Consumer photography & video

Books and taxes for pet and equine portrait photographers.

A drive to a barn an hour outside town, a booth fee paid at a weekend horse show, and a memorial session for a family losing a pet. Gus keeps each one straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
JulyExample month
$8,900
what you made

July earned $8,900. Show day print sales at the county circuit came in through Square, so I kept those separate from the regular booked barn sessions.

  • Square, show day print salesShow day sales
  • Booked barn session, HoneyBookSession fees
  • Horse show vendor booth feeShow and vendor fees
  • Telephoto lens rentalCamera and lens gear
  • Fuel, rural barn routesTravel and mileage
Money in$24,000
Money out$15,100
Set aside for taxes$2,200
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A pet and equine photographer's books travel as much as the photographer does.

A generalist sees session fees and print sales. Your business is long drives to rural barns, a booth fee at every horse show, and specialty lenses that cost as much as a used car. When the books do not track the miles and the booth fees, you cannot tell what a session actually nets.

  1. 1

    Barn and farm mileage gets lumped into general travel

    A session at a client's barn or a boarding facility often means an hour or more of driving each way, on top of the shoot itself. Buried in a general travel category, you cannot see how much a rural booking actually costs you before you even shoot.

    What we doTracks mileage to barns and farms as its own line, so you can see what rural sessions really net once travel is counted.
  2. 2

    Show day sales get mixed with booked session income

    Selling prints from a booth at a weekend horse show is a different business than a booked, scheduled portrait session, but if the cash and card sales from a show weekend land in the same category as regular bookings, you cannot tell which side of the business is actually working.

    What we doKeeps show day sales in their own category, separate from booked sessions, so each side of the business shows its own numbers.
  3. 3

    A telephoto lens gets filed as a supply run

    A fast telephoto lens built for skittish animals and moving horses can cost as much as a used car. Filed as a supply purchase, it wrecks the month it was bought and understates every quiet month after.

    What we doFiles it as equipment right away instead of a supply purchase, and leaves the write-off decision to the accountant with your whole year in view.
  4. 4

    Booth and vendor fees at shows get buried in marketing

    A vendor booth fee paid to a show organizer to sell prints trackside is a direct cost of that weekend's sales, but lumped into general marketing spend, you lose sight of whether a particular show was actually worth attending.

    What we doKeeps booth and vendor fees tied to the show they were paid for, so you can see which shows are worth returning to.
  5. 5

    A memorial session gets priced and booked like any other

    A pet loss or memorial session for a family losing an aging or sick animal is emotionally different work, often booked on short notice, and if it is not tracked as its own kind of booking, you cannot tell how much of your calendar it actually takes up.

    What we doKeeps memorial and end-of-life sessions in their own line, so that part of the business is visible on its own terms.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a pet and equine photography business.

Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Session feesBooked pet or equine portrait sessions paid at farms, barns, or homes.
  • Show day salesPrint and product sales made from a booth at a horse show or event.
  • Memorial sessionsPet loss and end-of-life portrait bookings, tracked apart from standard sessions.
  • Print and album ordersWall art, albums, and framed prints ordered after a session.
  • Digital collection upgradesFull digital image sets sold as an add-on.

Money out

  • Camera and lens gearFast telephoto lenses and camera bodies logged so they get written off right.
  • Travel and mileageDrives to barns, farms, and rural client locations.
  • Show and vendor feesBooth fees paid to show organizers to sell prints on site.
  • Print lab costsWhat the lab bills for albums, canvas, and prints.
  • Editing and gallery softwareEditing subscriptions and client gallery hosting.
  • Liability insuranceCoverage that matters when shooting around large animals.
  • Studio or home studio costsSpace and utilities for indoor pet sessions.

What we watch for you

  • Cost per mile driven

    What rural sessions and farm visits really cost once travel time and fuel are counted.

  • Show day return

    What a weekend's booth fee and travel actually earned back in print and product sales.

  • Average session value

    What a typical booking earns once the session fee and print orders are counted.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, whether the season is on the show circuit or quiet.

Ask Gus

Things pet and equine photographers ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

I drove an hour each way to a barn session this week. Does that count for anything?

Yes, mileage to sessions is a deductible business cost. I track it against that booking so you can see what the trip really cost.

How do you handle the cash and card sales I make at a horse show booth?

I keep show day sales separate from booked sessions, so you can see whether a weekend at a show is actually worth the booth fee.

Just bought a new telephoto lens for shooting horses in the ring. Does that all come off this year?

Often it can. I filed it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

The tax side

The tax side of a pet and equine photography business.

Most of what goes wrong here is travel and gear. Mileage that never gets tracked, a lens filed as a supply, and show fees that hide whether an event was worth it.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Mileage to barns and farmsDriving to a client's barn, farm, or a horse show is a deductible business trip, tracked at 72.5 cents a mile January through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile July through December 2026.
  • Cameras and telephoto lensesCamera bodies and specialty lenses bought for the business can usually be written off in the year purchased, with bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property bought after January 19, 2025.
  • Show and vendor booth feesBooth or vendor fees paid to sell at a horse show or event are ordinary deductible costs of that day's sales, and are worth tracking against what the booth actually brought in.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. Between show income and booked sessions, that number only comes out right when the books stay current all year.

Deductions pet and equine portrait photographers miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Camera bodies and lenses
  • Show and vendor booth fees
  • Mileage to barns and shows
  • Print lab costs
  • Editing software
  • Gallery hosting fees
  • Liability insurance
  • Studio or home studio costs
  • Continuing education
  • Website and booking tools

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

A pet and equine photography year, kept every month.

The show circuit runs on its own calendar, and the return is due on a fixed date regardless. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the show calendar

    Last year's return gets started and a monthly set-aside is planned around the coming season's show circuit and booked sessions.

  2. April

    Filed before circuit season

    Your return is filed and signed well before the show circuit picks up, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Circuit midyear check

    A look at how the summer show circuit and barn sessions compare so far, and what that means for what you will owe.

  4. October

    Before the slow season

    The show circuit winds down heading into fall. Gus looks at any equipment worth buying and moves worth making before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for pet and equine portrait photographers. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions pet and equine photographers ask first.

Can Gus track mileage for driving to barns and farms?

Yes. Drives to a client's barn or farm are deductible business travel, and Gus tracks them against the session so you can see the real cost of rural bookings.

How does Gus handle sales I make at a horse show booth?

He keeps show day sales in their own category, separate from booked sessions, so you can see whether a show weekend actually paid for its booth fee.

Do I write off a new telephoto lens all at once?

Often, yes. A lens bought for the business can usually be deducted the year you buy it, though a big purchase sometimes makes more sense spread out, which the accountant decides.

I sometimes shoot pet memorial sessions. Should those be tracked differently?

Gus keeps them in their own line so that part of your work is visible on its own terms, separate from standard bookings.

Are booth fees at shows a deductible cost?

Yes. A vendor or booth fee paid to sell prints at a show is an ordinary cost of that day's sales, and Gus ties it to the show so you can judge if it was worth it.

My books are behind after a busy show season. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send whatever you have and Gus sorts through the backlog, splitting show day sales from booked sessions as he goes.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever