Credit Karma - State Tax Filing

Credit Karma Tax Review – Free Tax Filing Software

Heard of Credit Karma Tax? It’s Credit Karma’s free tax return software.

Their tax filing software may be a great option if you’re working for Uber, Doordash, Etsy, or another service, and you don’t want to pay $50 to $200 or more to file your taxes this year. Credit Karma launched their free tax software in 2016, but have improved it to the point that it now makes sense for most tax filing situations.

It currently offers most of the features of the big tax filing software players like Turbotax and H&R block, but with the added benefit of being free.

(Disclosure – We independently research our content to provide free advice for you. We may get compensation if you sign up with services, or purchase products through our affiliate links.)

What is Credit Karma Tax?

As noted above, it is the free tax filing software from Credit Karma, the free credit monitoring service with over 85 million users.

Credit Karma was founded in 2007 as a service providing free credit scores. In 2014, the company began offering full free credit reports to members as well, and is now the leading consumer credit monitoring service in the U.S.

While there are a number of free tax filing options out there, most of them are missing a lot of features, or aren’t totally free. Some will file your federal taxes for free, but charge you to file your state return. Other free tax filing options don’t work if you need to file a Schedule C or E form, a necessity for many Lyft, Uber, and Doordash drivers.

Is Credit Karma Tax free?

Yes, it is a totally free tax filing service. The service doesn’t even charge for filing a state tax return, audit defense, or having a small business.

The service also provides support for multi-member LLCs, S corporations, C corporations, partnerships, estates, and trusts!

Key Features

 

  • Free Audit Defense: Credit Karma Tax users will receive free audit defense. This service provides correspondence management and in-person representation in the event that a member gets audited by the IRS or the state. They are the only major tax filing software to offer audit defense for free.
  • Mobile Filing: Users can file their taxes, from start to finish, directly from their smartphone with every step now mobile enabled.
  • Easy Migration From TurboTax, TaxAct or H&R Block: New users can jumpstart their tax filing process by easily importing their prior year’s information
  • Error double-check: Before a member submits their tax return, Credit Karma Tax will check and re-check the return to let them know if anything looks off.
  • Personalized guidance: Once a member inputs their tax data, the app gives personalized guidance to help members maximize their refund, including helping them understand the impact of taking standard or itemized deduction and their filing status.

How Does Credit Karma Tax Make Money?

The software doesn’t actually make any money. In order to use it, you do need to join Credit Karma, a free credit monitoring service (disclosure: I’ve been using it for years). It’s been around since 2007, and helps you monitor your Transunion and Experian credit reports for free.

Credit Karma makes money by presenting loan and credit card offers to its users. When people sign up, Credit Karma gets some money from the loan or credit card company.

However, no advertising offers appear on the tax side of the software.

Pros And Cons Of Credit Karma Tax

Pros

  • Free Federal & State Filing
  • Free Audit Defense
  • Supports most tax situations including joint filing, and self employed schedule C filing.
  • Includes 1040 schedule C, 1040 schedule E, and 1040 schedule SE (self employment)

Cons – Does not support certain situations like:

  • Multi state tax return filings
  • Part-year state filing
  • Foreign earned income
  • State returns for married filing separately in community property states. Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin are community property states.
  • State filing only

Credit Karma Tax also has weaker help and support options when compared with TurboTax and H&R Block.

Credit Karma Tax – Getting Started Walkthrough

Getting started is pretty easy. First, sign up for Credit Karma (it’s free) by clicking the button below.

 

Once you’ve joined, you can start your tax return on their website or in the Credit Karma app.

1. To get started in the app, from the main dashboard, click on “Tax”.

Credit Karma dashbaord

 

2. This will bring you to the tax section of the app, which is free and has no ads. Click “continue”.

Credit Karma Tax - Home

 

3.. The next step is to verify your phone number.

free tax software credit karma

 

4. After that, you simply fill some info about yourself, and you can begin importing information and completing your Federal & State return. You can complete the entire process on the app, and since the software is free, you won’t even have to pull out your credit card.

Credit Karma Tax - Filer Info

 

How Does Credit Karma Tax compare to TurboTax and H&R Block?

Overall, it compares pretty well. While Turbotax does offer a free option, it only applies if your income is under $34,000, and their free option does not include Audit Defense.

H&R Block also has a free option, , but it does not support Schedule C forms, which most people who work for services like Postmates and Uber will need to fill out.

