# TAXES... be very careful when filing...



## bayuberdriver

Be very careful looking at your 1099 from Uber and Lyft... it seems some people people are being 1099 for the total ride fare grossed... instead of what Uber/Lyft actually paid the drivers... meaning Uber and Lyft are trying to say the driver grossed the cut they keep... its confusing... so be very careful... 

Where is everyone gonna file their taxes?


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## UberPartnerDennis

I did mine on turbotax...go with the standard deduction and dont forget to write off your mileage and Interest on car payments. I caught what you are talking about as well....a friend of mine who is a CPA told me how to go around it and as long as you use the standard deduction if this is your first year using Schedule C then you stand a good chance of not being audited as long as you dont exagerate


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## gman

bayuberdriver said:


> Be very careful looking at your 1099 from Uber and Lyft... it seems some people people are being 1099 for the total ride fare grossed... instead of what Uber/Lyft actually paid the drivers... meaning Uber and Lyft are trying to say the driver grossed the cut they keep... its confusing... so be very careful...
> 
> Where is everyone gonna file their taxes?


It's only confusing if you have the IQ of a radish. I can't speak for Lyft, but the Uber info is pretty clear that it includes the Uber fee and the other category's that are tax deductible are clearly broken out.


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## Uberpoordriver

Deduct 25% 
Safe rider fee for total mount of fees
Deduct phone fee and personal phone fee because you do use your own phone to call a pax to come out side when they take for ever
And the 56 cents a mile 
All this equal a profit loss and you shouldn't have to pay a penny if I'm not mistaken this is a profit loss buisness for so call be your own boss job


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## yellowneck86

I did my taxes, finds out I lost $13 while driving for uber last year after calculating my gas and business expenses for uber. Thankfully my full time job and my other part time job has got me enough for a refund this year.


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## Slavic Riga

bayuberdriver said:


> Be very careful looking at your 1099 from Uber and Lyft... it seems some people people are being 1099 for the total ride fare grossed... instead of what Uber/Lyft actually paid the drivers... meaning Uber and Lyft are trying to say the driver grossed the cut they keep... its confusing... so be very careful...
> 
> Where is everyone gonna file their taxes?


So. To put it simply if you have to pay taxes on gross payout. ON what amount has Uber & Lyft to pay taxes? IMO Corporations also have to pay taxes.
'Can smell another lawsuit'.


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## Older Chauffeur

Slavic Riga said:


> So. To put it simply if you have to pay taxes on gross payout. ON what amount has Uber & Lyft to pay taxes? IMO Corporations also have to pay taxes.
> 'Can smell another lawsuit'.


No, you deduct Uber's commission, SRF, and other garbage fees from the gross payout listed on your 1099 to match the amount deposited to your bank account during the year. From that amount ( your gross) you deduct your business expenses, such as the .575 cents mileage deduction (including dead miles) for which you need to have kept a contemporaneous mileage log. Other expenses may be cell phone bills (percentage of business use) water, mints, etc if you provided them for pax. The result is your net profit, on which you may be taxed, depending on the amount. Don't forget FICA taxes if your net profit is $400 or more.
Read more from the tax pros in the threads here. I'm not a tax pro, BTW.


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## MRVEGAS711

How weird!! First year in Uber, grossed $3900 yet after turbo taxes, I made $144. Thank God I never went into business! Or....this is how you play the game?


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## Older Chauffeur

MRVEGAS711 said:


> How weird!! First year in Uber, grossed $3900 yet after turbo taxes, I made $144. Thank God I never went into business! Or....this is how you play the game?


You got tax free income. Give your car a big hug, 'cause that's the source.


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## Oscar Levant

bayuberdriver said:


> Be very careful looking at your 1099 from Uber and Lyft... it seems some people people are being 1099 for the total ride fare grossed... instead of what Uber/Lyft actually paid the drivers... meaning Uber and Lyft are trying to say the driver grossed the cut they keep... its confusing... so be very careful...
> 
> Where is everyone gonna file their taxes?


Add the total amount you actually receive and subtract that from the gross on the 1099 and the difference is the commission you paid Uber which you include on your profit loss, among other things, see a confident tax professional if you don't know how to do this otherwise you will screw yourself


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## Sharryon12

Does anyone get money back at the end of the year ? lol I have been driving all year put on over 16,000 miles on new 2016 car and have two kids under 18.. will i get money back or screwed ? lol


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## Older Chauffeur

Sharryon12 said:


> Does anyone get money back at the end of the year ? lol I have been driving all year put on over 16,000 miles on new 2016 car and have two kids under 18.. will i get money back or screwed ? lol


Everyone's situation is different. But the first question that comes to mind is have you paid money into the IRS, in the form of payroll witholding from another job, or estimated quarterly taxes? There are also certain credits for which some people may qualify, like the Earned Income Credit. (I don't know if self employed filers are eligible for the EIC or any other credit.) Most drivers seem to be able to find enough write offs from rideshare to lower their taxable income to the point where the taxes are very low or zero.

If you multiply the total business miles by $0.535 and subtract that number from your net deposits, that will give you a very general idea of where you stand. Of course, you can also deduct the business portion of your phone bill and other rideshare related expenses.

Disclosure: I'm not a tax professional.


