# Got taxes done... do you owe, getting a refund, or got a $0 balance?



## McGriddleShake

Just got my taxes done via TurboTax, with some help from my Quickbooks SE account. Finally done with this pain-in-the-butt process.
Ended up not paying a dime, nor owing anything (expenses and deductions surpassed earnings by a little over a $1,000.) Was hoping for a refund.
Drove all of 2017 full-time for both Uber and Lyft. San Diego, CA. I may post a separate thread on fun stats on miles, earnings, time spent online, etc.


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## IthurstwhenIP

owe >$5K Yikes!


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## Scentsygal

we are getting a refund but we have 3 kids, I have my direct sales biz and hubs drove for 6 months full time. half way through the year he landed a great job (cdl) driving for a soda bottling company as a delivery driver. this should be the only year for now that we do uber/lyft filing.



IthurstwhenIP said:


> owe >$5K Yikes!


did you make sure you got all your deductions. even with him driving and my direct sales, we came in at a LOSS for both together...as it should be.


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## IthurstwhenIP

Scentsygal said:


> we are getting a refund but we have 3 kids, I have my direct sales biz and hubs drove for 6 months full time. half way through the year he landed a great job (cdl) driving for a soda bottling company as a delivery driver. this should be the only year for now that we do uber/lyft filing.
> 
> did you make sure you got all your deductions. even with him driving and my direct sales, we came in at a LOSS for both together...as it should be.


0 taxes from Uber...screwed my other income


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## McGriddleShake

IthurstwhenIP said:


> 0 taxes from Uber...screwed my other income


 Wow, what the heck? Are you sure you added all the expenses that Uber shows on their "Yearly Summary", like Booking Fees, Uber service fees, etc. ? You can deduct all of those and be hit with far less taxes.


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## NUBER-LE

Someone doing Uber or Lyft as there sole job does not get a return. 

You will either owe or not owe. You didnt put into taxes to get a refund.


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## bobby747

Not true what if you have a wife thgat works and 5 kids..you get a fat refund..


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## UberTaxPro

bobby747 said:


> Not true what if you have a wife thgat works and 5 kids..you get a fat refund..


True for 2017, in 2018 personal exemptions are history.


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## Mars Troll Number 4

I paid in over the year, one payment every other month for 7% of my taxi profit.

I came up owing about $84 with several thousand in total all year.


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## SEAL Team 5

McGriddleShake said:


> Ended up not paying a dime, nor owing anything (expenses and deductions surpassed earnings by a little over a $1,000.) Was hoping for a refund.


Did you pay quarterly taxes? You can't get a refund if you didn't contribute. This might be good because you have a zero tax burden, but you need to look at the big picture. You're not even making $.50/mile driving your personal vehicle.

Not only should you profit from your vehicle, but you should be able to pay yourself an hourly wage. You basically worked for free last year and traded in any equity you had with your vehicle to break even. Thats the recipe for a losing business proposition.


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## Taxi2Uber

McGriddleShake said:


> Wow, what the heck? Are you sure you added all the expenses that Uber shows on their "Yearly Summary", like Booking Fees, Uber service fees, etc. ? You can deduct all of those and be hit with far less taxes.


What number did you use for uber fees? Did you use the entire "Deductions and fees" number from your summary, or did you subtract the "other taxes or fees" number from the total? (Since uber says that part is not deductible. Booking fees, Service fees, and some others, but not "Other taxes and fees")


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## Over/Uber

Haven’t done mine yet but I know I will owe. I’m between homes for all of 2017 and didn’t have my biggest deduction, mortgage interest.
That and I made bank doing rideshare.


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## SEAL Team 5

Over/Uber said:


> Haven't done mine yet but I know I will owe. I'm between homes for all of 2017 and didn't have my biggest deduction, mortgage interest.
> That and I made bank doing rideshare.


Just off the top of your head. How much was your net revenue (amount deposited into your acct) and how many total rideshare miles do you have both for calendar year 2017.


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## Over/Uber

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Just off the top of your head. How much was your net revenue (amount deposited into your acct) and how many total rideshare miles do you have both for calendar year 2017.


That was a joke, that made bank part.


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## Veju

I'm getting a fat return.


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## artemis

First go at entering what I have into Turbotax, I owe 290 to the irs. Apparently I'm getting 80 in a refund from the state.


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## artemis

Single with no dependents...oh well. Anyone know why Uber's site says we get free tax filing but online it wants to charge you 89.99?


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## Otnemarcas

artemis said:


> Single with no dependents...oh well. Anyone know why Uber's site says we get free tax filing but online it wants to charge you 89.99?


