# Tax Question



## ColonyMark (Sep 26, 2019)

Does Uber or DoorDash show how many miles you drove for the entire year? If so does it include miles to the pickup and the drop off? I received a 1099 from Uber and it only shows how much money I made (which seems a lot lower than I thought)

I’m not the best at keeping records. I just started delivery driving last year so I’m not familiar with the way contract work taxes work or how to write off miles. My taxes have been very simple in the past.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

ColonyMark said:


> Does Uber or DoorDash show how many miles you drove for the entire year? If so does it include miles to the pickup and the drop off? I received a 1099 from Uber and it only shows how much money I made (which seems a lot lower than I thought)
> 
> I'm not the best at keeping records. I just started delivery driving last year so I'm not familiar with the way contract work taxes work or how to write off miles. My taxes have been very simple in the past.


Did you get a 1099 misc or a 1099k from Uber? I'm guessing since you are saying the 1099 from Uber is less than you made that it is a 1099 misc.

With DD, all your income from them goes on a 1099 misc so it is the total. (if over $600). Uber does it different. The 1099 misc only covers bonus, quest payments, etc.etc.. Unless you make more than 20k they will not send you a 1099*k* for the rest. Therefore, the 1099 misc is less than the total on your Uber summary. You need to go on your Uber webpage and print off a copy of your summary. That will give you the total.

You made a big mistake not tracking your miles. Mileage deduction is the biggest expense write off. You won't get that info from DD and Uber's info isn't always accurate. Do yourself a favor and immediately start tracking your miles for next year.

If you have never completed a schedule C before you should consider going to a tax professional to complete your taxes. Since you received a 1099 misc from DD and UE that means the IRS did as well so if you don't file a schedule C with your taxes you will 100% get flagged.


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## ColonyMark (Sep 26, 2019)

T


Seamus said:


> Did you get a 1099 misc or a 1099k from Uber? I'm guessing since you are saying the 1099 from Uber is less than you made that it is a 1099 misc.
> 
> With DD, all your income from them goes on a 1099 misc so it is the total. (if over $600). Uber does it different. The 1099 misc only covers bonus, quest payments, etc.etc.. Unless you make more than 20k they will not send you a 1099*k* for the rest. Therefore, the 1099 misc is less than the total on your Uber summary. You need to go on your Uber webpage and print off a copy of your summary. That will give you the total.
> 
> ...


thanks, I have written down mileage from time to time. I'll have to guesstimate


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## goobered (Feb 2, 2020)

ColonyMark said:


> Does Uber or DoorDash show how many miles you drove for the entire year? If so does it include miles to the pickup and the drop off? I received a 1099 from Uber and it only shows how much money I made (which seems a lot lower than I thought)
> 
> I'm not the best at keeping records. I just started delivery driving last year so I'm not familiar with the way contract work taxes work or how to write off miles. My taxes have been very simple in the past.


I got a tax summary from Uber. It shows online miles and as far as I know that does include miles to the pickup. But it may not include all of the miles you could potentially write off. If you log in to the website right now and look under tax information, there should be an annual summary there for 2019. But it says to check back after Feb. 14.

It's okay to estimate the miles you drove. If you do it in Turbo Tax Self Employed, it will tell you whether the amount of miles you claim is consistent with other drivers.

Also keep in mind you may not want to write off all of your expenses. I couldn't because I needed my AGI to meet ACA minimum. The few hundred I would get back on my return is not worth losing my health insurance. There are other situations where you may want to keep a higher income, like if you need SS credits.

I don't know if DD has a place where you can find total miles. I didn't need that because I seldom use DD and I multiapp so all my miles should overlap with Uber.


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## ColonyMark (Sep 26, 2019)

goobered said:


> I got a tax summary from Uber. It shows online miles and as far as I know that does include miles to the pickup. But it may not include all of the miles you could potentially write off. If you log in to the website right now and look under tax information, there should be an annual summary there for 2019. But it says to check back after Feb. 14.
> 
> It's okay to estimate the miles you drove. If you do it in Turbo Tax Self Employed, it will tell you whether the amount of miles you claim is consistent with other drivers.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I have a full time job that withholds tax from my pay. And I have insurance through that job.