The only place Turbotax and H&R Block still have a major advantage is if your business or financial situation is really complicated.

If you own multiple businesses, or plan on filing multiple state returns, one of the paid offerings from Turbotax or H&R Block may be a better option. These options also come with superior customer support, with phone or chat options available.

Credit Karma Tax – Final Take

If you’re a gig economy worker for a service like Handy, Lyft, Care.com, or one of the other on demand services out there, Credit Karma Tax may be the free tax filing software you’ve been looking for.

It allows easy import from popular tax software, has most small business forms available, and is truly free in more tax situations than competing services.

To get started filing your Federal and State taxes for free, with Audit Defense included, simply click the button below.

 

2019 1099 Taxes

IRS Paying Closer Attention to Gig Economy Workers Than Ever

According to a number of recent studies, the gig economy has evolved in a wide variety of interesting ways over the last few years. This is including a few which likely could not have been predicted at the start. As of 2018 about 34% of gig economy participants in the United States were full time. A full 84% of them are doing so exclusively. That number equals about 47.8 million people in the United States alone.

This comes during a time when not only are corporations and Fortune 500 companies frequently outsourcing non-core tasks to gig economy workers. 47% of Millennials have embraced the freelancing culture. Experts predict that by as soon as 2020 about 50% of the United States workforce will be freelancers.

Taxes, the IRS and the Gig Economy

In a traditional employee and employer relationship, an employer will withhold taxes from every paycheck for their employees. They will also make contributions to Social Security as well. When someone participates in the gig economy, this doesn’t happen. The worker is responsible for all tax-related matters, including various self employment tax and withholding requirements.

Want to file your Federal and State taxes for free?

Check out Credit Karma Tax by clicking the button.

Credit Karma Tax® is a premium product that’s 100% free for everyone, from start to finish, for both federal and state taxes.

Recently, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration issued a report about the importance of self employment taxes as outlined by the IRS. The IRS has an Automated Underreporter system, also known as the AUR, designed to help identify participants in the gig economy with discrepancies. It is designed to look at what they report on their income tax returns and what payments they actually received throughout the year on various 1099-K forms.

In an examination of the tax years 2012 through 2015, the report identified more than 264,000 different cases with potentially underreported payments. The data revealed that this was actually a problem that was getting worse over time. Underreporting increased a staggering 237% over the course of those four years.

While the program identified 264,000 discrepancies, nearly 59% were not moved through the system for further analysis. This was due to the sheer volume of potential issues that were being examined. The remaining 2,800 people who had potentially underreported their income for all four of those years. That total represents about $2.7 billion in underreported payments alone.

 

A large part of this has to do with how payments are handled in the gig economy. If a gig economy worker is paid via PayPal, they must receive over $20,000 in a single calendar year AND do so via 200 or more transactions. If they don’t meet or exceed both of those thresholds, PayPal doesn’t issue a 1099-K. This means that their income isn’t being reported to the IRS at all.

According to that TIGTA report, whenever income is not reported to the IRS, taxpayers are far more likely to be noncompliant. This is true both accidentally and intentionally. The first scenario could still land someone in hot water by way of late fees and other penalties. The second is actually criminalized and is punishable by up to five years in a federal penitentiary for prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

It’s true that the IRS has no intention of jailing over 40% of the United States workforce. But at the same time, they want their money.

The Treasury Inspector General made a series of recommendations to the IRS about how to best handle this issue moving forward. One of the biggest involved the development of a strategic plan to address tax administration for the gig economy. That plan should also create increased visibility into the collection and assessment of self employment tax as well. A soft notice program was also recommended, aimed at gig economy workers with repeated noncompliance issues.

TIGTA also recommended a significant expansion of the AUR program to account for a wider array of taxpayer situations. This was including those who have a long history of high-dollar discrepancies. The IRS disagreed with this recommendation. Officials said that their current system was fine and that adding more scenarios would ultimately add minimal value to what it was already doing.

11 recommendations were provided throughout the report and the IRS agreed with all but two of them. This was interpreted to mean that as an organization they are aware that this is an issue and they’re searching for opportunities to do something about it moving forward.

