# Uber and child support



## rubidoux (Jan 23, 2017)

Sooo... Uber is my first significant source of income since I started receiving child support and Im wondering how to handle it, specifically how much of my income to tell my ex about so he can know how much less to give me. 

Specifically, should I subtract from my earnings gas, car repairs, car washes, the $300 ticket for the illegal left turn i took while on a trip, etc? Maybe even the car since i had a perfectly awesome but not uberable car before i bought my current car specifically to uber with?


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

rubidoux said:


> Specifically, should I subtract from my earnings the $300 ticket for the illegal left turn i took while on a trip, etc?


Not an allowable deduction.


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## nickd8775 (Jul 12, 2015)

57 cents a mile. You could even operate at a loss


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

You're... in for a legal fight...


It's going to take a lawyer and a battle to determine what your income is and what your expenses are. My advice is to consult and attorney.

I'm assuming you're on a % plan for giving the baby mamma money?
If that's the case you, your lawyer, her lawyer (and or the court) all have to come to an agreement about what your business expenses are, what your income is, and what you owe her should be.


There's 4 opinions on how much your car costs to operate...dd

There's how the IRS counts expenses (53.5c per mile)

How much your car actually costs to operate (I have no idea, and neither will you until you get rid of your car and total every cost up subtract what you got the car for and have your final cost to operate the car over the entire time you owned it)

What your wifes lawyer or the court believes your car operates on (magic pixie Dust, namely they will think your car operates on magical fairy dust and claim that you have no expenses, or no expenses beyond gasoline. This is the OPENING claim, and 100% wrong)

What you think your car operates on. (blood sweat and tears) (this is entirely your opinion)


Your wife's lawyer will not accept that you operate at a loss, neither will the court (if applicable)
The actual cost of operating the car is incalculable until you get rid of the car, so you can't use that either.



CONSULT, A LAWYER!
This is a complex negotiation waiting to happen.
There needs to be a consensus about how much your car costs to operate or you will be paying X% of your revenue instead of X% of your profit which is grossly unfair for you.


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## rubidoux (Jan 23, 2017)

So you think just the same as for taxes? 

I hear you on that ticket but jeez, ive been driving for 20 years and thats the first one i ever got. Would not have happened if i wasnt ubering. I actually think my ex would be amenable to not counting that 300 going toward paying the ticket. We both want the kids taken care of.

Mears, I am the wife and recipient of the child support. My ex and I dont get along at all. But we do both love our children and we havent truly fought over anything in our divorce settlement. I dont anticipate a huge struggle as long as he doesnt feel like im screwing him. 

So far in my almost 3 months of ubering ive had an accident ($250), a ticket (300), and a break repair (400). I feel like if i sit down with him i can say, look, if I have to lose child support for all that i should just stay home and keep living off your money... There has to be a way to meet in the middle.

So i guess im asking two different questions, id like to know what the law says and also what you guys think is fair. I think we will lean towards fair but to some extent the law might inform that a little, iykwim.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

If you can write off a lot of dead miles and don't get a lot of surges than you are not making a profit and should not be penalized for it. You may have to explain yourself since all IRS and SS and any agencies looking for income is the reported amount that will end up on your 1099K. Otherwise go find an under the table part time job instead.

If you don't have any profit after expenses you have no income from this job. Driving for Uber in most places is like taking a payday loan against the value of your car.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

rubidoux said:


> So you think just the same as for taxes?
> 
> I hear you on that ticket but jeez, ive been driving for 20 years and thats the first one i ever got. Would not have happened if i wasnt ubering. I actually think my ex would be amenable to not counting that 300 going toward paying the ticket. We both want the kids taken care of.
> 
> ...


I'm saying this because... depending on the market it's impossible to show a profit on taxes with uber, as the recipient of child support this changes very little.

You don't want $30,000 in revenue with $15,000 in deductible expenses giving you $30,000 in income towards any child support/alimony calculations when it should only be giving you 15. I guess this is the big thing....