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## goobered (Feb 2, 2020)

ColonyMark said:


> Thanks for the info. I have a full time job that withholds tax from my pay. And I have insurance through that job.


Then you will probably want to write off all the miles that you can, to maximize your refund. It is not uncommon for people to write off their entire earnings with mileage expenses.

Do you have an idea roughly what your starting odometer mileage was at the beginning of last year? If you can start with knowing how many total miles you put on your vehicle, you might be able to estimate Uber/DD miles by subtracting everything else you use your vehicle for. Subtract your daily work commute, grocery store trips, anything else that is fairly routine. Then subtract estimates for other personal trips that are not routine. Sometimes it is easier to do a rough estimate of all your other driving that is not gig related and see what you have left over.

Turbo Tax makes it pretty easy to figure things out. You don't have to file that way if you prefer another method, you can just use it to see how to fill out the paperwork. I usually try 2 or 3 different online services for comparison but end up filing through Turbo Tax.


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## vtcomics (Oct 9, 2018)

ColonyMark said:


> Does Uber or DoorDash show how many miles you drove for the entire year? If so does it include miles to the pickup and the drop off? I received a 1099 from Uber and it only shows how much money I made (which seems a lot lower than I thought)
> 
> I'm not the best at keeping records. I just started delivery driving last year so I'm not familiar with the way contract work taxes work or how to write off miles. My taxes have been very simple in the past.


Uber tax summary mileage section will NOT be acceptable in the event of an IRS audit. You could lose the entire mileage write off. You need a trip by trip log. I use Trip Log app. $40 a year and simply download all trips onto an Excel sheet. I find it way easier than trying to do a handwritten log.


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## ColonyMark (Sep 26, 2019)

vtcomics said:


> Uber tax summary mileage section will NOT be acceptable in the event of an IRS audit. You could lose the entire mileage write off. You need a trip by trip log. I use Trip Log app. $40 a year and simply download all trips onto an Excel sheet. I find it way easier than trying to do a handwritten log.


Thanks. Can you write off miles driving back to your base after a drop off? Say I deliver to someone way out in the sticks, and I have to drive 15 miles back to my favorite restaurant zone


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

ColonyMark said:


> Thanks. Can you write off miles driving back to your base after a drop off? Say I deliver to someone way out in the sticks, and I have to drive 15 miles back to my favorite restaurant zone


re positioning mileage to a staging area are tax deductible.


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## Solid 5 (Aug 24, 2018)

I take my total mileage driven for the year and subtract 10% for personal usage, I have never had a problem. In fact I probably OVER count my personal miles if anything. Figure it this way, I made a hair under $50,000 last year, and drove a hair under 50,000 total miles. Taking 10% off is not going to raise any red flags, you figure that’s about 100 miles a week right? I bet there are some weeks where I don’t drive 50 personal miles.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

Solid 5 said:


> I take my total mileage driven for the year and subtract 10% for personal usage, I have never had a problem. In fact I probably OVER count my personal miles if anything. Figure it this way, I made a hair under $50,000 last year, and drove a hair under 50,000 total miles. Taking 10% off is not going to raise any red flags, you figure that's about 100 miles a week right? I bet there are some weeks where I don't drive 50 personal miles.


The truth is that's a very bad idea. Problem becomes if you are ever audited your guestimation won't be allowed as acceptable documentation. People can debate all day about the odds of getting audited. Normal audit for mileage is a simple, easy, cheap mail audit where you are requested to send in your IRS compliant mileage log. Without any IRS compliant or accepted documentation the entire expense is dis allowed leaving you a whopper of a tax bill.

You won't be able to talk or guess your way out of it. You are rolling the dice until the day it comes up snake eyes. It is too important and too easy not to do it right. Do yourself a favor and immediately begin utilizing a mileage log. I use TripLog. For $40 a year you are good.


