---
title: "Tennessee Sales Tax on Pet Services | DogServ"
description: "Tennessee sales tax on pet services: boarding, bathing and grooming, puppies and products, your local rate and how to itemize your invoice, with an FAQ."
url: "https://dogserv.com/tennessee-sales-tax-on-pet-services/"
lang: "en"
published: "2026-09-15"
image: "https://dogserv.com/og/blog-tennessee-sales-tax-on-pet-services.jpg"
alternates:
  es: "https://dogserv.com/es/impuesto-sobre-servicios-para-mascotas-en-tennessee.md"
---

# Tennessee Sales Tax on Pet Services: Grooming, Bathing, Boarding and What to Put on Your Invoice

By [Cal Hewitt](https://dogserv.com/authors/calvin-hewitt/) · Published September 15, 2026

![Freshly bathed white Maltese standing on a towel beside a stainless grooming tub with a blank card reader on the counter](https://dogserv.com/blog/tennessee-sales-tax-on-pet-services/featured.jpg)

Tennessee does not tax every pet service the same way, and the line items on your invoice decide a lot. Boarding is not subject to Tennessee sales or use tax. A bath is taxable.

Stand-alone grooming, like a haircut, brush-out or nail trim, is not. If you sell a bath and grooming for one combined price, the whole charge is taxable. Puppies and retail products are taxable too. Business tax is a different tax from sales tax.

### Key takeaways

- Boarding a pet is not subject to Tennessee sales or use tax, under Department of Revenue notice SUT-177 dated March 27, 2025.
- Animal bathing is taxable. Stand-alone grooming is not. One combined price for both is taxable in full (SUT-119, March 27, 2025).
- Puppies, kittens and other pets, plus food, treats, leashes and shampoo you sell, are generally taxable retail sales.
- The state rate is 7 percent. The local rate depends on your business address and cannot go above 2.75 percent.
- Sales-tax registration (TNTAP) and business-tax licensing are separate steps, and so is federal income tax.
- Keep sales records for three years, with bathing, grooming, boarding and retail totals shown separately.

I'm Cal, and I build the websites and booking pages where dog businesses show their prices. I'm not a tax professional or a lawyer, so treat this as a map of Tennessee's sales tax rules for pet services, with the office to ask named at each step. If you run a groomer's shop, a boarding kennel, a daycare or a mobile van, the goal here is simple: charge the right amount, show it clearly on the invoice, and be able to explain it to a customer who asks why there is tax on one line and not another.

## Is boarding taxed in Tennessee, and does daycare count?

No. Department of Revenue notice [SUT-177](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058411132-SUT-177-Pet-Boarding-Is-Not-Subject-to-Sales-Tax), dated March 27, 2025, says: "Boarding a pet is a service that is not subject to sales or use tax." So an overnight stay with a kennel run, feeding and a walk does not carry sales tax on its own.

Daycare is a closer call. The notice says "boarding a pet" and does not define daycare, day boarding or playcare. If your daycare looks like boarding, the notice is a strong starting point. If it includes bundled products, transportation, grooming or bathing, those parts can be taxable on their own terms. For a daycare model that does not match a plain boarding stay, ask the Department for a written ruling, described below in the section on walking, sitting and training.

One more detail that trips people up: boarding being free of sales tax does not mean it is free of every tax. [BUS-57](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360057614771-BUS-57-Pet-Grooming-Bathing-and-Boarding-Services) says pet grooming, bathing and boarding are subject to Tennessee business tax. I cover that in the registration section.

If you are planning a kennel, [opening a dog boarding kennel in Tennessee](https://dogserv.com/opening-a-dog-boarding-kennel-in-tennessee/) covers the building and local approval side.

## Why is bathing taxable when grooming is not?

[SUT-119](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058684251-SUT-119-Services-Animal-Bathing-and-Grooming-Non-Veterinarian), also dated March 27, 2025, sets out the rule in two sentences you can keep on a sticky note: "The total sales price charged for bathing an animal is subject to sales tax." "Pet grooming services are not subject to Tennessee sales tax."

