The Short Answer
Uber Eats classifies you as an independent contractor. Nothing is withheld from your pay, and at year-end you owe both self-employment tax and regular income tax on your earnings.
Two things trip up first-time filers: understanding the tax forms Uber sends (there can be two, and one of them can look like it overstates your income if you’re not careful), and knowing which deductions are available to reduce the net profit those taxes are calculated on. This guide covers both.
The Tax Forms Uber Sends
Uber may send two different forms depending on your earnings:
1099-K: Covers delivery fares, surge pay, and tips processed through Uber’s payment system. This form is issued to drivers who meet the IRS threshold for third-party payment transactions, which has been changing year over year as the IRS phases in lower reporting requirements. If you do receive a 1099-K, note that it may show a gross figure higher than what actually landed in your bank account. This happens because the form can reflect amounts before Uber’s service fees are taken out.
1099-NEC: Covers incentive pay, referral bonuses, and other non-delivery compensation of $600 or more.
Your annual tax summary in the Uber driver app is the authoritative record of what you actually earned, and it’s available to all drivers regardless of whether a 1099 was issued. Always pull the tax summary before filing. Don’t reconstruct your income from the 1099 forms alone.
If your total earnings fall below the threshold for a 1099-K, Uber won’t issue one, but the IRS still expects you to report all self-employment income.
What You Actually Owe
Self-Employment Tax
Self-employment tax is 15.3% of your net self-employment income. It covers Social Security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%), the taxes that an employer normally splits with employees. As a contractor, you cover both sides. You can deduct half of what you pay in self-employment tax from your gross income, partially offsetting the burden. Tax software handles this calculation automatically.
Income Tax
Your Uber Eats net profit is added to any other income you have and taxed at your regular federal income tax rate. For most drivers, this falls in the 10% to 22% range depending on total income and filing status. If Uber Eats is your only income and earnings are modest, you may stay in a lower bracket.
A Realistic Example
If your net Uber Eats profit for the year is $12,000 after deductions:
- Self-employment tax: approximately $1,695 (15.3% applied to 92.35% of $12,000, which is how the IRS calculates it)
- Federal income tax: depends on your total income and filing status
- State income tax: varies by state
Setting aside 25 to 30 percent of net profit throughout the year keeps most drivers from being caught short at filing time.
Deductions That Reduce What You Owe
Mileage
Mileage is typically the largest deduction available to Uber Eats drivers. The IRS standard mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents per mile. If you’re filing your 2025 return, the rate for that year was 70 cents per mile. You multiply the applicable rate by your total business miles for the year. For a full breakdown of what counts and how to track it, see our mileage deduction guide.
What qualifies as deductible mileage: miles from accepting an order through delivery completion. Miles driven while the app is on and you’re waiting for a request occupy a gray area; many tax professionals support deducting them, but the IRS has no specific guidance. Whatever you decide, apply it consistently and document it.
What does not qualify: driving from home to your starting area, personal trips, and miles with the app completely off.
Uber does not automatically log your full driving mileage for the year. Use a dedicated mileage tracking app so you have a documented record. Reconstructing mileage from delivery history at tax time is possible but produces weaker documentation.
Phone
The business-use portion of your phone bill is deductible. If you use your phone 60% for Uber Eats work, 60% of your monthly bill and related accessories (mount, car charger) are deductible. Apply a percentage that’s reasonable given your actual earnings and usage.
Equipment
Hot bags, insulated carriers, and equipment purchased specifically for deliveries are deductible as business supplies. These are usually modest amounts but worth tracking.
What You Cannot Deduct
- Car payments or lease payments
- Parking tickets and traffic fines
- Personal meals or food orders
- Clothing that isn’t a required uniform
Quarterly Estimated Taxes
If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal taxes for the year, the IRS expects quarterly payments instead of waiting until April. See our quarterly estimated taxes guide for due dates, safe harbor rules, and how to calculate what to pay each quarter. Pay directly through IRS Direct Pay at IRS.gov at no charge.
Tax Software Worth Knowing About
For most Uber Eats drivers with straightforward tax situations, self-filing with software is a realistic option.
TurboTax Self-Employed walks you through self-employment income and deductions with guided questions. It handles Schedule C well and is the most well-known option. It’s also the priciest of the major choices.
H&R Block Self-Employed covers the same ground at a lower price point. Their interface is comparable to TurboTax for most gig worker scenarios.
TaxSlayer Self-Employed handles Schedule C and SE without the premium pricing. Less hand-holding than TurboTax, but fully capable if you’re comfortable with the basics.
FreeTaxUSA is the lowest-cost option that supports self-employment income. The interface is bare-bones but entirely capable for standard Uber Eats tax situations.
See our full tax software comparison for gig workers for current pricing, a side-by-side feature breakdown, and guidance on which one fits your situation.
Step-by-Step: How to File
Step 1: Pull your annual tax summary from the Uber driver app Log in and download the tax summary for the year you’re filing. If you received 1099 forms, verify they’re consistent with it. The tax summary is your authoritative earnings record.
Step 2: Total your deductible miles Export your mileage log if you tracked with an app. If not, estimate from delivery history and typical route distances, but a logged record is far stronger documentation.
Step 3: Add up other deductions Phone expenses, equipment purchases, and any other qualifying costs. Receipts are your documentation.
Step 4: Complete Schedule C This is where you report self-employment income and deductions. Net profit flows to the rest of your return. Tax software generates Schedule C based on your answers.
Step 5: Schedule SE calculates your self-employment tax This happens automatically in tax software from your Schedule C net profit.
Step 6: Apply the SE tax deduction Half of your self-employment tax is deductible from gross income. Software applies this automatically.
Step 7: File and pay If you owe, pay via IRS Direct Pay at no charge. If you overpaid quarterly estimates, you’ll receive a refund or can apply the overpayment to the following year.
If this is your first year filing with self-employment income and the numbers feel unfamiliar, having a tax professional review your return is a reasonable one-time investment. The cost is itself deductible as a business expense in the following year.