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## goobered (Feb 2, 2020)

https://blog.stridehealth.com/post/lost-mileage


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## Solid 5 (Aug 24, 2018)

Seamus said:


> The truth is that's a very bad idea. Problem becomes if you are ever audited your guestimation won't be allowed as acceptable documentation. People can debate all day about the odds of getting audited. Normal audit for mileage is a simple, easy, cheap mail audit where you are requested to send in your IRS compliant mileage log. Without any IRS compliant or accepted documentation the entire expense is dis allowed leaving you a whopper of a tax bill.
> 
> You won't be able to talk or guess your way out of it. You are rolling the dice until the day it comes up snake eyes. It is too important and too easy not to do it right. Do yourself a favor and immediately begin utilizing a mileage log. I use TripLog. For $40 a year you are good.


I understand your point. IMO they don't care a damn about me and my piddly income. I'm not disagreeing, I'm just saying I'm not that stressed over it. I worked in food service for almost 30 years and I NEVER encountered one person who got audited, and that involved working at upscale places where tips were ridiculous.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

goobered said:


> https://blog.stridehealth.com/post/lost-mileage


Read it carefully. They are saying estimate off of the documentation you have. If you have no documentation then this article isn't talking about that.

I'm not trying to prove any point to you. I sincerely hope you never get audited. I have been audited 4 times and it's not fun. I guess the only point I am trying to make is it is too easy to do it the right way and not put yourself at risk.


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## Solid 5 (Aug 24, 2018)

Seamus said:


> Read it carefully. They are saying estimate off of the documentation you have. If you have no documentation then this article isn't talking about that.
> 
> I'm not trying to prove any point to you. I sincerely hope you never get audited. I have been audited 4 times and it's not fun. I guess the only point I am trying to make is it is too easy to do it the right way and not put yourself at risk.


I'm not disagreeing with your points at all. And it sucks that you've been audited, not only once but that many times. I guess my view is these companies have bigger fish to fry than me.


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## vtcomics (Oct 9, 2018)

I am a low piddly income guy and I was audited. In the old days, the IRS would indeed focus their attention on high income type audits. However, in the last few years the IRS relies heavily on algorithms that are triggered by many things other than high income. Seamus and I can only offer sound advice to be prepared by having tight records. Otherwise if you are by chance audited it could financially crush you.


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## Solid 5 (Aug 24, 2018)

vtcomics said:


> I am a low piddly income guy and I was audited. In the old days, the IRS would indeed focus their attention on high income type audits. However, in the last few years the IRS relies heavily on algorithms that are triggered by many things other than high income. Seamus and I can only offer sound advice to be prepared by having tight records. Otherwise if you are by chance audited it could financially crush you.


That sucks that you've also been audited as well. I guess I will be saying "You told me so" if I in fact ever get audited.


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## ColonyMark (Sep 26, 2019)

Solid 5 said:


> I take my total mileage driven for the year and subtract 10% for personal usage, I have never had a problem. In fact I probably OVER count my personal miles if anything. Figure it this way, I made a hair under $50,000 last year, and drove a hair under 50,000 total miles. Taking 10% off is not going to raise any red flags, you figure that's about 100 miles a week right? I bet there are some weeks where I don't drive 50 personal miles.


After writing off miles do you still owe money?


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## Solid 5 (Aug 24, 2018)

ColonyMark said:


> After writing off miles do you still owe money?


I get a pretty big deduction for being a single dad, so no.


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## Italnstallion99 (Sep 5, 2015)

I received my 1099's with uber and Lyft. Doordash also sent me one.

With uber and lyft it shows the service fee's and booking fee's which I believe are tax deductible. On the form I received from door dash it only show's the amount I made. Are there any fee's besides mileage with door dash that I can deduct?


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## smithers54 (Jan 7, 2019)

I was audited for 3000 dollars that was suppose to count as income and go on the line it did. I got a extra 3000 that year ....three years later I had to pay it back....your tax program should prompt you to put those fees on another line....off the top of my head I can't remeber what it had said. Because with lyft you actually never received that money...Why they even put it on there IDK.. With DD that is what you actually made.


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