# Taxes with 2 jobs



## Hhk (Oct 19, 2015)

I am making around 50k per year with my other job. I have been using standard deduction of 6300 so far.

I will start Uber this year, will I be able to write my miles off, at .55ish per mile, as well as use the standard deduction of 6300?

I guess I should have read the forum first. The answer is yes based on the answers in this forum.

https://uberpeople.net/threads/claiming-miles-vs-standard-deduction.189586/


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Hhk said:


> I am making around 50k per year with my other job. I have been using standard deduction of 6300 so far.
> 
> I will start Uber this year, will I be able to write my miles off, at .55ish per mile, as well as use the standard deduction of 6300?
> 
> ...


The answer is still yes!


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Hhk said:


> I am making around 50k per year with my other job. I have been using standard deduction of 6300 so far.
> 
> I will start Uber this year, will I be able to write my miles off, at .55ish per mile, as well as use the standard deduction of 6300?
> 
> ...


You're not alone in conflating the two- the IRS Standard Mileage Rate applies to business use of a vehicle, which is used on Schedule C to determine your net profit on which you pay taxes. The Standard Deduction is used to determine your total taxable income from all sources. It helps people who don't have major deductible expenses such as home mortgage interest, property taxes, medical bills and health insurance premiums. Most rideshare drivers find that the business mileage deduction is greater than actual operating expenses, and easier to track. Be sure to keep a contemporaneous mileage log, as the IRS requires.
They could have made it easier by referring to the mileage as Business Mileage Rate, and left the word "standard" out of it.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

If I net 10k in my regular 1099 day job and owe $3000, then drive 6000 miles for Uber with no pings, will I owe taxes?

If I set Uber's destination field and don't get a ping as I drive to my destination, is the mileage deductable?


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

bsliv said:


> If I net 10k in my regular 1099 day job and owe $3000, then drive 6000 miles for Uber with no pings, will I owe taxes?
> 
> If I set Uber's destination field and don't get a ping as I drive to my destination, is the mileage deductable?


If you did that and you were audited you'd have to prove that the miles deducted were 100% business miles. You would need a mileage log documenting all your business miles to do that. The lack of income from your business activities would be used against you if the auditor decides to question whether or not your activities are "business activities". I would suspect they would accept your activities as business activities for a short period of time...while you were testing the waters, after that I wouldn't be so sure. As to how long the test period could last....negotiable based on any other evidence you might have proving that these miles were business activities.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

UberTaxPro said:


> If you did that and you were audited you'd have to prove that the miles deducted were 100% business miles. You would need a mileage log documenting all your business miles to do that. The lack of income from your business activities would be used against you if the auditor decides to question whether or not your activities are "business activities". I would suspect they would accept your activities as business activities for a short period of time...while you were testing the waters, after that I wouldn't be so sure. As to how long the test period could last....negotiable based on any other evidence you might have proving that these miles were business activities.


Thanks. I understand the red flags. I just wanted confirmation that one could use Uber to reduce one's taxes. The Las Vegas market has drivers netting $0.675 per mile and half the miles are dead so an estimated earning of $0.33 / mile. In my example of driving 6000 miles I would earn $2000 but could deduct $3000 from my income for standard mileage expense.

It sounds like someone who owes taxes from a second job should work Uber to lower their taxes. That makes the effective pay rate of Uber much better.


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

bsliv said:


> Thanks. I understand the red flags. I just wanted confirmation that one could use Uber to reduce one's taxes. The Las Vegas market has drivers netting $0.675 per mile and half the miles are dead so an estimated earning of $0.33 / mile. In my example of driving 6000 miles I would earn $2000 but could deduct $3000 from my income for standard mileage expense.
> 
> It sounds like someone who owes taxes from a second job should work Uber to lower their taxes. That makes the effective pay rate of Uber much better.


Some call it the "last tax loophole" ...being able to use self employment losses to offset W2 income.


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## ShinyAndChrome (Aug 18, 2017)

bsliv said:


> Thanks. I understand the red flags. I just wanted confirmation that one could use Uber to reduce one's taxes. The Las Vegas market has drivers netting $0.675 per mile and half the miles are dead so an estimated earning of $0.33 / mile. In my example of driving 6000 miles I would earn $2000 but could deduct $3000 from my income for standard mileage expense.
> 
> It sounds like someone who owes taxes from a second job should work Uber to lower their taxes. That makes the effective pay rate of Uber much better.


When I posted about it this weekend I realized that a lot of people are getting mileage deductions high enough to get close to, or right at, or even exceed uber "earnings", so that they don't pay tax on the uber money at all.

Don't forget in addition to the per mile you also get per minute and then a base fare and what not. In my market all in I am making about $1/mile for a trip of, say, 20 minutes. I project my taxes from uber to end up approx zero, so then I Just need to pay actual costs on my car from that $1/mile (I calculate $.22/mile). But that $.78/mile I make is only with people in; since half my miles are approximately dead my "miles while ubering" all in profit would be about $.56/mile in this scenario.


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