Best Practices for Gig Economy Workers

All of this means that the IRS is absolutely going to pay closer attention to gig economy workers over the next few years in particular. Most people operating under this system will have absolutely nothing to worry about, even if accidental discrepancies are identified. For the best results, gig economy workers need to:

  • Keep the most detailed records possible.
  • Keep all receipts for expenses.
  • Keep track of your mileage especially if you do work for a company like Lyft or Uber.
  • Don’t try to do your taxes on your own if you are not capable of doing them properly.
  • Stay on top of quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid getting hit with a large tax bill at the end of the year.
  • Don’t forget about the self employment tax, which is an additional 15.3% tax on top of the income taxes you already owe.

These best practices will help make sure that gig economy workers have nothing to worry about. This is true even in the event of an IRS audit. They’ll be less likely to make mistakes in the first place. They can also prove that any that did occur were unintentional.

 

Filing Lyft & Uber Taxes

Rideshare Taxes For Uber, Lyft, & Delivery Drivers – An Accountant’s Guide

Did you drive for Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Postmates, or another rideshare, delivery, or on demand company in 2018?

If so, it’s crucial to understand the tax impact of rideshare and delivery driving. This will help you minimize your tax liability. As we approach the April 15, 2019 deadline for the individual income tax returns, it’s important to note all the tax deductions rideshare and delivery drivers can deduct in order to maximize their refund. This is true whether you drove full-time, or just part-time for some extra income.

Want to file your Federal and State taxes for free?

Check out Credit Karma Tax.

Credit Karma Tax® is a premium product that’s 100% free for everyone, from start to finish, for both federal and state taxes.

Keep Records

As you’re probably aware, as a rideshare driver, you are a self-employed independent contractor. You are not a direct employee of Uber or Lyft. As a self-employed contractor, you will deal with different tax impacts than if you were an employee of a company. Accurate record keeping is very important. It will make it easier to allocate deductible business expenses when it is time to prepare and file your tax return.

Expense Tracking And Tax Deduction Apps For Uber & Lyft Drivers

Here are the best available expense tracking options for rideshare drivers:

Uber Taxes & Lyft Taxes: Self-Employed vs. Employee

It’s important to understand the differences between a company hiring an individual as a self-employed contractor vs. an employee.

Employees typically work for a company for an indefinite period of time and receive benefits from the company. Additionally, employees receive a Form W-2 at the end of the tax year which summarizes all the income and taxes withheld during the year. Self-employment tax, which consists of social security and Medicare tax, also differs between an employee and self-employed individual. As an employee, the employer splits the self-employment tax costs 50/50. As a business owner, or self-employed individual, you will pay both parts of this tax (discussed further in this article).

Self-employed contractors are generally hired for a certain period of time and the relationship can be terminated at any time. Instead of a Form W-2, self-employed rideshare drivers receive a Form 1099 that summarizes the income earned during the year. Typically, rideshare drivers will receive a Form 1099-K or Form 1099-Misc, or both.

Tax Impacts of being self-employed

There are several tax impacts that differ from being an employee vs self-employed. Self-employed contractors are required to:

  • Pay their own taxes (federal, state, social security, Medicare, etc.). This differs to being employed by a company which withholds these tax payments from your paychecks.
  • Pay 100% of social security and Medicare taxes. As an employee, your employer pays 50% of these taxes. If self-employed, you to pay the full portion of these taxes.
  • File a Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, with the Federal Income Tax Return Form 1040. Being self-employed is similar to owning a business. The Schedule C will report all the income and deductible business expenses to calculate how much the income you earn is actually taxable.

Lyft, Doordash, And Uber Tax Deductions

One of the major benefits of being self-employed is that there are a wide variety of expenses that you can deduct from your income. For many of your vehicle expenses, there are two methods that you can choose from when calculating the deduction: the standard mileage rate deduction or the actual expense method.

Gig Economy Taxes 1099 Workers

 

Additionally, there any other business expenses that you can deduct from your income, regardless of whether you are using the standard mileage rate deduction, or the actual expense method.

Standard Mileage Rate

The standard mileage rate deduction is the method by which the IRS allows a set deduction amount per mile driven for business. The standard mile deduction rate for 2019 is $0.58 cents per business mile. This means for each business mile driven, you get a $0.58 deduction for tax purposes. Another way to think about it is that for every 1,000 business miles you drive, you get a $580 tax deduction!

The miles that qualify for business tax standard rate deduction include:

  • fare mileage
  • mileage driven between pickups
  • mileage driven to the gas station or store to purchase business supplies

Using this method will disqualify you from deducting any of the expenses mentioned below in the actual expense method section. The standard mileage rate deduction method is often most beneficial for taxpayers since it usually results in a higher tax deduction.

