# A question for Tax Pros: How does Uber resolve the discrepancy in UberPool payments in 1099-K forms?



## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Per the Financial Terms of Partner Agreement with the Drivers, and the Terms of it's Agreement with Riders, Uber is a* Limited Payment Collection Agent* between the Drivers & the Riders.

IRS Guidelines:

*General FAQs on Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions


  




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*Third Party Network Transactions FAQs


  




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Uber is obligated to report the full amounts of (Gross) Fares paid by Riders on the IRS Form 1099-K sent to the Drivers. But on matched UberPool Rides, the Fares paid by Riders are higher than the Fare paid to Drivers.

How does Uber resolve this discrepancy between what Riders paid and what is paid to the Drivers' on IRS Form 1099-K sent to Drivers in markets with UberPool?

Please read this thread for more details on #UberPool payments:
*The next big lawsuit will be #UberPoolLAWSUIT*


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Attn: UberTaxPro, StarzykCPA


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> Per the Financial Terms of Partner Agreement with the Drivers, and the Terms of it's Agreement with Riders, Uber is a* Limited Payment Collection Agent* between the Drivers & the Riders.
> 
> Uber reports the full amounts of Fares paid by Riders on the IRS Form 1099-K received by the Drivers. But on UberPool Rides, the Fare paid by Riders are different than the Fare paid to Drivers.
> 
> ...


I haven't seen any 1099K's with uberpool trips included yet so I don't know how they're doing that. I'm sure someone on here will shed some light on it for us. Your question does bring to light an important issue for drivers however. Drivers should keep their own records of income and not rely on Uber's 1099K. The 1099K is an information form only and may or may not be correct. Uber has already shown us that they're challenged in this area. Drivers are responsible for reporting the correct amount of income earned, not necessarily the 1099 amounts.


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## KalianATX (Nov 16, 2015)

My speculation would be that, on a 1099-k, from an IRS perspective, Uber has committed no tax crime if they are reporting the full amount paid out to drivers as contractor expenses, and reporting full amount retained, as profits/revenues.

However, whether they have violated the driver/agency TOA would be a whole different discussion. Probably more suitable for a lawyer, to look at and answer. Speaking of which, I wonder if there's any Attorneys' out there that double as a Uber Drivers.


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

KalianATX said:


> My speculation would be that, on a 1099-k, from an IRS perspective, Uber has committed no tax crime if they are reporting the full amount paid out to drivers as contractor expenses, and reporting full amount retained, as profits/revenues.
> 
> However, whether they have violated the driver/agency TOA would be a whole different discussion. Probably more suitable for a lawyer, to look at and answer. Speaking of which, I wonder if there's any Attorneys' out there that double as a Uber Drivers.


UberPissed is a lawyer. Maybe he can help


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## Tequila Jake (Jan 28, 2016)

KalianATX said:


> My speculation would be that, on a 1099-k, from an IRS perspective, Uber has committed no tax crime if they are reporting the full amount paid out to drivers as contractor expenses, and reporting full amount retained, as profits/revenues.
> .


Actual, as a Payment Processor, the amount paid to drivers is not a contractor expense. The "commission", SRF, and any Uber surcharge total their revenue.

Uber's only expense per ride would be any credit card processing fee they pay (unless their insurance is billed to Uber on a per-ride basis). Everything else is below the line overhead expense.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

To see actual discrepancies between what the amounts that matched UberPool riders paid & what the driver's payout was based on, please read:

*What a Driver found out when he asked his matched UberPool riders how much they paid!*


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Nomad said:


> Wouldn't Uber file an 1120 as a corporation? So then the 1099-k box 1a amount would be reported as income on 1a on the 1120,...


The issue isn't Uber's corporate tax return. The issue is the Gross amounts reported on Drivers' 1099-K forms.

Uber has a fiduciary duty to correctly report Gross payments collected as a Limited Payment Collection Agent between the Users (Riders) and the Service Providers (Drivers). 

On UberPool rides the Fares paid by Riders are not the amounts on which drivers' payouts are based on. In case of matched UberPool rides, the Fares paid by riders are much higher than the Fares that are paid out to Drivers.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

UberTaxPro said:


> I haven't seen any 1099K's with uberpool trips included yet so I don't know how they're doing that. .





chi1cabby said:


> The issue isn't Uber's corporate tax return. The issue is the Gross amounts reported on Drivers' 1099-K forms..