What the IRS says is 53.5c per mile... This is tax law... If we were talking about taxes i would say use the 53.5c a mile as the number.

What your car is actually costing you a is a complete mystery, and something that has been debated many many many times over.

Currently the actual cost of operating a car somewhere between 15c a mile (WAY TO LOW *pretty much just gasoline and nothing else) and 53.5c a mile (probobly too high)[my company taxi rental is under this amount per mile]

So depending on what kind of car you have, how much gasoline is costing you per mile, what your depreciation is, and i would say an extra $2,000 for unexpected issues a year, that will probobly put you what your expenses really are per year... that's what i would present him along with your total revenue ubering for calculating your income.

What i can tell you is that properly maintained a car can last you 20 years before needing replaced... Full time with uber you'll get about 5 years.


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## Cmoraider (Apr 6, 2017)

Wait until you file your taxes then you will be able to see how much you made for the year. Divide by 12 and you'll see how much you make a month. If you do your taxes right then you should show a loss for the year. Driving for Uber is tax free because the IRS gives you a .55 cent tax credit for every mile driven. Since you only profit about .37 cents a mile your always operating at a loss according to the IRS so you owe no taxes. Remember to keep track of every mile, even the miles it took to get to the pax(empty) and the miles it takes to get back where you started(empty).


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## jchc22 (Aug 25, 2016)

rubidoux said:


> Sooo... Uber is my first significant source of income since I started receiving child support and Im wondering how to handle it, specifically how much of my income to tell my ex about so he can know how much less to give me.
> 
> Specifically, should I subtract from my earnings gas, car repairs, car washes, the $300 ticket for the illegal left turn i took while on a trip, etc? Maybe even the car since i had a perfectly awesome but not uberable car before i bought my current car specifically to uber with?


Are you paying or receiving child support.

If receiving, why would your earnings have anything to do with what you are receiving? Not that I know, but isn't just a percentage of what the other parent makes to care for the childs needs?


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## Janelleny2 (Apr 13, 2017)

I think it varies by county and judge, here the judge ordered nothing for 6 months like a tip based or commission job, then will take the average over the 6 months to apply an amount going forward because your income also changes depending on number of rides


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Janelleny2 said:


> I think it varies by county and judge, here the judge ordered nothing for 6 months like a tip based or commission job, then will take the average over the 6 months to apply an amount going forward because your income also changes depending on number of rides


The problem is... what happens when you show a loss on your taxes?

And that's why you need a lawyer to negotiate this out, because otherwise you can get accused of cheating them, and then it goes all downhill.

For a taxi driver, there isn't ANY taxi company in this country charging less than $1.50 a mile, it's impossible to show a loss unless your actually losing money, so it's a completely unheard of problem.


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## Strange Fruit (Aug 10, 2016)

jchc22 said:


> Are you paying or receiving child support.
> 
> If receiving, why would your earnings have anything to do with what you are receiving? Not that I know, but isn't just a percentage of what the other parent makes to care for the childs needs?


The answer to yr question is in the first line of what you replied to. It's the first line in the blue box of yr own post.


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## thepanttherlady (Nov 3, 2016)

jchc22 said:


> Are you paying or receiving child support.
> 
> If receiving, why would your earnings have anything to do with what you are receiving? Not that I know, but isn't just a percentage of what the other parent makes to care for the childs needs?


I assume receiving:

"Im wondering how to handle it, specifically how much of my income to tell my ex about so he can know how much less to give me"



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Your wife's lawyer


"He" is the she.


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## Tihstae (Jan 31, 2017)

It depends on the way the child support order was written but my guess is you don't have to tell your ex a damn thing about how much money you are making. Either side can request an adjustment once a year (or so) and then the court will look at incomes and *maybe* change the amount based on the calculations used by that particular court.

This is from my experience in CA. Your mileage may vary and I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. 

The real answer here is if you can afford it, consult a lawyer. If you can't afford it, you still should consult a lawyer anyway.


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