Tax tips for Uber, Lyft, and other car sharing drivers

You're the boss AND the employee

Being an independent contractor means that you're self-employed . As far as the rideshare company is concerned, you're the owner of a separate business that it uses to provide driving services. So when you receive a payment, understand that it's not a traditional "paycheck," and likely no taxes have been taken out.

It's up to you to take care of federal and state income taxes, as well as Social Security and Medicare. Combined, these taxes can easily reach 30% to 50% of your income, so make sure to set aside money to pay them.

If you're accepting ridesharing fares more than occasionally, you may be required to file quarterly estimated income taxes.

At tax-filing season each spring, you'll be reporting your self-employment income and expenses on Schedule C, as well as filling out Schedule SE for self-employment tax if your net income from the work is $400 or more.

Tax deductions for your car

Since you're an independent business owner, just about any money you spend on your gig as a rideshare driver will be a tax-deductible business expense. The first thing that probably comes to mind is your car. There are two ways to take a deduction for the business use of your car:

• Deduct the actual expenses of operating the vehicle for business, including gas, oil, repairs, insurance, maintenance and depreciation or lease payments.

• Take the standard IRS mileage deduction. For the first half of 2022 the rate is 58.5 cents per mile and increases to 62.5 cents per mile for the last half of 2022.

If you use your car for both ridesharing and personal transportation, you can deduct only the portion of your expenses that apply to the business use. And whichever type of deduction you claim, it's critical that you keep thorough records. The IRS could disallow any tax deductions you can't support with:

• Receipts

• Mileage logs

• Other documentation

Other tax deductions for rideshare drivers

Commissions you pay to the rideshare company are a business expense, as is any cost you may have to pay for technology installed in your car. Other tax deductions include:

• Water, gum or snacks for passengers

• Tolls and parking fees

In addition, ridesharing companies typically require use of a smartphone.

• The portion of your mobile phone expenses attributable to your rideshare work can be used to reduce your self-employment income.

• For simplicity's sake, it may make sense to have a dedicated phone for your rideshare business.

Making sense of your 1099 forms

As a contractor, you won't get a W-2 form from your rideshare operator, but you will likely receive one or more 1099 forms. Rideshare companies generally distribute these forms according to the same criteria:

• Payments for processing you customers' payments are reported on Form 1099-K. The amount shown in Box 1a of this form is all the money that the rideshare operator collected from customers for rides that you provided.

• This will likely be more than you actually received in payment, since it includes the rideshare company's commissions and other expenses. Your rideshare operator will provide you a tax summary you can use to translate the 1099-K information into some of the income and expenses to report on Schedule C.

• Payments for other activities, such as referrals or non-driving-related bonuses, are reported on Form 1099-NEC (1099-MISC in prior years). This money is income to report on Schedule C.

If the rideshare operator processed more than $600 in third-party payment transactions in tax years beginning in 2023, then you should get a 1099-K. For tax years prior to 2023, the threshold is more than 200 transactions and more than $20,000 in payments. There is no threshold for payment card transactions such as credit card swipes.

Similarly, if your non-driving income was less than $600, you might not get a 1099-NEC. Even if you don't get any 1099s, however, you are responsible for reporting and paying taxes on all the income you receive.

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