The standard mileage rate deduction is reported on the Schedule C of the Form 1040 in line 44.

Actual expense method

If you do not choose to use the standard mileage method, you can deduct actual expenses of operating your vehicle for your rideshare business. Actual expenses that can be deducted include: depreciation, lease payments, registration and license fees, insurance, gas, oil, repairs and maintenance, tires and any other direct expenses with the vehicle. If the vehicle is used for business and personal reasons, the taxpayer will need to allocate these costs based on the miles driven for business and personal. Proper documentation and record keeping is helpful to get the most accurate deduction.

Other Deductions

Some deductions are available to taxpayers no matter if the actual expense or standard rate mileage method is used. Expenses such as Uber fees, tolls, parking fees, airport fees, roadside assistance fees, and supplies (such as refreshments and water bottles) are tax deductible.

If some or all of your phone bill is business related, you can deduct the amount of the phone plan and any activation fee on Schedule C of the Form 1040. Like all expenses, if the phone is used for business and personal uses, only the percentage allocated for business use can be deducted.

For more detailed information on tax deductions, be sure to check out:

Nondeductible expenses

Unfortunately, parking tickets or other traffic/driving violation tickets are not tax deductible. Since neither Uber or Lyft reimburses the driver for these incidents, you pretty much have to pay (or fight) the ticket, and you cannot take a tax deduction for the cost of the ticket.

Form 1099

A Form 1099 is an information return that is filed with the IRS and also sent to taxpayers who earn different forms of income. Income earned from driving for a rideshare service is reported on a Form 1099 and should be used to complete the individual income tax return.

If you receive a Form 1099-K, Box 1 consists of the gross receipts from all rides for which you were paid in tax year 2017. This box does not include any service fees or other fees that may have been incurred during business driving, which will be reported as deductible expenses.

If you receive a Form 1099-MISC, you have likely earned a driving bonus, referral bonus or some other miscellaneous income that was not earned for driving services. Box 7 of the Form 1099-MISC will typically provide the amount for this income.

If you have not received a Form 1099, perhaps the income you earned was too low to qualify the need to file a Form 1099. You can find most of the income information needed to compete your tax return on the driver profile section of the rideshare service website you are contracted with.

Completing a Schedule C

You are self employed and driving for Uber, Lyft, or another rideshare or delivery service. So, you will likely need to complete Schedule C with your Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040. This schedule is a part of the full individual tax return and will report any income and deductible expenses for your self-employed business.

Part I of Schedule C will summarize all gross receipts. This information will come from the Form 1099 that will be provided from Uber, Lyft or another rideshare service. Since driving Uber or Lyft does not involve product costs, there should not be any cost of goods sold  in this section.

Part II should be completed with all the deductible business expenses explained above. Any expenses that can be split between personal and business should be allocated according to the percentage of business vs personal miles driven in the tax year.

Self-Employment Tax

As an employee of a company, the employer and the employee split the cost of self-employment tax so each pays 50% of the total portion due for each employee. Self-employment tax consists of Social Security and Medicare taxes. You may know them as the FICA Tax (Federal Insurance Contributions Act).

As a rideshare driver, the taxpayer is considered to be self-employed, which required reporting and paying the full FICA Tax due for the year. Drivers who earn less than $400 will not need to file or pay FICA taxes on their earnings.

The 2017 Self-Employment Tax Rates are as follows:

2018 FICA Rate

  • 15.3% on first $128,700 of net income.
  • 2.9% on income greater than $128,700

The 15.3% FICA Tax Rate is calculated as follows:

  • Social Security Tax Rate – 12.4%
  • Medicare Tax Rate – 2.9%

Final Take

If you are new to driving for Uber, Lyft or any other rideshare service, you should understand all the tax implications that come with being self-employed. Many taxpayers may not have filed a Schedule C on their Form 1040 and do not know all the business deductions they are entitled to.

Keeping complete and accurate records will make it a lot simpler to allocate expenses between personal and business. It can save you many hours when it comes time to file your tax return. So, be sure to download a mobile app like Quickbooks Self-Employed or Hurdlr.  These apps can track and provide a report of the mileage that you drove for personal and business use. You can also use Quickbooks or Stride to help allocate certain expenses for business purposes. This will help reduce your taxable income on your Schedule C, which will lower your taxes or increase your tax refund.