The notice gives hair clipping, blow drying and nail care as examples of grooming. Bathing is the one piece of a groomer's menu that gets taxed. A bath given by a licensed veterinarian for a medical purpose is not subject to sales tax, according to the Department's [Important Notice 18-03](https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/notices/sales/sales18-03.pdf), published in March 2018.

Here is the part that changes what you do at the counter. When bathing and grooming are sold separately and itemized, tax applies to the bathing charge only. The word the Department uses is "separately stated." On an invoice, that means the bath has its own line with its own price, and each grooming service has its own line with its own price. Your point-of-sale system and bookkeeping should keep the same separation, because the invoice is only as good as the records behind it.

A past proposal is not the rule. A bill in the 110th General Assembly, [House Bill 611](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/110/Bill/HB0611.pdf), proposed exempting pet grooming from sales tax effective July 1, 2017. It did not become current Tennessee law, so do not rely on it.

![Damp golden doodle standing on a non slip mat in a walk in bathing tub with a handheld sprayer hanging beside it](https://dogserv.com/blog/tennessee-sales-tax-on-pet-services/bathing.jpg)

## How do I itemize a bath, a haircut, a brush-out and a nail trim?

Give every service its own line and its own price. Here is how each line is treated:

How Tennessee treats each line on a grooming invoice

| Invoice line | Sales tax treatment | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Invoice linePet bathing | Sales tax treatmentTaxable | Source [SUT-119](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058684251-SUT-119-Services-Animal-Bathing-and-Grooming-Non-Veterinarian) |
| Invoice lineHaircut | Sales tax treatmentNontaxable grooming | Source [SUT-119](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058684251-SUT-119-Services-Animal-Bathing-and-Grooming-Non-Veterinarian) |
| Invoice lineBrush-out | Sales tax treatmentNontaxable grooming | Source [Notice 18-03](https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/notices/sales/sales18-03.pdf) |
| Invoice lineNail trim or nail care | Sales tax treatmentNontaxable grooming | Source [SUT-119](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058684251-SUT-119-Services-Animal-Bathing-and-Grooming-Non-Veterinarian) |
| Invoice lineAny retail item sold (shampoo, treats, a bandana) | Sales tax treatmentTaxable | Source [SUT-135 and Tennessee Code 67-6-301](https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-67/chapter-6/part-3/section-67-6-301/) |

The Department's own example in Important Notice 18-03 uses a $15 bath, a $65 haircut, a $10 brush-out and $15 for nail care. At a combined state and local rate of 9.5 percent, tax on the separately stated $15 bath comes to $1.43. If the same work is sold as a single $105 charge, the whole amount is taxable and the tax is $9.98 at that same example rate. That is a difference of $8.55 on one dog, and it adds up across a week of appointments.

Two practical points. First, a combined price is not a problem you can fix afterward by describing it differently; the charge has to be stated separately when you sell it. Second, a package name like "Full Spa" is fine on a menu as long as the invoice still breaks the package into its bath line and its grooming lines with their own prices.

The 9.5 percent figure is the Department's example. Your rate depends on your address, which I cover in the rate section below.

If you are setting up a van, [starting a mobile dog grooming business in Tennessee](https://dogserv.com/starting-a-mobile-dog-grooming-business-in-tennessee/) goes through the setup side, and [dog service prices in Tennessee](https://dogserv.com/dog-service-prices-in-tennessee/) helps with the price you put next to each of those lines.

## Are puppies, kittens and other pets taxable?

Generally yes. [SUT-135](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058254052-SUT-135-Sales-of-Puppies-Kittens-and-Non-livestock-Animals), dated March 27, 2025, treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, parakeets, parrots and other pets as tangible personal property, so sales of them are generally subject to sales tax under [Tennessee Code 67-6-301(b)](https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-67/chapter-6/part-3/section-67-6-301/).

