# 5 weeks' expenses



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

I'm saving all receipts for car washes, gas (for Uber driving, not personal driving), and miscellaneous expenses.

After 5 weeks, my receipts add up to $647.63. To be fair, that does include $192 for window tint, which I guess was not essential. And $25 for rubber floor mats, which also may not have been necessary. Without those, I spent $403.

That's still not including basic maintenance (oil changes, fluid top ups, etc) or taxes.


----------



## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

Main thing is to keep track of your mileage from start to stop each time you work. You will need this to take the proper tax deduction for your vehicle expenses and is also a good way to know what your actual expenses are once you figure out a fairly accurate cost per mile to operate your vehicle. For me personally I use a .40 cent per mile figure for my expenses. The tax write off is .56 cents per mile. You can also write off your window tint, mats and car washes in addition to the .56 cent per mile deduction, but not oil changes, maintenance, tires, payment, insurance, etc. These are all part of that .56 cents per mile deduction.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

What I've made:
$1,987.21 (after Uber's fees)
-$647.63 Expenses (above)
-$270.26 FICA
=$1,069.32 in 5 weeks.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

LookyLou said:


> Main thing is to keep track of your mileage from start to stop each time you work. You will need this to take the proper tax deduction for your vehicle expenses and is also a good way to know what your actual expenses are once you figure out a fairly accurate cost per mile to operate your vehicle. For me personally I use a .40 cent per mile figure for my expenses. The tax write off is .56 cents per mile. You can also write off your window tint, mats and car washes in addition to the .56 cent per mile deduction, but not oil changes, maintenance, tires, payment, insurance, etc. These are all part of that .56 cents per mile deduction.


Thanks, LookyLou.

What's the most efficient way to track mileage? Should I just add up all the mileage from the Uber invoices or should I be tracking the mileage before and after rides, too? The main reason I don't do the latter is because my waiting spot is usually home, which is in a fairly active location, but sometimes it's pretty far from where I have dropped off pax. Also, it's already December. Should I bother to start tracking the mileage I'm driving to and from paid rides for tax purposes, or just wait until next year?


----------



## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> Thanks, LookyLou.
> 
> What's the most efficient way to track mileage? Should I just add up all the mileage from the Uber invoices or should I be tracking the mileage before and after rides, too? The main reason I don't do the latter is because my waiting spot is usually home, which is in a fairly active location, but sometimes it's pretty far from where I have dropped off pax. Also, it's already December. Should I bother to start tracking the mileage I'm driving to and from paid rides for tax purposes, or just wait until next year?


Yes, log all mileage including without a pax. I would keep close track for the remainder of Dec. Then look at that time period and see how it compares to the way you were doing it before for that same period of time. Then see what the difference is between the two from a percentage standpoint. Then go back and add that percentage to the mileage you had tracked the old way since you started. This could be quite substantial. Could be double or more actually. Many drivers are about equal paid miles with pax to empty miles.


----------



## UberHustla (Dec 2, 2014)

How do taxes work? Are you able to deduct expenses? This will be my first year filing as a uber driver. Also do you need receipts? Thanks


----------



## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

UberHustla said:


> How do taxes work? Are you able to deduct expenses? This will be my first year filing as a uber driver. Also do you need receipts? Thanks


If you are deducting mileage, which is likely higher than actual vehicle expenses, then you do not need receipts, just a mileage log. You do need receipts if you wish to instead itemize your vehicle expenses,. You also need receipts for other non-vehicle related business expenses that you wish to deduct.


----------



## UberHustla (Dec 2, 2014)

Fauxknight said:


> If you are deducting mileage, which is likely higher than actual vehicle expenses, then you do not need receipts, just a mileage log. You do need receipts if you wish to instead itemize your vehicle expenses,. You also need receipts for other non-vehicle related business expenses that you wish to deduct.


So I should log myself each trip, the mileage, date and time I guess, right? What about when I get gas?


