As an Uber driver-partner, you're an independent contractor, not an Uber employee.
People Also Ask
Do Uber and Lyft drivers pay taxes? Uber drivers and Lyft drivers are not considered “employees” by the IRS. Instead, they're classified as independent contractors, meaning the rideshare services don't withhold taxes from their payments. Independent contractors also receive a 1099 at year-end rather than a W-2.
You will file Schedule C to report your profit to the IRS. On the form, you record all your business income (Uber or Lyft income) and business tax deductions (expenses). You pay taxes on your net income, which is your total income minus any business tax deductions.
It would be difficult to make $2,000 a week driving for Uber Eats. You'd have to take on a lot of deliveries and provide fantastic customer service to increase your tips. To make $2,000 a week, you'd likely need other side gigs to supplement your Uber Eats income.
If an expense also benefits you personally, only the portion attributed to your business is deductible. For example, you may have a cell phone that you use for driving about 25 percent of the time. In that case, you can deduct 25 percent of the phone bill as a tax deduction.
The meals and snacks you eat on the job as an Uber driver normally can't be written off. And you won't have a lot of chances to wine and dine potential customers. But there are some cases when you can deduct your meal expenses.
That's because IRS tax rules require Uber to report the full amount the customer paid, including the company's commission and other fees. Form 1099-K refers to this as the “gross amount of payment card/third party network transactions.” Don't worry. You can likely deduct the extra amounts on Schedule C.
You will likely receive two tax forms from Uber or Lyft. Form 1099-K reports driving income or the amounts received in customer payments for rides provided, and Form 1099-NEC reports any income you earned outside of driving, including incentive payments, referral payments, and earning guarantees.
How many hours would you need to work to make $2000 a week with Lyft? Well, Lyft claims that its drivers' average hourly income, with tips included, is $24. Therefore, to make $2000 a week with Lyft at the standard rate, you'd need to work for around 83 hours per week.
How about fuel — can delivery drivers write off gas? Careful: you can't deduct both mileage and gas at the same time. The standard milage rate (65.5 cents per mile in 2023) is calculated by the IRS to include the average costs of gas, car payments, maintenance, car insurance, and depreciation.