I'm not getting charged $89.99 or anything to file both fed and state using the Uber link on their website. Make sure you click the link on Uber's website for Turbotax Self Employed to start and you should be able to see the Uber square logo throughout the process of filling out your form. I paid for the self-employed and state copies of turbotax last year so this is a big savings to pay nothing this time. Nada. Zero. Zip.


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## artemis

Did that, but not sure what happened. Ended up clearing all history, cookies, and cache, then restarting and finally the Uber logos popped up on the turbotax site after I logged in again.


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## SEAL Team 5

artemis said:


> Anyone know why Uber's site says we get free tax filing but online it wants to charge you 89.99?


Because it also says "Make great money being an Uber driver."


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## bobby747

Because it also says "Make great money being an Uber driver."


as soon as i seen that i thought same thing paid ad..


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## MrEUber

Uber/Lyft alone, i had a $107 loss

but add in my main income (plus wifes), kids, home mortgage, daycare...pretty fat return


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## Calilbeachum1

Uber is my only gig at the moment. Getting a refund, but I have kid.


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## txdrvr

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> I paid in over the year, one payment every other month for 7% of my taxi profit.
> 
> I came up owing about $84 with several thousand in total all year.


Is taxi driving the same thing as ride sharing? I would rather pay quarterly but being a first year driver I have no idea the estimated tax amount.


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## Older Chauffeur

txdrvr said:


> Is taxi driving the same thing as ride sharing? I would rather pay quarterly but being a first year driver I have no idea the estimated tax amount.


For starters, taxi drivers probably make more and thus owe more in taxes.  Basically, if you owe more than $1000.00 when you file this year, your tax software should assist you in planning for quarterly estimated tax payments. You may be able to choose to do it voluntarily as well, even if you don't owe at least that minimum.

Disclosure: I'm not a tax professional.


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## Mars Troll Number 4

txdrvr said:


> Is taxi driving the same thing as ride sharing? I would rather pay quarterly but being a first year driver I have no idea the estimated tax amount.


Umm..

In terms of tax documentation it's exactly the same, in terms of what is deductible it's completely the same. I've done the taxi game with my own car that i owned and everything is the same.

But in practice it's a lot different.
Because i am charging so much more than uberX drivers do, i actually have a taxable profit.

$2.40 a mile is what i'm getting off customers. That's way higher than even the top markets for UberX in the USA. There's also no sales tax on that revenue, 5% credit card processing... everyhting else goes to me to pay for my taxi rental/gas/ into my pocket. Charging so much puts me way ahead of the uber drivers.

I actually have to find other deductions to try to reduce my debt.

I rent taxis and that is completely deductible but in the form of renting a car/truck for business use. It's virtually impossible for me to be losing money on paper like 99% of uberX drivers do. That's the biggest difference.

Essentially my expenses are deductible like the guys who were using enterprise rental cars to uber in.

Chances are high that on Uber you won't be making a taxable profit because the margins suck just that bad.


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## McGriddleShake

Taxi2Uber said:


> What number did you use for uber fees? Did you use the entire "Deductions and fees" number from your summary, or did you subtract the "other taxes or fees" number from the total? (Since uber says that part is not deductible. Booking fees, Service fees, and some others, but not "Other taxes and fees")


This is what I listed for "miscellaneous deductions".


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## Dixon

McGriddleShake said:


> Just got my taxes done via TurboTax, with some help from my Quickbooks SE account. Finally done with this pain-in-the-butt process.
> Ended up not paying a dime, nor owing anything (expenses and deductions surpassed earnings by a little over a $1,000.) Was hoping for a refund.
> Drove all of 2017 full-time for both Uber and Lyft. San Diego, CA. I may post a separate thread on fun stats on miles, earnings, time spent online, etc.


hi bro 
This is my first year of Uber, I made about $70k. but my 1099 said $92k , with the $20k miles deduction. I still have pay the tax of $72 k , I went to my cpa she said I could have couple more thousands to write off , like meals , car wash , phone ...., which means I will have to pay the tax of $65k , it will cost me a lot of money. How is yours ? 
can I claim more miles deduction?


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## streetkings01

Getting money back from the state but owe federal. I only owe federal because I took that first time homebuyers credit back in 2008 which you have to pay back $500 a year. Owed the federal $425......got back $750 from the state.

I live in NY by the way.


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## Older Chauffeur

Dixon said:


> hi bro
> This is my first year of Uber, I made about $70k. but my 1099 said $92k , with the $20k miles deduction. I still have pay the tax of $72 k , I went to my cpa she said I could have couple more thousands to write off , like meals , car wash , phone ...., which means I will have to pay the tax of $65k , it will cost me a lot of money. How is yours ?
> can I claim more miles deduction?