Tennessee does exempt certain farm-animal sales when the farmer who produced the animals is the seller. There is no matching exemption for pets. A puppy is not exempt because it is a living animal.

If you breed or sell puppies, a few other questions sit next to sales tax, such as the Department of Agriculture's rules for dog and cat dealers in Chapter 0080-02-15. [Breeding dogs in Tennessee](https://dogserv.com/breeding-dogs-in-tennessee/) goes through those.

![Pembroke Welsh corgi puppy sitting on a quilt in a sunny farmhouse sitting room beside a water bowl](https://dogserv.com/blog/tennessee-sales-tax-on-pet-services/puppies.jpg)

## Which products are taxable, and what about supplies I use up during a service?

Retail goods you sell to a customer are generally taxable retail sales. That covers dog food, treats, leashes, collars, toys, beds and shampoo. The Department's business-tax classification page lists pets and pet foods under Classification 1B, which is a useful clue to how the Department sorts a pet shop's sales.

There is a difference worth knowing between two bottles of the same shampoo. A bottle you sell to a customer at the counter is a taxable retail sale. Shampoo you use on the dog during the bath is part of the bathing service, and the bath line is what carries the tax. You do not add a second tax line for the shampoo that goes down the drain.

For an unusual bundle, such as a boarding package that includes a bag of food to take home, put the product on its own line, tax that line, and ask the Department for a written ruling if you are not sure how the whole package should be treated.

## Are dog walking, pet sitting, training and waste removal taxed?

Tennessee taxes services only when the law names them. [SUT-115](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058683911-SUT-115-Services-Services-Subject-to-Sales-and-Use-Tax) lists the services that are subject to sales tax, such as certain lodging, parking, repair, laundering or cleaning of tangible personal property, installation, telecommunications and video programming. [Dog walking](https://dogserv.com/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business/), pet sitting, [dog training](https://dogserv.com/how-to-start-a-dog-training-business/) and [pet-waste removal](https://dogserv.com/how-to-start-a-pooper-scooper-business/) are not on that list.

That does not settle every possible transaction. If your walking or training business also sells a product, charges for transportation, adds a bath, or bundles several items into one price, sales tax applies to the taxable pieces. The answer for a mixed transaction is a written ruling from the Department.

Under [TR-3, How to Request a Ruling](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360057338812-TR-3-How-to-Request-a-Ruling), a request should include your contact information, the question you want answered, all the relevant facts, sample invoices or contracts, and any useful photographs or documents. It goes to the Rulings Editor, Legal Office, Tennessee Department of Revenue, 500 Deaderick Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37242. The request also needs the applicable fee, which TR-3 explains. The Department's [tax rulings page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/revenue-news/news-publications/tax-rulings.html) describes the limits on rulings.

A ruling is the route to use for a daycare model that does not look like plain boarding, and for any bundle where you cannot tell which parts are taxable.

![Brown Chesapeake Bay retriever sitting on a sidewalk under a sycamore tree with its leash coiled beside it](https://dogserv.com/blog/tennessee-sales-tax-on-pet-services/walking-and-training.jpg)

## What is the sales tax rate, and how do I find mine?

Tennessee's general state sales-tax rate is 7 percent, according to the Department's [sales and use tax page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax.html). Cities and counties add a local rate on top. The Department's [local sales tax page](https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax/local-sales-tax.html) says the local rate may not exceed 2.75 percent and must be a multiple of 0.25 percent. So, the combined rate at an address runs from 7 percent up to 9.75 percent at the most.

There is no special "pet service rate." You use the rate for your business address. The Department's [rate lookup instructions](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax/streamlined-sales-tax/helpful-hints-for-tax-rate-lookups.html) say to search with either the street address and city or the street address and ZIP Code. Leave out apartment numbers, suite numbers, P.O. boxes, building names and rural-route information, because those make the lookup fail.

Save a screenshot or printout of the result with the date. If a customer asks why the tax on a $15 bath is what it is, you have the rate and where it came from. If you operate a mobile van and your customers are in different cities, ask the Department's sales-tax staff which address applies before you set your rates.