Photo by aronbaker2

 

Estimated Taxes For Uber Drivers

Independent Contractor 101: Dealing with Estimated Tax Payments

What are quarterly tax estimates?

If you are new to the world of driving for Uber or Doordash, or one of the many other on-demand companies, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise when tax time rolls around. Next year, you’ll probably have to pay quarterly tax estimates. As an independent contractor, you’re self-employed, so you file an annual return but usually pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis.

If you’re an independent contractor and you expect to owe more than $1,000 in taxes, the IRS will expect quarterly payments.

Basically, if you’re an independent contractor, when you file your taxes, the IRS estimates your taxes for the next year. They base the estimate on what you make this year. Then, each quarter next year, you send the IRS a check for 1/4 of that estimate. Luckily, if you drive for a living and take the mileage tax deduction, you probably won’t owe much in taxes. Even so, you probably want to have some money set aside to pay your quarterly taxes. If you don’t pay them quarterly, you’ll incur a penalty when you file your taxes.

quarterly tax estimates Uber Lyft Doordash

 

Most of you who are driving are probably aware that you’re an independent contractor. This means that Lyft, Instacart, Caviar, Lime Bike, and all the other on demand companies, are not required to withhold taxes from your pay. Without that regular withholding, it is up to you to settle up with the tax man, and without proper planning, that tax bill could create a financial nightmare down the road. To avoid that, it’s better to have that money set aside and ready.

Fortunately, there are things rideshare and delivery drivers can do to make tax time less taxing, from taking advantage of deductions and retirement programs, to making those estimated payments to the IRS and avoid penalties. Here are some smart things you can do to deal with estimated tax payments.

Choose the Right Parking Place For Your Estimated Taxes

It is important to put money aside for tax time, but where you put that money matters a lot. Since the money is essentially already spent, you cannot afford to take any risk with it, so the stock market is out.

You can, however, eke out some income while you are waiting to make your quarterly payments. Parking your funds in a one or three month CD, or a high-yield savings account will allow you to earn a bit of interest in the interim, so your tax money will go a little bit further

Putting the Money Aside

Finding a suitable parking place for your estimated tax money is one thing, but finding the money itself is quite another. There are two different approaches to setting aside money from your freelance earnings, and each has its own set of benefits and potential drawbacks.

The first choice is to use your good months to offset that looming tax bill. When your earnings come in above your pre-established baseline, take a chunk of that money and put it in your high-yield savings account or other designed monetary parking spot.

The other choice is to treat your quarterly tax liability as just another monthly bill. If your total estimated taxes for the next year are $1200, having $100 a month shifted into a savings account will cover your estimated taxes.

Each approach has its benefits and drawbacks, and it is important to weigh the pros and cons carefully. Using your good months makes sense, but if your earnings come in lower than expected, you could be left struggling. The same applies to the monthly bill option – if you have a lackluster month, making that regular tax bill payment could be a real hardship.

Estimated Taxes For Part-Time Freelancers

If you work for Instacart, Lyft, or another company on a part-time basis but still have a regular job, you may be able to avoid making estimated tax payments altogether. Some part-time drivers and shoppers just increase the amount of withholding from their regular jobs, letting that money accumulate and using it to offset what they owe from their side hustle endeavors.

It can be hard to get the balancing act right, especially if you are new to the world of freelancing. Freelancers often do not know how much they will make for the year, so that makes paying estimated taxes somewhat of a guessing game. Guess too high, and you will get a big refund come tax time, but you will have lost access to your money in the meantime. Guess too low, and you could owe additional taxes and an underpayment penalty on top of it. It can take some time to get things right, but if you start buy setting a little bit aside every month for the tax bill, you should be in alright shape.

For more information, check out the IRS pages on Estimated Taxes and Tips on Making Estimated Tax Payments.

Uber Driver Taxes

The Uber & Lyft Driver Tax Deduction Guide.

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(Disclosure – We independently research our content to provide free advice for you. We may get compensation if you sign up with services, or purchase products through our affiliate links.)

Last updated: [last-modified]

If you drive for Uber, Lyft, Doordash, or another independent contractor service, there are many expenses you incur which may be tax deductible. This is true whether you own or lease a vehicle.

 

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With Doordash, you can also deliver by motorcycle, scooter, and in many markets, even bikes!