----------



## Peter O' (Nov 18, 2014)

been drivin for a long time keep track of everthing i mean everything

keep recepits on everthing use one credit card for driving nothin else

one card makes it easy to figure out gas washes repairs tires

feds came after me once the records saved my ass

state is the worst every couple of years i get a letter wantin more money

only had to pay em once couple hundred bucks

us the stuff once a year to see how im doing

keep records on everything everything everything


----------



## UberHustla (Dec 2, 2014)

Peter O' said:


> been drivin for a long time keep track of everthing i mean everything
> 
> keep recepits on everthing use one credit card for driving nothin else
> 
> ...


I appreciate the information, I will do that. Thanks for the advice


----------



## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

UberHustla said:


> I appreciate the information, I will do that. Thanks for the advice


Log your mileage from the start of your shift to the very end when you get home. Do not depend on Uber's mileage or you will be shortchanging yourself big time.


----------



## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

My CPA insists on a log with actual start and finish odometer readings for each job, which I keep in a day minder planner. I also enter expense amounts in the planner, but keep receipts separate. It helps me when I bill my clients as well as prepping for tax time. Keep a record of your cell phone bills, or those you pay to Uber if you are using theirs. You may be able to deduct for both.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Then I got this pretty infographic for the first time today. Over 60 hours, and I made $660 after Uber fees. Of course, $50 was a cleaning fee, $5 was a new pax promo and $4 was a cancellation fee. That's $600/60 = $10/hr before taxes and expenses.


----------



## Samename (Oct 31, 2014)

Listen to what Lou is saying. It's easiest to track mileage from start of shift to end of shift. Use IRS mile deduction, by the sounds of it you are probably barely breaking even, or losing money at the IRS rate. Hope you have an older car so that this isn't in fact true. For me I generally need to make $16-$20 an hour after Ubers cut to net $10 an hour after expenses.

Thanks for sharing your numbrs.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Fauxknight said:


> If you are deducting mileage, which is likely higher than actual vehicle expenses, then you do not need receipts, just a mileage log. You do need receipts if you wish to instead itemize your vehicle expenses,. You also need receipts for other non-vehicle related business expenses that you wish to deduct.


I need to have my timing belt changed. That's $1000 alone. Can I claim the entire thing as a work-related expense, or will it just be a percentage that counts since I also use my vehicle for personal transportation?


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Samename said:


> Listen to what Lou is saying. It's easiest to track mileage from start of shift to end of shift. Use IRS mile deduction, by the sounds of it you are probably barely breaking even, or losing money at the IRS rate. Hope you have an older car so that this isn't in fact true. For me I generally need to make $16-$20 an hour after Ubers cut to net $10 an hour after expenses.
> 
> Thanks for sharing your numbrs.


I have a 2008 Honda pilot with 139k miles. No car payment.

I'll definitely start tracking miles!

I really appreciate the advice!


----------



## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> I need to have my timing belt changed. That's $1000 alone. Can I claim the entire thing as a work-related expense, or will it just be a percentage that counts since I also use my vehicle for personal transportation?


You will need to take the percentage of personal mileage from the total car expenses, as you suspect. A tax pro could say for sure, but I think that repair comes under the mileage deduction, if that's how you're handling car expenses. OTOH, if you want to take all vehicle expenses and subtract the personal mileage percentage, maybe you will come out ahead. A couple of thousand miles at $.56 would cover the repair, but neither option is going to put up the cash to pay the shop. It will help come tax time if you have enough income to offset in deductions.


----------



## UberHustla (Dec 2, 2014)

I know I'm clueless, but I'll ask anyway. What do you mean breaking even or losing money at the IRS rate? Sorry for all the questions, but this is helpful for me, thanks


----------



## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> I need to have my timing belt changed. That's $1000 alone. Can I claim the entire thing as a work-related expense, or will it just be a percentage that counts since I also use my vehicle for personal transportation?


The timing belt can't be written off as an expense if you use the .56 cent per mile deduction. It can be written off if you use actual expenses instead of the .56 cents per mile. The .56 cents per mile deduction usually comes out much higher than actual expenses, but not always.


----------



## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

UberHustla

Are you asking me? If so, please elaborate.


----------



## UberHustla (Dec 2, 2014)

I had a water pump on my car fixed. Can I get that money back?