Meals aren't deductible unless you are out of town overnight or buying meals for business clients, and you had better have good records and receipts, and then only 50%, IIRC. Can you get away with it? Sure, unless you're picked for an audit. Have you been paying estimated quarterly tax payments? If not, you may be stuck with some interest and penalties, depending on how much your tax liability was last year. Did Uber's mileage figure match your own log, including dead miles?

Disclosure: I'm not a tax professional. But I've been a contract driver for fifteen years, using a CPA to prepare my returns for eighteen.


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## McGriddleShake

Dixon said:


> hi bro
> This is my first year of Uber, I made about $70k. but my 1099 said $92k , with the $20k miles deduction. I still have pay the tax of $72 k , I went to my cpa she said I could have couple more thousands to write off , like meals , car wash , phone ...., which means I will have to pay the tax of $65k , it will cost me a lot of money. How is yours ?
> can I claim more miles deduction?


Look above at one of my attachments I uploaded here as part of the items I added as deductions. You should've added Uber service feea, booking fees, etc. It's in your 2017 Yearly Summary that Uber provides for you.


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## Spork24

Older Chauffeur said:


> Meals aren't deductible unless you are out of town overnight or buying meals for business clients, and you had better have good records and receipts, and then only 50%, IIRC. Can you get away with it? Sure, unless you're picked for an audit. Have you been paying estimated quarterly tax payments? If not, you may be stuck with some interest and penalties, depending on how much your tax liability was last year. Did Uber's mileage figure match your own log, including dead miles?
> 
> Disclosure: I'm not a tax professional. But I've been a contract driver for fifteen years, using a CPA to prepare my returns for eighteen.


how would uber/lyft know my dead miles?


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## Older Chauffeur

Spork24 said:


> how would uber/lyft know my dead miles?


Uber claims to have tracked all your online miles. Some drivers say it's fairly close, some say it's way off.


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## Jdelacruz129

NUBER-LE said:


> Someone doing Uber or Lyft as there sole job does not get a return.
> 
> You will either owe or not owe. You didnt put into taxes to get a refund.


I second that this is not true. I only made $8000 total with Uber/UberEATS and Amazon Flex. And I'm also "head of household" (taking care of my little brother) and I'm getting almost $2000 back in credits


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## NUBER-LE

Jdelacruz129 said:


> I second that this is not true. I only made $8000 total with Uber/UberEATS and Amazon Flex. And I'm also "head of household" (taking care of my little brother) and I'm getting almost $2000 back in credits


Ok well people with no dependants...... and doin uber alone does not get a return.



Older Chauffeur said:


> Uber claims to have tracked all your online miles. Some drivers say it's fairly close, some say it's way off.


Online miles is exactly what i logged. Many people drove like an hour to and from their home with app off, those dont count.


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## corniilius

I got back a total of $1600 after grossing over $70,000 combined with my day job. This will probably be my last year uberring, depending on the new tax code.


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## htboston

like i'll tell ya my tax info. the op crazy... lol


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## jester121

McGriddleShake said:


> This is what I listed for "miscellaneous deductions".


If you took *both* that $2400 in fuel card charges shown AND the standard mileage deduction, you're double-dipping that write off, and subject to getting hammered if they notice.


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## Uberk5487

I made 50k between Uber Lyft and postmate and a company call courier express....drove a whopping 82000 miles....that and the Uber fees that totaled 14 k took my income down to $3200....good thing is I owed only $200 in taxes....bad thing is if you go into a bank and need a loan like I do now for another car....they're gonna to say you make around $250 a month "get lost"....you can't get a loan or a mortgage anywhere with a reported yearly salary of $3200....another good thing is I now don't have to pay back my student loans because I'm considered to be living in dire poverty....I make $200 a day and is considered extremely impoverish....go figure.....


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## Older Chauffeur

Uberk5487 said:


> I made 50k between Uber Lyft and postmate and a company call courier express....drove a whopping 82000 miles....that and the Uber fees that totaled 14 k took my income down to $3200....good thing is I owed only $200 in taxes....bad thing is if you go into a bank and need a loan like I do now for another car....they're gonna to say you make around $250 a month "get lost"....you can't get a loan or a mortgage anywhere with a reported yearly salary of $3200....another good thing is I now don't have to pay back my student loans because I'm considered to be living in dire poverty....I make $200 a day and is considered extremely impoverish....go figure.....


Had you paid in through another job with payroll withholding, or made quarterly estimated payments? I ask because the Medicare and Social Security taxes on $3200 net profit would be almost $500. So maybe the $200 was in addition rather than your total tax due? Otherwise there may be an error somewhere in there.

Disclosure: I'm not a tax professional.


