# Lyft tips, explain this to me



## HeavyOnGas (Aug 8, 2016)

After 3 weeks or so with lyft I finally got my first tip on the app today, now does that mean I get the whole tip or do they take some of it?


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## MSUGrad9902 (Jun 8, 2016)

They don't take any part of your tips.... supposedly.


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

You keep 100% of the tip


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

Took 3 weeks to get 1st tip?! What's your rating?


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## MusicMan71 (Nov 1, 2015)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> You keep 100% of the tip


How about come tax time?


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

LOL...so? Do waiters and bartenders not owe taxes on their tips?


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

They don't take any taxes out, and they don't take a percentage of your tips, but they report all your income, including tips. But honestly, if you record all your miles, you should show a net loss.

Yeah - don't think any of that 25% is being withheld for taxes. :O


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

JimS said:


> But honestly, if you record all your miles, you should show a net loss.


People keep saying that, but I wouldn't even think of doing rideshare if it were even close to that. Anything under $1/mile (and that's from leaving home to getting home) is a really bad day.


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## MSUGrad9902 (Jun 8, 2016)

CatchyMusicLover said:


> People keep saying that, but I wouldn't even think of doing rideshare if it were even close to that. Anything under $1/mile (and that's from leaving home to getting home) is a really bad day.


There's a difference between actual profits and taxable income. Actual profits are difficult to determine on a small sample size (because of marginal costs of repairs / maintenance) but taxable income is easy to determine with the IRS 54 cents per mile figure.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

Which is my point. If I make 100 and drive 100 miles, thats 46 taxable dollars, not even close to a 'net loss'


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## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

CatchyMusicLover said:


> Which is my point. If I make 100 and drive 100 miles, thats 46 taxable dollars, not even close to a 'net loss'


Then you arent being creative enough. I can show almost 3 miles for every paid mile. I will not go as far as to say im cheating or lying but a little creativity can go a long way!


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## 4736353377384555736 (Aug 27, 2016)

Yes, miles aren't your only tax expense.


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## fairsailing (May 16, 2016)

JimS said:


> They don't take any taxes out, and they don't take a percentage of your tips, but they report all your income, including tips. But honestly, if you record all your miles, you should show a net loss.


I claim all driver mode miles using a gps based program on my phone. I manage my miles per take home dollar very carefully and pretty much calculate my miles per take home dollar on a weekly basis. In 2015 I ran about 10% of gross take home receipts as actual taxable income after deducting miles and few other small business related items. I have not been able to get down to a loss, but that was before the February rate cut to $1.02 per mile here. I have not estimated my 2016 taxes, but will probably be close to breakeven with the lower rates. Since my 2007 is pretty much fully depreciated, I view a large portion of the $0.54 per mile deduction as actual income, not actually cost, otherwise this gig would even be nuttier that it already is at these rates (part-time driver).

(You rarely see drivers talking about their miles per revenue dollar on these forums, often just bragging about their take home pay check until their car breaks and they can't afford to buy a replacement, then they go away. Lyft and Uber encourage this approach as all income numbers they state in their marketing materials assume the car is free, which it is for them.)


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

wk1102 said:


> Then you arent being creative enough. I can show almost 3 miles for every paid mile. I will not go as far as to say im cheating or lying but a little creativity can go a long way!


3 miles for every paid mile? How are you doing this without flat out lying?
I will grant Vegas is a bit odd given they way it's centered on the strip (very short rides that usually far outstrip on average money over miles) but even working outside the strip, unless tips are really bad, that $1/mile is not hard at all to get. And again I'm talking about from leaving home to getting home. Tossing in a few more for 'going to get gas/car wash/business supplies' isn't going to even come close to making up for much more.
And if you're actually driving that much, how is it even worth it in the first place?

Sure there's more tax deductible expenses. But remember the miles cover all 'standard maintenance' which includes gas, oil change, insurance, car payment, and any car repairs. It, granted, won't cover car washes, and anything you buy for 'the business' (air freshener, water, whatever), and hell you can even toss in tax on your car payment and some other things (like donating stuff). But I'm really curious what people are doing to show a net loss unless they are making far than I do on even a bad day (which as I said, is around $1/mile from home to home).


