Tax Tips for Uber Driver Partners: How to Calculate your Income Tax
If you are an Uber driver, you are an independent contractor and you are essentially a partner of the company. It is you then the Uber partner who should file their taxes.
This may also be the first time you’re reporting self-employment on your tax returns.
These are what you need to know to report your Uber driver income properly.
Uber Partners and Form 1099
Uber sees you as an independent contractor, not an employee. This is why Uber does not withhold taxes from your payments.
This is why you get 1099’s rather than W-2 forms.
1099-K
This form shows the total amount your passengers paid for rides. This includes all money you get from passengers including the Uber commission and the other fees.
For this, the amounts which are shown on Box 1a are greater than the amount you receive. However, you may deduct business expenses so you only pay taxes on what you earned.
Click here to download 1099-K from the IRS
1099-NEC
This is for accounting for other income your paid including referrals and non-driving related commissions.
In years prior to 2022, the IRS did not require Uber to procure 1099-K’s if you processed less than 200 transactions or earned $20, 000 or less in payments.
Uber is not required to give you a 1099-NEC if your non-driving income is less than $600.
If you’re not given a 1099, still are required to report your income to the IRS.
Should Uber Drivers file Form 1040 Schedule C
Your income comes from your 1099’s and you will report them on Schedule C, these are your profit or losses from business.
Since Uber reports this information directly to the IRS, you need not include actual 1099 forms.
Schedule C can also be used to list your business related expenses.
Profits and Losses are Filed on Line 3, of Schedule 1
In subtracting your business expenses from your income, you put the differences known as business income or loss on line 3 of Schedule 1 for Form 1040.
Medicare and Social Security are computed on Schedule SE
The income amount is used in Schedule SE and this is used for calculating your self-employment taxes for Medicare and Social Security.
Uber generally gives totals on your 1099-K and 1099-NEC
These summaries show the total amount you earn from passengers along with other fees including tools, booking and split fares. You may include these as business expense deductions on Schedule C.
Mileage Deductions for Uber Partners
The Uber tax summary for total online miles integrates all the miles you drive prior to a trip and then on a trip.
You can claim these and other business related mileage, however you should be careful to keep records of your off trip mileage.
Here are other expenses for operating your vehicle
- Gasoline
- Oil
- Insurance
- Car Registration
- Repairs
- Maintenance
- Depreciation
- Lease Payments
You may also use the standard IRS mileage deductions. For 2022, it is 58.5 cents per mile and it increases to 62.5 cents per mile for the last half of 2022.
Tax Cuts for Uber Partner Mobile Phones
How much is the cost of the phone?
What are the billing charges?
What other phone accessories and peripherals are essential for your job?
How many total hours have you used your phone?
Other Tax Deductible Expenses for Uber Partners
- Car registration and insurance
- Parking fees Tolls
- Maintenance and repairs
- Freeway, highway, and bridge tolls
- Electronic toll transponder
- Floor mats
- Car tool kit
- First aid kit
- Tire inflator and pressure gauge
- Portable battery jump pack
- Flashlights and flares
- Roadside assistance
