# Quarterly filing?!



## Sippi (Aug 22, 2018)

So a few days ago the Lyft app just sent me a reminder to do my Quarterly filings. This is totally a side-gig, and I've never done quarterly filings before on any of my other 1099 type work. Have I been doing something wrong? Would that kind of thing come back to bite me?


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Sippi said:


> So a few days ago the Lyft app just sent me a reminder to do my Quarterly filings. This is totally a side-gig, and I've never done quarterly filings before on any of my other 1099 type work. Have I been doing something wrong? Would that kind of thing come back to bite me?


If you haven't been penalized in the past by the IRS for not filing quarterly, I'm guessing you have paid in enough through withholding as an employee to meet the requirements. Generally, if you owe less than $1000 when filing your Form 1040, you won't be required to file quarterly estimated taxes.

Disclosure: I'm not a tax professional.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Do you expect to owe less than $1,000 in taxes for the tax year after subtracting your federal income tax withholding from the total amount of tax you expect to owe this year? If so, you're safe-you don't need to make estimated tax payments.
Do you expect your federal income tax withholding (plus any estimated taxes paid on time) to amount to at least 90 percent of the total tax that you will owe for this tax year? If so, then you're in the clear, and you don't need to make estimated tax payments.
Do you expect that your income tax withholding will be at least 100 percent of the total tax on your previous year's return? Or, if your adjusted gross income (Form 1040, line 37) on your tax return was over $150,000 ($75,000 if you're married and file separately), do you expect that your income tax withholding will be at least 110 percent of the total tax you owed for the previous year? If so, then you're not required to make estimated tax payments.

Whether or not you will come up owing taxes will depend on how many surge trips you get and whether or not you drive X/XL or select/black/SUV.

Higher levels of service will generate more taxable income than lower level services do (not even joking at all)

If you want an actual answer to your question, you need to calculate your taxable profit. Which means deducting your expenses.

On uber X/XL that means multiplying your working mileage X .535 and that comes up with a bulk of your deductions.

10,000 miles X .535 = $5,350

Then take the total that uber paid you and subtract your expenses from it

{orlando math}
$4000- $5350= -1350 (A loss)

{somewhere with double Orlando rates}

(your income) $10,000- $5,350 (your expenses from above) = $4650 (your taxable profit)

This is your taxable profit. If the number is negative that means your a sucker and don't owe any taxes, and it will actually help your refund check come tax time. This is ENTIRELY possible.

If it's positive you will owe taxes on your taxable profit.

Take your taxable profit $4,650 and multiply it by 15%

$4,650 X .15 = $697 in tax bill.

In either situation, your not paying quarterly...

By my math, you would need like $13,000 {6000 and change for standard deductions+ $7000 more}+ in taxable profit with no other income or dependents.

With a another job you would need like $7,000 in taxable profit from uber.

Frankly i'd be shocked if you HAD ANY taxable profit.

If you normally get a refund check every year i wouldn't be worried, there's an exemption that protects you, if you paid 100% of what you paid last year in withholding your in the clear for this year.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

If you make $400 or more profit a year doing Uber you have to pay 15.3% SECA (self Fica) tax. Plus regular income tax, but with the high standard deduction if this is your only job you may not owe regular income tax, but there is no deduction for SECA tax. Earn $400.01 a year doing Uber and pay SECA tax.

The only way to avoid this is if you have a real job and have extra withholding, I don't know accounting or taxes if even the extra FICA portion can be withheld. If you earn $128,400 in your main job you won't owe any more with SECA. I don't know how the extra FICA can't be withheld because the employer pays half of it. Uber doesn't pay a red nickle fo it for drivers.


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