 

Lyft & Uber Taxes For Drivers Explained

Below, you’ll find a few app recommendations for tracking your mileage and expenses. Then, I’ll go over the tax deductions available to all rideshare and delivery drivers. Finally, I’ll cover the standard mileage tax deduction (54.5 cents for 2018, 58 cents for 2019), actual vehicle expense deductions, and which deduction you should take.

You can only elect to deduct mileage, or actual vehicle expenses.

Also, if you lease your vehicle and choose to deduct mileage in your first year, you cannot switch to deducting actual vehicle expenses later in the lease.

Expense Tracking And Tax Software For Uber & Lyft Drivers

Keeping records and tracking your mileage and expenses is crucial to decreasing your tax liability. So, here are the best available expense tracking options for rideshare drivers:

Ok, on to the deductions!

Lyft & Uber Taxes - Deductions

 

Deductions available to all Uber & Lyft drivers

  • Rider Amenities

    If you provide waters, candy, or chargers for your riders, you can deduct the cost. Since you’re a driver in the service industry, it is considered an ordinary and necessary expense to keep your riders happy and your ratings high.

  • Cell Phone Expenses

    The cost of your cell phone, as well as cell phone accessories such as chargers and mounts are ordinary business expenses and are 100% deductible. Your cell phone service is deductible up to the percentage you use it for business.

  • Dashcams and external GPS

    The cost of a dashcam or GPS system, as well as any subscriptions required by those items, are fully deductible. Dashcams are considered a security precaution while a GPS system is often necessary to successfully complete rides.

  • Vehicle Inspections

    The cost of the annual inspections required by Lyft and Uber are fully deductible.

  • Parking & Tolls

    Tolls are deductible only if they were not reimbursed. If you have to pay for parking to go to the bathroom, that’s fully deductible.

  • Paid Apps (including music)

    If you use paid apps (expenses tracker for example) exclusively for your rideshare business, they are fully deductible. The same goes for paid music apps that you use for your rideshare business.

  • Deep Vehicle Cleaning (not regular car washes)

    If you have to get your car deep cleaned because of a less than 5 star passenger, the unreimbursed portion of the cost is deductible.

  • Vehicle Accesories

    If you purchase all-weather floor mats, a seat pillow, a tip jar, or a seatback organizer to hold your rider amenities, those items are ordinary and necessary expenses and you can deduct the costs.

  • Roadside Assistance

    If you pay for AAA or another roadside assistance program, the cost is deductible.

  • Food and Drink (not everything you eat and drink on the road)

    If you work more than a normal workday (read:over 8 hours) and need some food to keep you going as you’re pulling a twelve hour shift, you can deduct 50% of the cost of that meal. Also, if you have a meeting with a potential rider or driver and you discuss business, that meal is fully deductible.

  • Health Insurance

    Your health insurance premiums are deductible. However, if you are eligible for health insurance though work or your spouse, you cannot take this deduction.

Uber & Lyft Taxes: The Standard Mileage Deduction

The standard mileage deductions allows you to deduct 54.5 cents for every mile you drive while working. This includes driving around waiting for a ping, driving your riders to their destinations, and driving home after your last ride.

A good way to think of the mileage tax deduction is that for every 1,000 miles you drive for work, you get a $545 tax deduction.

Uber & Lyft Taxes: Actual Vehicle Expense Deductions

If you take the standard mileage deduction, you cannot also deduct these items. In most situations, taking the standard mileage deduction results in a lower tax bill. It’s also a lot easier, since you don’t have to track the expenses below.

  • Oil Changes

    If you don’t take the standard mileage deduction, the cost of oil changes are deductible.

  • Gas

    If you don’t take the standard mileage deduction, the cost of your gas is deductible.

  • Auto Insurance

    If you don’t take the standard mileage deduction, the cost of your auto insurance premiums are deductible

  • Lease or Car Payments

    If you don’t take the standard mileage deduction, your lease or car payment is deductible. If you take the standard mileage deduction, your loan interest (purchased vehicle) is still deductible.

  • Car Repairs

    If you don’t take the standard mileage deduction, the cost of repairs to your vehicle are deductible.

  • Depreciation

    If you don’t take the standard mileage deduction, you can deduct the annual depreciation of your vehicle. However, if you use your vehicle mostly for personal use, the total amount of the depreciation deduction may be limited.

For more detailed information on gig economy taxes for Lyft, Doordash, and Uber drivers, be sure to check out:

Disclaimer: Nothing in this post should be construed as tax advice. Always consult a professional tax advisor.