Platforms show your gross earnings. This calculator shows what you actually keep — after mileage costs, vehicle wear, taxes, and the time you spend waiting between orders. The number might surprise you.
The gap is real: A DoorDash driver grossing $18/hour typically keeps $9–$13 after vehicle costs and taxes. This tool calculates your specific number — and compares it to your alternatives.
Start the Calculator
YOUR GIG SITUATIONStep 1 of 5
Step 1 — Your Platform
Which platform do you primarily work on?
Pick your main platform. If you multi-app, pick the one where you earn the most.
🚗 DoorDash
Food delivery
🛵 Uber Eats
Food delivery
🛒 Instacart
Grocery delivery
🚕 Lyft/Uber
Rideshare
🔧 TaskRabbit
Tasks & services
📱 Other / Multiple
Other gig platform
Step 2 — Your Earnings
What does the platform show as your gross earnings per week?
Use the number shown in your driver app — before any deductions. Also enter hours worked including wait time.
Weekly Gross Earnings (from app)
$
$0$2,000
Hours worked per week (incl. wait time)
Step 3 — Mileage
How many miles do you drive per week for gig work?
Include all miles: driving to pickup, delivering, and deadhead miles (driving back or to next order). This is your biggest deductible expense.
0 mi1,000 mi
💡 At the 2026 IRS rate of $0.725/mile, 200 miles/week = $7,540/year in deductible mileage. This reduces your taxable income directly.
Step 4 — Vehicle Costs
What are your actual vehicle expenses per week for gig work?
Include gas, oil changes, tires, and a fair estimate of wear and tear — but only the portion used for gig work. Most drivers underestimate this.
~$30/week
Fuel-efficient car, short routes, low mileage
~$60/week
Average car, moderate mileage (typical)
~$100/week
SUV/truck, high mileage, older vehicle
Enter my own
I know my exact costs
My weekly vehicle costs ($)
$
Vehicle wear (depreciation + maintenance) is often $0.10–$0.18/mile beyond fuel. On 200 miles/week that's $20–$36/week that doesn't show up on your gas receipt.
⚠️ Important: If you use the IRS standard mileage rate ($0.725/mile) as your tax deduction, you cannot also deduct actual gas, insurance, and repair costs separately. This calculator uses the standard mileage method. Choose one method and apply it consistently.
Step 5 — Your Tax Situation
A couple of final questions for the tax calculation.
These determine your marginal tax rate on gig income.
Filing status
Single
Married (Joint)
Head of Household
Annual W-2 income from day job (enter 0 if gig work is your only income)
$
If you have a day job, your gig income is taxed at your marginal rate — the rate on your highest W-2 dollar. This makes the tax cost of gig income higher than many drivers realize.
⚠️ Federal taxes only: This calculator estimates federal SE tax and income tax only. State income tax (0–13.3% depending on your state) is not included. California, New York, New Jersey, and other high-tax states can significantly reduce your true take-home rate beyond what this tool shows.
Why Gig Platform Pay Is Misleading
When DoorDash shows you earned $800 this week, that number is gross — before mileage depreciation, fuel, vehicle maintenance, and taxes. The real number most experienced drivers see is 40–60% of gross pay. A driver grossing $18/hour typically keeps $9–$13 after real costs.
The three biggest cost categories that platforms don't show:
Vehicle costs: At 200 miles/week of gig driving, vehicle wear (tires, brakes, oil) adds $15–$35/week on top of fuel — costs that appear as future repair bills, not current expenses. Most drivers only count gas and miss the depreciation entirely.
Self-employment tax: Gig workers pay the full 15.3% SE tax on net earnings. On $800/week gross, that's roughly $110/week in SE tax — or $5,720/year — that never appears in the platform's earnings summary.
Deadhead miles: Time and mileage driving to pickup locations and between orders is real cost. Most drivers spend 20–35% of their drive time in "deadhead" — unpaid miles that still cost fuel and wear.
Frequently Asked Questions
The 2026 IRS standard mileage rate is $0.725 per mile for business use. This rate covers fuel, depreciation, insurance, and maintenance in a single per-mile deduction. You can either use this standard rate or deduct actual expenses — but you must choose one method and apply it consistently throughout the year. For most gig drivers, the standard mileage rate is simpler and often results in a higher deduction.
Yes — under the OBBBA (signed 2025), delivery drivers and rideshare drivers can deduct up to $25,000 in qualifying voluntary customer tips from their federal taxable income for tax years 2025–2028. The IRS issued final regulations in April 2026 explicitly covering app-based delivery workers (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Lyft). This deduction reduces income tax but not self-employment tax on those earnings. Claim it on Schedule 1-A of your Form 1040.
For most gig drivers, the standard mileage rate ($0.725/mile in 2026) is simpler and often higher. Actual expenses require tracking every fuel receipt, maintenance bill, and insurance payment, then calculating the percentage used for gig work. The standard rate covers all of this automatically per mile. If you drive a very inefficient vehicle with high maintenance costs, actual expenses might win — but run both calculations before deciding. Once you switch from actual to standard, you cannot switch back for that vehicle.
Yes, if you expect to owe more than $1,000 in federal tax from gig work. Since platforms don't withhold taxes, you're responsible for making quarterly estimated payments. The 2026 deadlines are April 15, June 16, September 15, and January 15, 2027. Missing these results in underpayment penalties even if you pay in full by April. Use our Quarterly Tax Estimator for the exact amounts.
It depends on your true hourly rate after all costs — which this calculator shows you. The breakeven point varies widely by market, vehicle, and platform. In high-demand urban markets with a fuel-efficient vehicle, gig work can net $15–$20/hour after costs. In suburban markets with an older SUV, the same gross pay might net $8–$12. The flexibility premium is real — but knowing your actual hourly rate lets you make an informed comparison rather than guessing.