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## RedANT

Latest calculations show me owing more than what I made driving for Uber this year.  Optimistically speaking, however, I guess I'm happy to have made enough from other sources for that to be so.


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## Mista T

Did U/L full time in 2017.

Paid quarterlies.

Kid in college.

Getting all my quarterly $$ back, and then some.


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## UberDiaz

NUBER-LE said:


> Someone doing Uber or Lyft as there sole job does not get a return.
> 
> You will either owe or not owe. You didnt put into taxes to get a refund.


I've been doing uber for 4 years and i always get a refund back. I keep track of all my expense receipts it's a hassle but it's worth it. This year I'm getting $1863 back, similar to what i got last year


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## Frontier Guy

I owe, I owe, I owe. Ever since getting audited, I've had to be more cautious in my "deductions". Taxes for Rideshare I ended up with a net loss for the year. If I claim straight miles, I ended up with a $1,600 loss, if I claim actual expenses I end up with a $2,000 loss. Rough year, had to buy tires, brakes needed done, and my 60K service needed done. That compounded with gas and oil changes. Still haven't decided which I'll take for the final amount. At present, I owe $3,400 to feds and $900 to the state. Waiting for a brokerage statement and a couple of misc. items. Won't file till the last minute anyhow.


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## Uberk5487

Frontier Guy said:


> I owe, I owe, I owe. Ever since getting audited, I've had to be more cautious in my "deductions". Taxes for Rideshare I ended up with a net loss for the year. If I claim straight miles, I ended up with a $1,600 loss, if I claim actual expenses I end up with a $2,000 loss. Rough year, had to buy tires, brakes needed done, and my 60K service needed done. That compounded with gas and oil changes. Still haven't decided which I'll take for the final amount. At present, I owe $3,400 to feds and $900 to the state. Waiting for a brokerage statement and a couple of misc. items. Won't file till the last minute anyhow.


Why did you get audited....



UberDiaz said:


> I've been doing uber for 4 years and i always get a refund back. I keep track of all my expense receipts it's a hassle but it's worth it. This year I'm getting $1863 back, similar to what i got last year


You must get some type of income credit.....


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## SEAL Team 5

Frontier Guy said:


> I owe, I owe, I owe. Ever since getting audited, I've had to be more cautious in my "deductions". Taxes for Rideshare I ended up with a net loss for the year. If I claim straight miles, I ended up with a $1,600 loss, if I claim actual expenses I end up with a $2,000 loss. Rough year, had to buy tires, brakes needed done, and my 60K service needed done. That compounded with gas and oil changes. Still haven't decided which I'll take for the final amount. At present, I owe $3,400 to feds and $900 to the state. Waiting for a brokerage statement and a couple of misc. items. Won't file till the last minute anyhow.


You do know that once you take actual cost for deductions this year you *CANNOT *switch to standard mileage deduction next year for the same vehicle. And you still have to keep a mileage log to figure the percentage of personal miles to business miles.


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## UberDiaz

Uberk5487 said:


> Why did you get audited....
> 
> You must get some type of income credit.....


Yes i qualify since i made just under $40k and i have a child plus head of household


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## Brian G.

Haven't filed in 3 years I had net 40k before gas, tolls and Maintence last year. I have 2 children but the mothers claim them.


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## Dammit Mazzacane

Older Chauffeur said:


> Uber claims to have tracked all your online miles. Some drivers say it's fairly close, some say it's way off.


Here's why: Uber doesn't track the miles you're out driving Lyft passengers and vice-versa, and doesn't track driving without passengers. Best advice is to keep track of your miles independently using odo readiungs.


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## Uber3F

Dixon said:


> hi bro
> This is my first year of Uber, I made about $70k. but my 1099 said $92k , with the $20k miles deduction. I still have pay the tax of $72 k , I went to my cpa she said I could have couple more thousands to write off , like meals , car wash , phone ...., which means I will have to pay the tax of $65k , it will cost me a lot of money. How is yours ?
> can I claim more miles deduction?


I think there is a trick somewhere about Uber reporting what they make out of you on your form. Didn't that bump up the tax bracket each driver belong to? They should have summarized just how much net they pay out. I think that would have saved us money. Well, what do I know?


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## Older Chauffeur

SEAL Team 5 said:


> You do know that once you take actual cost for deductions this year you *CANNOT *switch to standard mileage deduction next year for the same vehicle. And you still have to keep a mileage log to figure the percentage of personal miles to business miles.


It looks like Frontier Guy has been doing this a while. As long as you use the SMR the first year, you can switch in later years if the actual expense method is advantageous. You are correct about the personal/business use mileage ratio applying to the repairs, tires, maintenance, etc.
Ref- IRS Pub 463


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## Skorpio




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## Frontier Guy

SEAL Team 5 said:


> You do know that once you take actual cost for deductions this year you *CANNOT *switch to standard mileage deduction next year for the same vehicle. And you still have to keep a mileage log to figure the percentage of personal miles to business miles.