Pool has only been available in my market since Nov 2015
I havent done my taxes yet
I haven't even looked at the 1099 Uber has sent me or made available in my dashboard yet

So......

Has anybody actually SEEN that uber is reporting, for example, you got paid $30 (total of what pax paid in the pool) but you only really got say $16(according to their pool fee schedule).?????

If anybody has screenshots of Uber reporting pool ride money you didn't make, please post it.


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## XUberMike (Aug 2, 2015)

afrojoe824

You're a pooler


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## Uber-Doober (Dec 16, 2014)

UberTaxPro said:


> I haven't seen any 1099K's with uberpool trips included yet so I don't know how they're doing that. I'm sure someone on here will shed some light on it for us. Your question does bring to light an important issue for drivers however. Drivers should keep their own records of income and not rely on Uber's 1099K. The 1099K is an information form only and may or may not be correct. Uber has already shown us that they're challenged in this area. Drivers are responsible for reporting the correct amount of income earned, not necessarily the 1099 amounts.


^^^
Of course, in order to keep accurate records of income, they must know the actual fares that are charged to Uberpool riders on the same trip from beginning to end.


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## Friendly Jack (Nov 17, 2015)

If you look at your Uber Tax Summary document you will see an accounting for all extraneous Uber amounts processed including Tolls, Split Fare Fees, Safe Rides Fees, Airport Fees and City Fees. Although it is not explained by Uber anywhere, it appears that the amount associated with "Miscellaneous (fare)" is the total Pool amount that Uber skimmed and did not pay out to drivers from multi-rider Pool rides.


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## UberPissed (Aug 13, 2014)

Nothing about UberPOOL makes sense. 

They may bifurcate the transaction. E.g., if there is a discrepancy in the payment, the transaction could be reported to both Uber and the driver.

Sounds sketchy as F. 

Uber's legal team will have plenty of work. I actually know someone in their GC office, and I'll actually see her in 3 weeks in St. Louis. Any questions for me to ask her?


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## Friendly Jack (Nov 17, 2015)

Friendly Jack said:


> If you look at your Uber Tax Summary document you will see an accounting for all extraneous Uber amounts processed including Tolls, Split Fare Fees, Safe Rides Fees, Airport Fees and City Fees. Although it is not explained by Uber anywhere, it appears that the amount associated with "Miscellaneous (fare)" is the total Pool amount that Uber skimmed and did not pay out to drivers from multi-rider Pool rides.


I am quoting myself here above, and this is going to be a first because I am going to give Uber some credit for something: I did nearly 1,500 Uber trips last year and to my amazement their 1099-misc and 1099-K documents issued to me were exact to the penny and footed exactly to my spreadsheet tally for the year. Yes, it is a bit confusing to back off all of their different fees as I outlined them above, but in my case they were right on. Be sure to look at your associated Uber Tax Summary document, as this is what provides the breakdown for you. Now, having given Uber some credit for getting it right, I will also point out that it is equally in their best interest to get it right from their tax perspective.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Friendly Jack said:


> Although it is not explained by Uber anywhere, it appears that the amount associated with "Miscellaneous (fare)" is the total Pool amount that Uber skimmed and did not pay out to drivers from multi-rider Pool rides.


So did you find that to be true?


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## Friendly Jack (Nov 17, 2015)

chi1cabby said:


> So did you find that to be true?


I can only guess, chi1cabby. Since I do not have knowledge of what Uber is actually charging each of the individual riders on a multi-rider Pool trip, I have no way of isolating what the "overcharge" amount in excess of what we are paid would be. I only know that the "Miscellaneous (fare)" itemized amount in the Uber Tax Summary is the only item unexplained, and the amount for me seems to be reasonably in line with what that "overcharge" amount would have been for the limited number of Pool rides I did in 2015. Most importantly in this regard is that there is no other itemized amount to possibly account for these Pool dollars within the 1099-K reported, so I must assume that this is it. Uber chose to call this item "Miscellaneous (fare)", I think, because it sounds so much better than "Pool Amount We Didn't Share With Driver" or "Pool Amount We Kept 100% Of".


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