## How do I register for sales tax, and how is that different from a business-tax license?

These are two separate tracks, and mixing them up is one of the most common ways a new owner ends up with half the paperwork.

For sales tax, a business that sells taxable bathing, puppies, retail products or other taxable items should find out whether it must register for a sales and use tax account. The Department's [SUT-10 page](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058139252-SUT-10-Sales-and-Use-Tax-Account-Registering-for-an-Account) says you can register online through TNTAP, the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point, and you will receive a Certificate of Registration to display at your business location. That account is how you collect, report and send in the sales tax on your taxable sales.

Business tax is separate. It is governed by [Tennessee Code 67-4-708](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/business-tax.html), and BUS-57 says grooming, bathing and boarding are subject to it. The Department's [registration and licensing page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/business-tax/registration-and-licensing.html.html) sets the thresholds:

Tennessee business-tax license levels by gross receipts

| Gross receipts | License | Where |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gross receiptsMore than $3,000 and less than $100,000 | LicenseMinimal activity license | WhereCounty or municipal clerk |
| Gross receipts$100,000 or more | LicenseStandard business license | WhereCounty or municipal clerk |
| Gross receiptsEach new business | License$15 business-license registration fee | WhereCounty or municipal clerk |

The Department's [rates and due dates page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/business-tax/due-dates-and-tax-rates.html) lists a $22 minimum business tax. A sales-tax account does not stand in for a business-tax license, and the reverse is also true.

Federal income tax is a third thing. The IRS's [Publication 334](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p334) says most sole proprietors report business income from products or services on Schedule C. Income tax applies to your taxable business income after allowable deductions. It is not the same money as the sales tax you collect from customers and send to Tennessee, so keep the collected tax out of your own spending account.

Your entity choice matters here too. The Secretary of State's [forms and fees page](https://sos.tn.gov/businesses/forms-and-fees) lists a $300 fee for a domestic LLC's Articles of Organization, $100 for a for-profit corporation charter and $20 for an assumed-name registration. The full list of permits that may apply to you is in [Tennessee dog business license requirements](https://dogserv.com/tennessee-dog-business-license-requirements/).

![Gray Weimaraner lying on a wood floor beside a desk with a closed laptop and a blank receipt pad](https://dogserv.com/blog/tennessee-sales-tax-on-pet-services/registration.jpg)

## Which records should I keep, and for how long?

Tennessee's [sales-tax recordkeeping notice](https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/notices/sales/record2.pdf) requires suitable records of sales and purchases, and dealers keep them for three years. Electronic records need to be available in a standard format if the Department asks for them.

For a pet business, a good set looks like this:

- Sequential invoices and receipts.
- Daily cash and credit sales.
- Separate totals for bathing, grooming, boarding, retail products, puppies and anything else you sell.
- The taxable amount and the tax collected, with the rate and jurisdiction you used.
- Customer invoices that show bathing and grooming as separate lines.
- Purchase invoices for inventory and supplies.
- Sales-tax returns and payment confirmations.
- Exemption or resale paperwork, if you have any.
- Your contracts and written package descriptions.
- Point-of-sale reports that match your bank deposits.

The first test of a good record is simple. If an auditor picked one invoice at random, could you show the bath on one line, the haircut on another, and the tax on the bath only? If yes, you are in good shape.

## Questions about Tennessee sales tax on pet services

### What services are taxable in Tennessee?

Tennessee taxes goods and a list of named services, such as lodging, repair and laundering or cleaning of tangible personal property. For pet businesses, the named piece is animal bathing, and retail goods and pets are taxable sales. Boarding and stand-alone grooming are not.

### Does Tennessee charge tax on labor?

It depends on whether the labor is a taxable service. A haircut or a nail trim is grooming, and grooming is not taxed. A bath is taxed on its total price, so a labor-only bath still carries sales tax.