Actually, if I take standard mileage the first year, I can switch back and forth each year thereafter, depending on which is more advantageous to me. I've talked to several CPA's on this, there's three different talk radio programs locally that host a couple of "tax days" before April 18th, where callers can call in with simple questions, this question has been asked multiple times. As someone pointed out in a different thread, the problem becomes, if you take the actual expenses deduction, and the following year you take mileage, and but the miles is equal to less than half your total miles, then it becomes a problem.


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## SEAL Team 5

Frontier Guy said:


> Actually, if I take standard mileage the first year, I can switch back and forth each year thereafter, depending on which is more advantageous to me.


Im not a professional, but I highly doubt that. Once you switch from actual cost to standard mileage deduction you can't switch back for that vehicle. You can switch from actual expenses to standard mileage deduction anytime, but once you use standard mileage deduction you can't switch to actual expenses. If that was the case then everyone would pay double payments, have major repairs performed, and get tires one year to deduct all the cost then spend nothing on repairs the next year while claiming mileage. Ask UberTaxPro, he is very knowledgable and helpful.


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## Mista T

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAMegQIExAB&usg=AOvVaw3ooUlrkWN9PQf0OpNDxZNV


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## Older Chauffeur

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Im not a professional, but I highly doubt that. Once you switch from actual cost to standard mileage deduction you can't switch back for that vehicle. You can switch from actual expenses to standard mileage deduction anytime, but once you use standard mileage deduction you can't switch to actual expenses. If that was the case then everyone would pay double payments, have major repairs performed, and get tires one year to deduct all the cost then spend nothing on repairs the next year while claiming mileage. Ask UberTaxPro, he is very knowledgable and helpful.


From IRS Pub 463:
Choosing the standard mileage rate.

If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you own, you must choose to use it in the first year the car is available for use in your business. Then, in later years, you can choose to use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses.


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## SEAL Team 5

Older Chauffeur said:


> From IRS Pub 463:
> Choosing the standard mileage rate.
> 
> If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you own, you must choose to use it in the first year the car is available for use in your business. Then, in later years, you can choose to use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses.


Ok, thanks. I knew something like that.


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## Ubingdowntown

Uberk5487 said:


> I made 50k between Uber Lyft and postmate and a company call courier express....drove a whopping 82000 miles....that and the Uber fees that totaled 14 k took my income down to $3200....good thing is I owed only $200 in taxes....bad thing is if you go into a bank and need a loan like I do now for another car....they're gonna to say you make around $250 a month "get lost"....you can't get a loan or a mortgage anywhere with a reported yearly salary of $3200....another good thing is I now don't have to pay back my student loans because I'm considered to be living in dire poverty....I make $200 a day and is considered extremely impoverish....go figure.....


3200 should of added another 0 you should be claiming around 12000 just from briefly reviewing your numbers


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## Okphillip

Uberk5487 said:


> I made 50k between Uber Lyft and postmate and a company call courier express....drove a whopping 82000 miles....that and the Uber fees that totaled 14 k took my income down to $3200....good thing is I owed only $200 in taxes....bad thing is if you go into a bank and need a loan like I do now for another car....they're gonna to say you make around $250 a month "get lost"....you can't get a loan or a mortgage anywhere with a reported yearly salary of $3200....another good thing is I now don't have to pay back my student loans because I'm considered to be living in dire poverty....I make $200 a day and is considered extremely impoverish....go figure.....


You made 50K on 82,000 miles? You need to go find another line of work. You are driving for $10/hr. Sorry but I guess you do what you gotta do but in this economy that makes no sense.


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## Juggalo9er

8736 back


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## SEAL Team 5

Frontier Guy said:


> Actually, if I take standard mileage the first year, I can switch back and forth each year thereafter, depending on which is more advantageous to me.


This was forwarded to me.

http://loopholelewy.com/loopholelew...es-02c-switching-to-actual-expense-method.htm


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## Leo1983

McGriddleShake said:


> Just got my taxes done via TurboTax, with some help from my Quickbooks SE account. Finally done with this pain-in-the-butt process.
> Ended up not paying a dime, nor owing anything (expenses and deductions surpassed earnings by a little over a $1,000.) Was hoping for a refund.
> Drove all of 2017 full-time for both Uber and Lyft. San Diego, CA. I may post a separate thread on fun stats on miles, earnings, time spent online, etc.


Yup. Sounds about right. Lyft just like most of the tech industry dumping expenses on the government, ultimately the middle classes pocket. And Americans just bend over and take it year after year. 
Downtown LA already resembles the slums of Mumbai.