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

UberHustla said:


> I know I'm clueless, but I'll ask anyway. What do you mean breaking even or losing money at the IRS rate? Sorry for all the questions, but this is helpful for me, thanks


If the irs considers that your expenses total a "loss," then you get your full taxes back. Basically, you haven't made any money, so you don't pay taxes on $0. I'm no tax expert, but I think that's the gist of what people are saying. Your expenses may not total $.56 per mile, but that is the IRS's default rate, which may or may not benefit you.


----------



## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

UberHustla said:


> I know I'm clueless, but I'll ask anyway. What do you mean breaking even or losing money at the IRS rate? Sorry for all the questions, but this is helpful for me, thanks


Lets say today you did $100.00 in fares on 10 rides and drove 180 miles.

Earnings
$100.00 - $10.00 safe ride fee = $90.00
$90.00 - 20% Uber fee = $72.00 payment from Uber

Expenses
.56 cents per mile IRS rate x 180 miles = $100.80 deduction.

So in this case you had a $28.80 loss for the day according to the IRS. You would owe no tax on that $72.00 earnings from Uber.


----------



## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

UberHustla,
The water pump would be treated just like the timing belt in the other posts. You can deduct vehicle expenses by either means on Schedule C, the business form. You also have to use the self employment work sheet to figure out your FICA tax on your income from Uber. You can do it with TurboTax, but I like having a pro do mine.


----------



## UberHustla (Dec 2, 2014)

Thanks everyone! I will keep my milage and hand my paperwork to a pro. I really appreciate it


----------



## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Another consideration is that the IRS will allow you something like five years to show a profit, otherwise they call it a "hobby." Is Uber going to be here in five years? In my case, I have always shown a profit, which gets added into the other income I have on Schedule A to figure my total tax. Hope this helps.
Disclaimer: I am not a tax preparer, nor do I play one on TV.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Older Chauffeur said:


> Another consideration is that the IRS will allow you something like five years to show a profit, otherwise they call it a "hobby." Is Uber going to be here in five years? In my case, I have always shown a profit, which gets added into the other income I have on Schedule A to figure my total tax. Hope this helps.
> Disclaimer: I am not a tax preparer, nor do I play one on TV.


I remember this from when I worked as an independent contractor when I was pet sitting in Charlotte


----------



## CowboyMC (Aug 26, 2014)

You should also keep Uber documentation to back-up your daily mileage records. If you drive for a business purpose, like going to an Uber meeting, and did not pick-up clients that day, you should put the business reason for that daily mileage in your log.


----------



## CowboyMC (Aug 26, 2014)

To the people who manage this website. We show have a frequently asked question area. We get these same questions all the time.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

CowboyMC said:


> To the people who manage this website. We show have a frequently asked question area. We get these same questions all the time.


You know, I've even tried to use the search function because I know this has to come up often, but it was not at all helpful.

But really my post was about my experience as an Uber driver and what I've made so far. I think it may be helpful for people considering this line of work.


----------



## JeffD1964 (Nov 27, 2014)

Jax - 

It doesn't sound like very much money in income. Are you driving peak times? 5 weeks for $1k? Is that about right? Are you working 40 hour weeks?


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

JeffD1964 said:


> Jax -
> 
> It doesn't sound like very much money in income. Are you driving peak times? 5 weeks for $1k? Is that about right? Are you working 40 hour weeks?


That's exactly my point! I am on when Uber notifies me that it will be busy. I just got the peak times report for the first time this week. They say I could make an extra $347 by driving those times. Not worth it. I can't work 1-6am. I have a child to care for, and she's rearing to go at 7am.


----------



## JeffD1964 (Nov 27, 2014)

Do the blue bars represent when you were on?


----------



## JeffD1964 (Nov 27, 2014)

Sorry. Sorry. I understand now.


----------



## JeffD1964 (Nov 27, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> View attachment 2848
> 
> 
> That's exactly my point! I am on when Uber notifies me that it will be busy. I just got the peak times report for the first time this week. They say I could make an extra $347 by driving those times. Not worth it. I can't work 1-6am. I have a child to care for, and she's rearing to go at 7am.


Ok. I get your point. I have no little ones at home. I'm expecting to work from about 10 PM until about 3-4 AM Fridays and Saturdays. I hope to hit the surge times a bit more. Do you get much business around the lunch hour?


