone running an establishment where dogs, or dogs and cats, are kept for boarding or training for a fee, and boarding means more than 12 hours or overnight. The definitions set no minimum number of animals and no private-home exception, so even one paying overnight guest may need a Department of Agriculture license (listed at $350, with an inspection). In Chicago, the city's Animal Care license ($275 for two years, inspected by Chicago Animal Care and Control) covers boarding, and a city home business fact sheet lists animal services among activities not allowed as a home occupation, so ask BACP first. Suburbs handle it through zoning, and condo boards and leases often forbid it.

3Set up your business in Illinois

• File an LLC. $150 one-time filing with the Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services. It separates your personal assets from the business, which matters when you hold clients' keys.
• Recurring entity cost: $75/year, annual report filed with the Illinois Secretary of State before the first day of your LLC's anniversary month.
• Get an EIN from the IRS. It is free and takes about 10 minutes online.
• City or county business license: Chicago requires a city business license for most service businesses, usually a two-year Limited Business License from the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP). Grooming, boarding, training or daycare in Chicago needs an Animal Care license instead ($275 for two years, with an inspection by Chicago Animal Care and Control). Suburbs set their own rules, and many require only a simple registration or home occupation permit.

Illinois-specific: The annual report is due before the first day of the month your LLC was formed, not on a fixed statewide date, so put it on your calendar the day you file. Missing it adds a late penalty and can lead to administrative dissolution, and reinstating a dissolved LLC costs $200. Illinois fees were cut in 2017, so older guides that quote $500 to form and $250 a year are out of date.

4Taxes for Illinois pet sitters

Sales tax: Illinois does not tax sales of service, so dog walking, drop-ins, pet sitting, boarding and the labor part of grooming are not subject to sales tax. What Illinois does tax is tangible property: treats, food, leashes or shampoo you sell are taxed at 6.25% plus local rates, and products you hand over as part of a service fall under the Service Occupation Tax. Most walkers and groomers whose supplies are a small share of their revenue just pay tax when they buy those supplies. Look up your local rate with IDOR's Tax Rate Finder and check with an Illinois accountant if you sell retail.

State income tax: Flat-rate state income tax.

Other taxes worth knowing: Illinois income tax is a flat 4.95%. If your LLC is taxed as a partnership (two or more members) or you elect S corporation status, the business also owes the 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax on its income. A single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship does not. Chicago has no city income tax.

Official source: Illinois Department of Revenue: Does Illinois tax sales of service? →

5Insurance and bonding in Illinois

Look for general liability with care, custody and control (pet bailee) coverage, plus key and lockout coverage, since Chicago sitters often hold a ring of keys and building fobs. A dishonesty bond reassures clients who give you access to an empty home for a week. Ask your carrier how it handles frozen pipes and furnace failures during a sit, because a January cold snap in an empty house is a real Illinois risk. Many downtown buildings want a certificate of insurance on file.

• General liability with care, custody and control covers harm to the pets in your care and damage in the client's home.
• Key and lockout coverage pays to rekey a home if you lose a client's key.
• A bond covers theft claims and is a cheap way to reassure new clients.

Workers' comp once you hire: Illinois requires workers' compensation as soon as you have one employee, even a part-time one. There are very few exceptions. Knowingly going without coverage can cost up to $500 per day with a $10,000 minimum fine, the Commission can issue a stop-work order, and business officers can be held personally liable. Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, Insurance →

6What to charge in Illinois

Typical Illinois bands for 2026:

• Drop-in visit (30 min): $20 to $35
• Overnight in the client's home: $65 to $110 per night
• Additional pet: +$5-10 per visit

Overnights and peak dates: Overnight stays in the client's home run roughly $65 to $110 a night, with Chicago and the North Shore at the top and downstate at the low end. Charge a holiday rate for Thanksgiving week, Christmas through New Year's and spring break, when O'Hare traffic peaks and every sitter in the city is booked. Summer weekends and Labor Day fill early in the suburbs. Add a charge for extra pets and for midday visits on long workdays.

Check your numbers with the pet sitter rates calculator and the holiday rate calculator.

7Hiring sitters in Illinois

Illinois uses a strict three-part test for unemployment insurance. A worker is your employee unless you prove all three: they are free from your control, the work is outside your usual course of business or done away from all your places of business, and they run an independently established business. A pet sitter walking dogs for a dog walking company fails the second part on its face, so treating sitters as 1099 contractors is risky. Illinois also has a Freelance Worker Protection Act that requires a written contract (on the worker's request) and on-time payment for contractors paid $500 or more over 120 days.

Under Illinois's three-part test, IDES treats a misclassified sitter as covered employment. Delinquent unemployment contributions carry 24% annual interest, officers who willfully skip payments can be personally liable, and if that sitter is hurt on the job with no workers' comp policy in place, the minimum fine is $10,000 before the claim itself.

8FAQ