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## Uberk5487

Okphillip said:


> You made 50K on 82,000 miles? You need to go find another line of work. You are driving for $10/hr. Sorry but I guess you do what you gotta do but in this economy that makes no sense.


You're a glass half empty type of guy huh?


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## jester121

Brian G. said:


> Haven't filed in 3 years I had net 40k before gas, tolls and Maintence last year.


This isn't going to end well.

Within the next 3-6 months, expect a notice from the IRS that they have graciously files returns on your behalf (with absolutely no write-offs whatsoever) and that they would like you to send them about $50K in taxes, interest, and failure to file penalties for 2015 and 2016. 2017 will take a bit of time for them to catch up with you, but the meter is running.

Ignore at your own peril -- you'll be in felony territory once they've notified you.


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## Brian G.

jester121 said:


> This isn't going to end well.
> 
> Within the next 3-6 months, expect a notice from the IRS that they have graciously files returns on your behalf (with absolutely no write-offs whatsoever) and that they would like you to send them about $50K in taxes, interest, and failure to file penalties for 2015 and 2016. 2017 will take a bit of time for them to catch up with you, but the meter is running.
> 
> Ignore at your own peril -- you'll be in felony territory once they've notified you.


Seems interesting. I doubt I'll be charged with a felony.


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## jester121

Not for a while yet.


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## Brian G.

jester121 said:


> Not for a while yet.


I'll be on the books before you know it anyways. I'm retiring from rideshare soon enough.


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## Spork24

SEAL Team 5 said:


> You do know that once you take actual cost for deductions this year you *CANNOT *switch to standard mileage deduction next year for the same vehicle. And you still have to keep a mileage log to figure the percentage of personal miles to business miles.


I have a 3rd car dedicated solely to rideshare and ive been pretty relaxed on my logs... should i be worried?


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## fwdmarch

I got a refund because of my uber driving. I was able to write off about $3,000 to offset earnings from my main job. I consistently drive on my commute to and from work with a DF on and rarely get a ping for much of the distance (interstate hwy). I wasn't able to deduct all those miles since you can't deduct personal commuting miles. (I only count the miles on days I actually get pings)


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## SEAL Team 5

Spork24 said:


> I have a 3rd car dedicated solely to rideshare and ive been pretty relaxed on my logs... should i be worried?


With 3 cars it can be easily proved that one is a dedicated rideshare. As long as you had the app on for every mile and truly were working then it should be fine.



fwdmarch said:


> I consistently drive on my commute to and from work with a DF on and rarely get a ping for much of the distance (interstate hwy). I wasn't able to deduct all those miles since you can deduct personal commuting miles. (I only count the miles on days I actually get pings)


Wow, you are nearly the only one that understands this. I was in a conversation with a guy that thought he can put the destination filter on when he was traveling to his normal everyday job 40 miles away and get every mile deducted. These are the numbers he said he filed with his '17 tax return.

Total '17 dollars made from rideshare, $600
Total '17 miles deducted 44,000.
He wrote off $22,000 as a business loss against his W-2 income. I told him to prepare to be audited. As you posted about those commuting miles that you must perform everyday, you are smart to only deduct the miles that vary you off from your necessary route.


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## Ride Nights & Weekends

Brian G. said:


> Seems interesting. I doubt I'll be charged with a felony.


I've noticed a few things about you man.....

Not only are you dodging taxes.....but you also prefer to make less so you can stay on food stamps. You have some character issues and you should resolve them
...before they carch up to you.



Brian G. said:


> I'll be on the books before you know it anyways. I'm retiring from rideshare soon enough.


And promptly fired from the new gig when the Tax Lien shows up on your credit report.

Trust me dude......that shit is no joke. I had a business that i never made a transaction with and still had to pay a pretty penny to clear it off my credit.

Why? Because i never filed taxes.



SEAL Team 5 said:


> With 3 cars it can be easily proved that one is a dedicated rideshare. As long as you had the app on for every mile and truly were working then it should be fine.
> 
> Wow, you are nearly the only one that understands this. I was in a conversation with a guy that thought he can put the destination filter on when he was traveling to his normal everyday job 40 miles away and get every mile deducted. These are the numbers he said he filed with his '17 tax return.
> 
> Total '17 dollars made from rideshare, $600
> Total '17 miles deducted 44,000.
> He wrote off $22,000 as a business loss against his W-2 income. I told him to prepare to be audited. As you posted about those commuting miles that you must perform everyday, you are smart to only deduct the miles that vary you off from your necessary route.


Couldn't he just drive with the app on and not use the DF, and reject any pings for the same outcome?