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## fairsailing (May 16, 2016)

Well, I had not done any tax work this year, so decided to total up my 2016 numbers to date. I have done far better on managing my miles than I thought, thanks mostly to some very good Lyft hourly guarantees last spring. I drive Lyft only PT days (514 hours so far this year) so miss much of the extreme surging of late night. 

As of today I am at 1.0285 miles per take home dollar. That includes all dead miles (miles to pickup and repositions) in a market that has been at $1.02 per mile gross revenue almost all year and my car is too old to qualify for PDB. Tips do cover a majority of my 20% commission though. 

If Lyft doesn't come back with good hourly guarantees this Fall (or a rate increase), my miles/$ will climb, but they will have my car for very few additional hours this year.


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

3 miles for every one is a tough pill to swallow but 2 miles for every mile is perfectly legitimate . 3 miles to pick up , 3 mile ride , 3 miles back to spot . I also leave my app on when I run errands . Put in Lyft Destination Filter that rarely works and dive where you need to go you're available for pickup so technically you're working . Or I will run errands mid day with UberSelect only running , knowing that the areas I'm driving through rarely get Select Pings . If I get a ping maybe I accept it and do my errand later or maybe I decide to ignore it . Usually my errands aren't that important so I'll take the Request . 
You can really limit your tax liability if you get smart with it , without lying


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

Sure there's that stuff, but I for one don't exactly drive much when it's not work related. I often will toss small trips here and there that 'count' (getting a car wash or buying something work related while grocery shopping) but still the sheer amount some people claim seems bizzare. Granted I've maybe only twice even ever gone and picked up a ride that was more than 4.5 miles away and one of those was way in the outskirts and ended up being possibly my longest ride ever.


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

2x per driven mile seems to be the norm.
Anything like 3x per driven mile may seem suspect.


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

fairsailing said:


> I claim all driver mode miles using a gps based program on my phone. I manage my miles per take home dollar very carefully and pretty much calculate my miles per take home dollar on a weekly basis. In 2015 I ran about 10% of gross take home receipts as actual taxable income after deducting miles and few other small business related items. I have not been able to get down to a loss, but that was before the February rate cut to $1.02 per mile here. I have not estimated my 2016 taxes, but will probably be close to breakeven with the lower rates. Since my 2007 is pretty much fully depreciated, I view a large portion of the $0.54 per mile deduction as actual income, not actually cost, otherwise this gig would even be nuttier that it already is at these rates (part-time driver).
> 
> (You rarely see drivers talking about their miles per revenue dollar on these forums, often just bragging about their take home pay check until their car breaks and they can't afford to buy a replacement, then they go away. Lyft and Uber encourage this approach as all income numbers they state in their marketing materials assume the car is free, which it is for them.)


At 85¢/mi, you only need to drive .57 miles dead for every mile with a pax to declare an income loss.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

Except there's base fare, time cost and tips....I never understood why people spout out x per mile as if it's the only amount that exists. 
Again, if you're really driving that much that you can't even make far more than what could cause an actual income 'loss', you're probably being extremely inefficient. As I said before, $1/mi from leaving home to coming home is a BAD day. Even with business expenses there's no way of even coming close.


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## Frontier Guy (Dec 27, 2015)

After claiming miles, cellphone minutes and a portion of data, I had a net loss for Uber/Lyft last year. At present, rough guesstimate has me the same for this year.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> 3 miles for every one is a tough pill to swallow but 2 miles for every mile is perfectly legitimate . 3 miles to pick up , 3 mile ride , 3 miles back to spot


Ummm, that is driving 9 miles and getting paid for 3.

3:1


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

LAuberX said:


> Ummm, that is driving 9 miles and getting paid for 3.
> 
> 3:1


I thought uber started tracking your milage at the time you accept the request to the time you drop off?


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

What does what Uber does have to do with anything in this thread?


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> I thought uber started tracking your milage at the time you accept the request to the time you drop off?


No. Lyft only tracks miles after you start the ride. Driving to pick up pax is compliments of the driver.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

On your tax summary Lyft lists all miles driven while in driver mode, paid or unpaid. Uber only lists paid miles.


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

Being a mentor hurts it big time. Cash without miles.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

that's why I keep a log independent of any tracking software


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