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## Mars Troll Number 4

Older Chauffeur said:


> Everyone's situation is different. But the first question that comes to mind is have you paid money into the IRS, in the form of payroll witholding from another job, or estimated quarterly taxes? There are also certain credits for which some people may qualify, like the Earned Income Credit. (I don't know if self employed filers are eligible for the EIC or any other credit.) Most drivers seem to be able to find enough write offs from rideshare to lower their taxable income to the point where the taxes are very low or zero.
> 
> If you multiply the total business miles by $0.535 and subtract that number from your net deposits, that will give you a very general idea of where you stand. Of course, you can also deduct the business portion of your phone bill and other rideshare related expenses.
> 
> Disclosure: I'm not a tax professional.


If uber is your ONLY source of income, you will never get money back...


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## Older Chauffeur

Never say never.... It's possible to get a refund even if you haven't paid anything in.
The *Earned Income Tax Credit* Explained. The *EITC* is a *tax credit* offered to low-*income* individuals. To qualify for the *credit*, the taxpayer must not make more than the maximum allowed amount. They do not need to have a dependent *child*, but the amount of the *credit* increases if they do.

The *EITC* is computed as a percentage of a taxpayer's "*earned income*," which includes wages and earnings from *self*-*employment*. The *EITC* is a refundable *credit*, meaning the taxpayer can receive a refund even if they did not pay any *tax*.Feb 1, 2016


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## UberTaxPro

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> If uber is your ONLY source of income, you will never get money back...


Since when did Uber become a "source of income"? I thought is was a source of tax deductions!


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## Older Chauffeur

^^^*


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## jester121

Uberpoordriver said:


> And the 56 cents a mile


Wrong.



Older Chauffeur said:


> such as the .575 cents mileage deduction


Wrong. (Even if you meant 57.5 cents? Still Wrong.)



Older Chauffeur said:


> If you multiply the total business miles by $0.535 and subtract that number from your net deposits


Finally correct.

53.5 cents per mile is the 2017 rate. (And even though this thread was from 2016, those were still wrong).


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## Older Chauffeur

jester121 said:


> Wrong.
> 
> Wrong. (Even if you meant 57.5 cents? Still Wrong.)
> 
> Finally correct.
> 
> 53.5 cents per mile is the 2017 rate.


Yep, misplaced the decimal point. Usually I write it as $0.575 . However, if you look at the date of the post, (2016) that was the SMR in effect for the tax year 2015.


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## Ureventplanner

bayuberdriver said:


> Be very careful looking at your 1099 from Uber and Lyft... it seems some people people are being 1099 for the total ride fare grossed... instead of what Uber/Lyft actually paid the drivers... meaning Uber and Lyft are trying to say the driver grossed the cut they keep... its confusing... so be very careful...
> 
> Where is everyone gonna file their taxes?


Thanks for the information


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## unPat

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> If uber is your ONLY source of income, you will never get money back...


I did get $86 back. Deducted 27000 miles.


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## Totyro

UberPartnerDennis said:


> I did mine on turbotax...go with the standard deduction and dont forget to write off your mileage and Interest on car payments. I caught what you are talking about as well....a friend of mine who is a CPA told me how to go around it and as long as you use the standard deduction if this is your first year using Schedule C then you stand a good chance of not being audited as long as you dont exagerate


Thanks so much for mentioning the interests on the car note My interest rates are pretty high so that will come in handy


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## UberTaxPro

Totyro said:


> Thanks so much for mentioning the interests on the car note My interest rates are pretty high so that will come in handy


Remember to factor out the non business portion of the interest. You can only deduct the business % of the interest.


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## ZoomZoom12

Is there an easy way to find the totals of Ubers commission so not to go through hundreds of rides manually?


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## Older Chauffeur

Yes, wait for your 1099 coming in January.


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## krlst

Can you deduct car interest rates of a vehicle that you're paying for but that's not under your name?


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## UberTaxPro

kaeiou said:


> Can you deduct car interest rates of a vehicle that you're paying for but that's not under your name?


Only if your married, file jointly and the vehicle is in your spouse's name. Anything else, no


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## Mars Troll Number 4

UberTaxPro said:


> Only if your married, file jointly and the vehicle is in your spouse's name. Anything else, no


You can however... rent a car from someone else and write that off as a business expense. (the proportion of it's use that is for your business) You can also write off gasoline.

Then that person writes up what you pay them as _*income*_,
Then they write off their expenses of operating that car including depreciation, repairs, maintenance, ect ect as deductible business expense.


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## Sharryon12

Update on this , filed my taxes claimed 2 children got back over 3500 .. child credits .. couldnt do miles or would have lost more


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## NotanEmployee

MRVEGAS711 said:


> How weird!! First year in Uber, grossed $3900 yet after turbo taxes, I made $144. Thank God I never went into business! Or....this is how you play the game?


That $144 is the amount you pay taxes on! You want to play that game! Would you rather pay taxes on the $3900? You can! Nobody is stopping you from not taking as many deductions as you can.



Sharryon12 said:


> Update on this , filed my taxes claimed 2 children got back over 3500 .. child credits .. couldnt do miles or would have lost more


This doesnt make sense, deductions reduce your tax burden. Miles are separate from standard deduction. You should be able to take both.


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## Older Chauffeur

Sharryon12 said:


> Update on this , filed my taxes claimed 2 children got back over 3500 .. child credits .. couldnt do miles or would have lost more


I agree with @NotanEmployee, mileage for business shouldn't affect your Schedule A. Business expenses reduce the bottom of line on Schedule C (net profit) which is the taxable amount that transfers to Schedule A. Did you file Schedules C (required) and SE (required if your net profit is $400 or more?)


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## AuxCordBoston

Sharryon12 said:


> Update on this , filed my taxes claimed 2 children got back over 3500 .. child credits .. couldnt do miles or would have lost more


The resurrector of old threads strikes again!!


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