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## Brian G.

Ride Nights & Weekends said:


> I've noticed a few things about you man.....
> 
> Not only are you dodging taxes.....but you also prefer to make less so you can stay on food stamps. You have some character issues and you should resolve them
> ...before they carch up to you.


Yes the food stamps do help as I only drive 5 hrs a day vs 8-9 hrs I used to do. I went from ft to pt, applied for food stamps and free health care and got both. I choose to live my life this way but it won't be permanent. Like I said before I'll be on the books soon and will lose all benifits and will start to use the ER as my doctor once again.



Ride Nights & Weekends said:


> I've noticed a few things about you man.....
> 
> Not only are you dodging taxes.....but you also prefer to make less so you can stay on food stamps.  You have some character issues and you should resolve them
> ...before they carch up to you.
> 
> And promptly fired from the new gig when the Tax Lien shows up on your credit report.
> 
> Trust me dude......that shit is no joke. I had a business that i never made a transaction with and still had to pay a pretty penny to clear it off my credit.
> 
> Why? Because i never filed taxes.
> 
> Couldn't he just drive with the app on and not use the DF, and reject any pings for the same outcome?


I've paid plenty of income taxes and maybe that will help in the future if I ever am audited.


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## Ride Nights & Weekends

Brian G. said:


> Yes the food stamps do help as I only drive 5 hrs a day vs 8-9 hrs I used to do. I went from ft to pt, applied for food stamps and free health care and got both. I choose to live my life this way but it won't be permanent. Like I said before I'll be on the books soon and will lose all benifits and will start to use the ER as my doctor once again.
> 
> I've paid plenty of income taxes and maybe that will help in the future if I ever am audited.


It won't help.

Bro, man up and pay your own way.

I pay enough in Taxes.....no desire to pay more for able bodied people that skate their responsibilities.


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## Frontier Guy

Brian G. said:


> Yes the food stamps do help as I only drive 5 hrs a day vs 8-9 hrs I used to do. I went from ft to pt, applied for food stamps and free health care and got both. I choose to live my life this way but it won't be permanent. Like I said before I'll be on the books soon and will lose all benifits and will start to use the ER as my doctor once again.
> 
> I've paid plenty of income taxes and maybe that will help in the future if I ever am audited.


Having been audited, they don't give a shit how much you've paid in the past, all that matters is the one specific year in question. Oh, and tax dodging, that's a felony


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## Brian G.

Frontier Guy said:


> Having been audited, they don't give a shit how much you've paid in the past, all that matters is the one specific year in question. Oh, and tax dodging, that's a felony


Felony? Does that mean 3 meals a day, free rent, healthcare and housing for a little bit? Seems like a vaca to me.


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## Frontier Guy

Brian G. said:


> Felony? Does that mean 3 meals a day, free rent, healthcare and housing for a little bit? Seems like a vaca to me.


A little bit? I guess if you call 5 to 7 yrs in an 8 x 10 cell, plus a fine that continues to earn interest a vacation. Tell you what sunshine, having spent time as a guest of the federal gov't, it's not a walk in the park.


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## Brian G.

Frontier Guy said:


> A little bit? I guess if you call 5 to 7 yrs in an 8 x 10 cell, plus a fine that continues to earn interest a vacation. Tell you what sunshine, having spent time as a guest of the federal gov't, it's not a walk in the park.


I hightly doubt that lol 5-7 yrs please. How would I pay a fine with zero income?


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## Cdub2k

Our president doesn't pay taxes why the hell should we?


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## Brian G.

Cdub2k said:


> Our president doesn't pay taxes why the hell should we?


I know right? You know very wealthy people avoid taxes like the plague. They usually start a foundation to start. I'm a small fish and if by chance I get a knock I'll be more excited then upset.


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## Frontier Guy

Brian G. said:


> I hightly doubt that lol 5-7 yrs please. How would I pay a fine with zero income?


They suspend payment until 120 days after your release, but don't worry, the interest keeps adding up



Brian G. said:


> I know right? You know very wealthy people avoid taxes like the plague. They usually start a foundation to start. I'm a small fish and if by chance I get a knock I'll be more excited then upset.


There's a reason the wealthy are wealthy. I can assure you, they still pay taxes. Oh, and when you get that letter in the mail, they don't knock until much later, for a payment demand, well, let's just say most IRS agents are more than happy to work with you, they'll bend over backwards to make sure you have a pleasant exp., right up till they hand you the bill. Having been audited by the IRS twice, I can assure you, it's not a fun exp..


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## Brian G.

