As an Uber or Lyft driver you're an independent contractor, so neither app takes tax out of your pay. You owe income tax and self-employment tax on your profit, and the biggest thing that lowers it is the miles you drive. Gigstrak isn't affiliated with Uber or Lyft.
The forms Uber and Lyft send
- Form 1099-K for your ride pay. The federal rule is that you get one when riders paid more than $20,000 for more than 200 rides in the year. Some states set a lower bar. Lyft, for example, sends one at $600 in California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont and Virginia.
- Form 1099-NEC for other pay, like referral bonuses and promotions. For payments made in 2026, it's sent when that pay is $2,000 or more (it was $600 before).
- A yearly summary for every driver: Uber's tax summary and Lyft's Annual Summary. They aren't tax forms, but they break down your earnings and the fees the app kept.
Forms are due by January 31 and show up in the driver app and dashboard. Even with no form, all of your rideshare income is taxable. More on this in 1099 forms for gig drivers.
Why your 1099-K is more than you were paid
Box 1a of the 1099-K shows what riders paid for your rides. That includes the app's service fee and other charges riders paid, which never reached you. Report the full amount as income, then deduct the fees and charges the app kept as business expenses, using the figures in your yearly summary. That way you're taxed only on what you earned.
What you'll owe
- Self-employment tax: 15.3% of most of your net profit, for Social Security and Medicare. It applies once your profit from all self-employment is $400 or more.
- Income tax on your profit, at your normal rate, along with any other income you have.
Your profit is what the app paid you minus your business costs, reported on Schedule C. Our quarterly tax calculator gives a quick estimate.
Mileage is the big deduction
Most rideshare drivers can use the IRS standard mileage rate: 72.5¢ a mile for business miles driven through June 30, 2026, and 76¢ from July 1. At those rates, 10,000 business miles is worth over $7,000 off your profit. The rate covers gas, repairs, insurance and wear, so you can't deduct those on top of it. See the 2026 mileage rate.
- Count the miles you drive for work: to pickups, with riders in the car, and between rides while you're online.
- Leave out personal driving. If you're not sure about the drive from home to your first ride, ask a tax professional.
- Keep a log as you go. The IRS expects a record of the date, miles and purpose of each trip, made at the time. Lyft's Annual Summary lists your online miles, which is a useful check, but the app's figures don't replace your log.
Other costs you can deduct
The service fees in your 1099-K total, the business share of your phone and plan, and parking and tolls while driving for the app. See the full list of deductions for gig drivers.
Tips
Tips are taxable income, but for 2025 through 2028 rideshare drivers can deduct up to $25,000 of them from income tax if they meet the rules. From 2026, the tips have to be reported to you on a form: the 1099-K now has a tips box (box 1c) and the 1099-NEC has one too (box 1b). Each form also lists an occupation code for the tips, and if one of the codes is 000, some of those tips don't qualify. Self-employment tax still applies to tips. See no tax on tips for drivers.
Pay during the year
If you'll owe $1,000 or more, the IRS expects quarterly payments. The last one for 2026 income is due January 15, 2027. Setting aside 20 to 25% of each payout is a common starting point. See quarterly estimated taxes.
Track it without thinking about it
Gigstrak records your rideshare miles automatically, values each one at the IRS rate for its date, and shows what to set aside for taxes. Get Gigstrak on Google Play.
Sources
IRS: Instructions for Form 1099-K, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, Self-employment tax, Publication 463 (car expenses and records) and Announcement 2026-11 (the July 1 rate). Form details from Uber's tax documents help and Lyft's tax information for US drivers. The apps' help pages can lag behind new rules: the $2,000 bar for the 1099-NEC applies to payments made from 2026. This guide is general information, not tax advice.