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

JeffD1964 said:


> Ok. I get your point. I have no little ones at home. I'm expecting to work from about 10 PM until about 3-4 AM Fridays and Saturdays. I hope to hit the surge times a bit more. Do you get much business around the lunch hour?


Any time my husband is home with my daughter, I'm pretty much logged in. I log out when I'm too tired to drive (usually around 12 or 1). I don't usually get to drive the lunch hour because my husband works an hour away and doesn't get home until around 7pm.

I thought Monday night football might get me a couple of pings, but there were 8 cars out at the beach last night. I only had one $8 ride around lunch time when my daughter was in her 3-hour playgroup.

I pretty much spent the whole week last week trying to see if I could make money. We had very little time together as a family. I'm wondering if i should just sleep in a split shift, work 1-3am, then go back to bed.


----------



## JeffD1964 (Nov 27, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> Any time my husband is home with my daughter, I'm pretty much logged in. I log out when I'm too tired to drive (usually around 12 or 1). I don't usually get to drive the lunch hour because my husband works an hour away and doesn't get home until around 7pm.
> 
> I thought Monday night football might get me a couple of pings, but there were 8 cars out at the beach last night. I only had one $8 ride around lunch time when my daughter was in her 3-hour playgroup.
> 
> I pretty much spent the whole week last week trying to see if I could make money. We had very little time together as a family. I'm wondering if i should just sleep in a split shift, work 1-3am, then go back to bed.


I'm 50. Naps come easily and are highly beneficial. I work a day job that provides about a 2 hour lunch time each day, so was hopeful logging in about that time might win me some dollars. On Fridays, I can knock off shortly after lunch and get some rest for the evening. Same thing saturdays. I haven't started doing this yet. In your situation, I'm not sure I would.

You obviously thought it was going to be more rewarding financially, right? Any thoughts about next steps, how to make it more remunerative?


----------



## JeffD1964 (Nov 27, 2014)

Ok wait, if we're at break even or worse, how about we hire ourselves for our personal drives? We need to go to grocery store, we hire ourselves, lose money, but make it as a customer and slowly earn income over time? ;-)


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

JeffD1964 said:


> I'm 50. Naps come easily and are highly beneficial. I work a day job that provides about a 2 hour lunch time each day, so was hopeful logging in about that time might win me some dollars. On Fridays, I can knock off shortly after lunch and get some rest for the evening. Same thing saturdays. I haven't started doing this yet. In your situation, I'm not sure I would.
> 
> You obviously thought it was going to be more rewarding financially, right? Any thoughts about next steps, how to make it more remunerative?


I'm going to talk to my accountant when I get my taxes done to see how this works out, and help decide if I should continue. Right now, I need income coming in, even if it ends up costing me in the long run. I have $10k in property taxes due, so unless I want to start pawning things, I need to come up with $$$$.

The tips really help. I'm putting all my gas on one card, but for everything else, I'm using cash.

And even though I'm finding the time to work 60 hours, I can't really commit to a job with set hours right now because I fear I would be unreliable with a young kid and trying to finish my degree.


----------



## UberDC (Jul 12, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> View attachment 2834
> 
> 
> Then I got this pretty infographic for the first time today. Over 60 hours, and I made $660 after Uber fees. Of course, $50 was a cleaning fee, $5 was a new pax promo and $4 was a cancellation fee. That's $600/60 = $10/hr before taxes and expenses.


That's all for 60hrs??? Wow...I feel sorry for u, lol.


----------



## JeffD1964 (Nov 27, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> I'm going to talk to my accountant when I get my taxes done to see how this works out, and help decide if I should continue. Right now, I need income coming in, even if it ends up costing me in the long run. I have $10k in property taxes due, so unless I want to start pawning things, I need to come up with $$$$.
> 
> The tips really help. I'm putting all my gas on one card, but for everything else, I'm using cash.
> 
> And even though I'm finding the time to work 60 hours, I can't really commit to a job with set hours right now because I fear I would be unreliable with a young kid and trying to finish my degree.


My hat's off to you. A job and kid are tough enough. Getting your degree as well is a level of commitment I don't think I possess. I wish you the best Jax.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

JeffD1964 said:


> My hat's off to you. A job and kid are tough enough. Getting your degree as well is a level of commitment I don't think I possess. I wish you the best Jax.