### Should I add tax to my invoice for services?

Add it to the services and goods that are taxable, and leave it off the ones that are not. For a groomer, that means the bath line and any retail item, and not the haircut, brush-out or nail line. If you are unsure about a mixed package, request a written ruling before you set the price.

### How do I calculate the sales tax on my invoice?

Multiply each taxable line by your address rate, which is 7 percent plus your local rate. At the Department's example rate of 9.5 percent, a $15 bath carries $1.43 of tax. Look up your own rate with your street address.

### What percentage of tax applies in Tennessee?

The state rate is 7 percent. The local rate is added on top and is capped at 2.75 percent, so the combined rate at an address cannot pass 9.75 percent.

## What should I do this week?

Start with the menu. Write out every service you sell and mark each as bathing, grooming, boarding, retail or other. Then look up the rate for your business address and save the result. Change your invoice template so a bath and each grooming service appear as separate lines. If you sell puppies or products, set them up as taxable items in your point-of-sale system.

Next, check your registrations. Confirm your sales-tax account through TNTAP, and separately confirm your business-tax license with your county or municipal clerk. Ask your city planning or zoning office, county zoning office, codes office, fire marshal and animal control about facility questions, because those are decided locally and not by the state. If you work from your house, [running a dog business from home in Tennessee](https://dogserv.com/running-a-dog-business-from-home-in-tennessee/) goes through those questions.

For anything that does not fit these rules, such as a daycare model, a bundle or a mobile route across several cities, write to the Department of Revenue for a ruling or talk with a qualified tax professional. The tax call belongs to the Department. If you want your price list and tax lines shown clearly on your website, [get in touch](https://dogserv.com/contact/).

## Sources

- **capitol.tn.gov**: [House Bill 611](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/110/Bill/HB0611.pdf)
- **irs.gov**: [Publication 334](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p334)
- **law.justia.com**: [SUT-135 and Tennessee Code 67-6-301](https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-67/chapter-6/part-3/section-67-6-301/)
- **revenue.support.tn.gov**: [BUS-57](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360057614771-BUS-57-Pet-Grooming-Bathing-and-Boarding-Services)
- **revenue.support.tn.gov**: [SUT-10 page](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058139252-SUT-10-Sales-and-Use-Tax-Account-Registering-for-an-Account)
- **revenue.support.tn.gov**: [SUT-115](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058683911-SUT-115-Services-Services-Subject-to-Sales-and-Use-Tax)
- **revenue.support.tn.gov**: [SUT-119](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058684251-SUT-119-Services-Animal-Bathing-and-Grooming-Non-Veterinarian)
- **revenue.support.tn.gov**: [SUT-135](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058254052-SUT-135-Sales-of-Puppies-Kittens-and-Non-livestock-Animals)
- **revenue.support.tn.gov**: [SUT-177](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360058411132-SUT-177-Pet-Boarding-Is-Not-Subject-to-Sales-Tax)
- **revenue.support.tn.gov**: [TR-3, How to Request a Ruling](https://revenue.support.tn.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360057338812-TR-3-How-to-Request-a-Ruling)
- **sos.tn.gov**: [forms and fees page](https://sos.tn.gov/businesses/forms-and-fees)
- **tn.gov**: [Important Notice 18-03](https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/notices/sales/sales18-03.pdf)
- **tn.gov**: [local sales tax page](https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax/local-sales-tax.html)
- **tn.gov**: [rate lookup instructions](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax/streamlined-sales-tax/helpful-hints-for-tax-rate-lookups.html)
- **tn.gov**: [rates and due dates page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/business-tax/due-dates-and-tax-rates.html)
- **tn.gov**: [registration and licensing page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/business-tax/registration-and-licensing.html.html)
- **tn.gov**: [sales and use tax page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax.html)
- **tn.gov**: [sales-tax recordkeeping notice](https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/notices/sales/record2.pdf)
- **tn.gov**: [tax rulings page](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/revenue-news/news-publications/tax-rulings.html)
- **tn.gov**: [Tennessee Code 67-4-708](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/business-tax.html)