Frontier Guy said:


> They suspend payment until 120 days after your release, but don't worry, the interest keeps adding up
> 
> There's a reason the wealthy are wealthy. I can assure you, they still pay taxes. Oh, and when you get that letter in the mail, they don't knock until much later, for a payment demand, well, let's just say most IRS agents are more than happy to work with you, they'll bend over backwards to make sure you have a pleasant exp., right up till they hand you the bill. Having been audited by the IRS twice, I can assure you, it's not a fun exp..


Cool I get to experience of 4 mnths of freedom and back to vacation I go. This whole jail thing wouldn't happend. It's all paperwork and threats.


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## Frontier Guy

Brian G. said:


> Cool I get to experience of 4 mnths of freedom and back to vacation I go. This whole jail thing wouldn't happend. It's all paperwork and threats.


Oh, so you've been audited before? You've been investigated by the IRS for failure to pay taxes in the past, when exactly did this occur, please enlighten us.


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## nash801

McGriddleShake said:


> Just got my taxes done via TurboTax, with some help from my Quickbooks SE account. Finally done with this pain-in-the-butt process.
> Ended up not paying a dime, nor owing anything (expenses and deductions surpassed earnings by a little over a $1,000.) Was hoping for a refund.
> Drove all of 2017 full-time for both Uber and Lyft. San Diego, CA. I may post a separate thread on fun stats on miles, earnings, time spent online, etc.


Impossible. You can't avoid self employment tax


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## fwdmarch

nash801 said:


> Impossible. You can't avoid self employment tax


If you show a loss no self employment tax is imposed.


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## RamzFanz

McGriddleShake said:


> Just got my taxes done via TurboTax, with some help from my Quickbooks SE account. Finally done with this pain-in-the-butt process.
> Ended up not paying a dime, nor owing anything (expenses and deductions surpassed earnings by a little over a $1,000.) Was hoping for a refund.
> Drove all of 2017 full-time for both Uber and Lyft. San Diego, CA. I may post a separate thread on fun stats on miles, earnings, time spent online, etc.


You probably had too many deductions. They will kill your refund hopes.



NUBER-LE said:


> Someone doing Uber or Lyft as there sole job does not get a return.
> 
> You will either owe or not owe. You didnt put into taxes to get a refund.


False.



SEAL Team 5 said:


> Did you pay quarterly taxes? You can't get a refund if you didn't contribute. This might be good because you have a zero tax burden, but you need to look at the big picture. You're not even making $.50/mile driving your personal vehicle.
> 
> Not only should you profit from your vehicle, but you should be able to pay yourself an hourly wage. You basically worked for free last year and traded in any equity you had with your vehicle to break even. Thats the recipe for a losing business proposition.


False on many accounts.



Brian G. said:


> Haven't filed in 3 years I had net 40k before gas, tolls and Maintence last year. I have 2 children but the mothers claim them.


You haven't filed in 3 years?

Wow you are headed for some hurt.



fwdmarch said:


> I got a refund because of my uber driving. I was able to write off about $3,000 to offset earnings from my main job. I consistently drive on my commute to and from work with a DF on and rarely get a ping for much of the distance (interstate hwy). I wasn't able to deduct all those miles since you can't deduct personal commuting miles. (I only count the miles on days I actually get pings)


Uh, no. You can deduct any miles where you are attempting to do business.



nash801 said:


> Impossible. You can't avoid self employment tax


False.


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## autofill

Anyone who owe taxes doing Uber/Lyft full time is filing their taxes wrong.


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## Mars Troll Number 4

autofill said:


> Anyone who owe taxes doing Uber/Lyft full time is filing their taxes wrong.


depends on the market. Seattle/boston and a few others WILL owe taxes..

Orlando?

yeah not going to happen.


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## bobbbobbobb

I am getting small fed and state refunds, primarily because I decided to deduct all of my car's depreciation in one year - I bought a used 2015 Prius last year. Uber and Lyft driving was my only income for 2017. The complicating thing is that I'm still filing jointly with my near-ex.


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## GreatGooglyMoogly

Ride Nights & Weekends said:


> Couldn't he just drive with the app on and not use the DF, and reject any pings for the same outcome?


The IRS, should they choose to ask, would question those miles whether you had your app on or not. Intentionality is always the key with the IRS...if your miles are clearly not the intended to be rideshare but a flimsy attempt to rename your commute they will disallow them.

I would be very hesitant to claim a lot of mileage-based losses, whether I had a GPS mileage based log or not.

Most of my miles are suburban, so I tend to have higher miles than those who focus on the downtown area. Last year, my standard mileage deduction, supported by the Everlance app, was 94% of my revenue. I think I had a net profit of like $45.

For me, the standard mileage deduction is much higher than my actual expenses. My 200K mile Santa Fe is not worth any less than when it was a 175K mile Santa Fe.


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