Thank you.


----------



## jimmydewrag1 (Dec 9, 2014)

Good luck Jax..Keep us informed if things($) get better for you. I am new in thinking about trying this in South Florida..I love the flexibility aspect. The money not so much. Peace Frank


----------



## Tristan Zier (Nov 25, 2014)

UberHustla said:


> How do taxes work? Are you able to deduct expenses? This will be my first year filing as a uber driver. Also do you need receipts? Thanks


Happy to point you to some educational resources if you PM me. The short: taxes for Uber drivers aren't as complicated as people think (though accountants want you to think that so they continue having business!), and you get a lot of leniency from the IRS in terms of writing off expenses as an independent contractor. (For example, employees can't write off their commute, but you can technically write off driving to your area of work where you plan to pick up passengers.)


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

LookyLou said:


> Main thing is to keep track of your mileage from start to stop each time you work. You will need this to take the proper tax deduction for your vehicle expenses and is also a good way to know what your actual expenses are once you figure out a fairly accurate cost per mile to operate your vehicle. For me personally I use a .40 cent per mile figure for my expenses. The tax write off is .56 cents per mile. You can also write off your window tint, mats and car washes in addition to the .56 cent per mile deduction, but not oil changes, maintenance, tires, payment, insurance, etc. These are all part of that .56 cents per mile deduction.





LookyLou said:


> Yes, log all mileage including without a pax. I would keep close track for the remainder of Dec. Then look at that time period and see how it compares to the way you were doing it before for that same period of time. Then see what the difference is between the two from a percentage standpoint. Then go back and add that percentage to the mileage you had tracked the old way since you started. This could be quite substantial. Could be double or more actually. Many drivers are about equal paid miles with pax to empty miles.





Samename said:


> Listen to what Lou is saying. It's easiest to track mileage from start of shift to end of shift. Use IRS mile deduction, by the sounds of it you are probably barely breaking even, or losing money at the IRS rate. Hope you have an older car so that this isn't in fact true. For me I generally need to make $16-$20 an hour after Ubers cut to net $10 an hour after expenses.
> 
> Thanks for sharing your numbrs.





jimmydewrag1 said:


> Good luck Jax..Keep us informed if things($) get better for you. I am new in thinking about trying this in South Florida..I love the flexibility aspect. The money not so much. Peace Frank


OK, I tracked my mileage this week.

Total driven: 512
Total paid: 235.54
Unpaid driven: 276.46

In fares, I made $407.
512 miles x $.565 IRS gas/maintenance/depreciation = $289.28
So, I guess that means I netted roughly $117.72 this week.
Oh, and I made $12 in tips this week -- you know, because people are more generous around the holidays.

I haven't been tracking how many hours I've been logged in, but in looking at when my fares began and ended, I was active on the app AT LEAST 30 hours!

So, however you want to calculate it, my income falls somewhere between
$407 for 30 hours before expenses, or $13.57/hour,
and after gas, maintenance and depreciation: $117.72 / 30 = $3.92/hour
with a $12 icing on top for the week.


----------



## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> OK, I tracked my mileage this week.
> 
> Total driven: 512
> Total paid: 235.54
> ...


If you use my .40 cents per mile as your operating cost which is probably more accurate, you made $6.75 per hour.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

LookyLou said:


> If you use my .40 cents per mile as your operating cost which is probably more accurate, you made $6.75 per hour.


Well, glory, glory!


----------



## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> Well, glory, glory!


That is pretty close to what I do staying out of the busy downtown areas. Longer distances to pickups, but usually longer than min fare rides.


----------



## haohmaru (Sep 18, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> OK, I tracked my mileage this week.
> 
> Total driven: 512
> Total paid: 235.54
> ...


And this is why I gave up doing this in this area. You can't make any money. Did you sign up for Lyft too? That can help with some gaps.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

haohmaru said:


> And this is why I gave up doing this in this area. You can't make any money. Did you sign up for Lyft too? That can help with some gaps.


They denied me because of an accident from 7 years ago.


----------



## haohmaru (Sep 18, 2014)

You're not missing much. The ratio (for me) has been about 5:1 Uber:Lyft pings.


----------

