Can I deduct Uber/Lyft rides to work as a tax expense?
I've been taking Uber/Lyft to my job every day and the costs are getting crazy. I used to spend around $675 per month (about $19 each way, 4 days a week) but since February the prices have skyrocketed to like $25-$40 each way! Now I'm dropping between $1000-$1400 every month just to get to and from work. With these expenses piling up, I'm wondering if there's any way to deduct these Uber/Lyft rides on my taxes? Would really help to offset some of these costs if possible... has anyone had any experience with this?
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Sergio Neal
Unfortunately, regular commuting costs between your home and primary workplace are considered personal expenses by the IRS, not deductible business expenses. This applies regardless of whether you drive yourself, take public transportation, or use rideshare services like Uber/Lyft. There are some exceptions though! If you're traveling between different work locations during the day, those transportation costs may be deductible. Same if you have a qualifying home office and are traveling from home to another work location. Also, self-employed individuals may be able to deduct travel between client sites.
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Savanna Franklin
•What if my employer doesn't provide parking and the nearest bus stop is 3 miles away? Seems unfair that I'm forced to use rideshare but can't deduct it!
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Sergio Neal
•The IRS unfortunately doesn't make exceptions based on limited parking or public transportation options. Commuting expenses are still considered personal costs regardless of distance or available alternatives. Even in situations where commuting is expensive or inconvenient, the IRS maintains that getting to your regular workplace is a personal choice related to where you decided to live relative to your workplace.
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Juan Moreno
After struggling with a similar situation (my car died and I was using Lyft for months), I found this awesome tool that helped me maximize my other deductions to offset some of the commuting costs I couldn't claim. It's called https://taxr.ai and it basically scans all your tax documents/receipts and finds deductions you might be missing. I was skeptical but it found over $1200 in legitimate deductions I would have missed!
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Amy Fleming
•Does it work with gig worker income too? I do DoorDash on weekends and tracking all those expenses is a nightmare.
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Alice Pierce
•I've tried similar services before and they always miss stuff. How accurate is this one with rideshare receipts specifically? Can it tell the difference between personal and business trips?
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Juan Moreno
•It absolutely works with gig worker income! You can upload your DoorDash statements and it categorizes everything properly - even helps separate your business vs personal mileage which is huge for tax savings. For rideshare receipts, it's surprisingly accurate. You can tag trips as business or personal, and it learns your patterns over time. What impressed me was how it caught some business-related Uber trips I had forgotten about and reminded me they were deductible since they weren't regular commuting.
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Alice Pierce
Just wanted to follow up about that https://taxr.ai site. I was skeptical when I posted before but decided to try it since my tax situation got complicated this year (W2 job plus started driving for Uber). The AI actually identified that some of my rideshare trips WERE deductible because I was going to temporary work locations, not my regular office! Saved me about $430 in taxes I would have overpaid. Definitely worth checking out if you have a complicated situation.
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Esteban Tate
If you're having trouble getting clear answers from the IRS about your specific situation, I'd recommend trying https://claimyr.com - they get you through to an actual IRS agent instead of waiting on hold for hours. I used it when I had questions about my rideshare deductions and got through in minutes. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. Super helpful when you need definitive answers straight from the IRS.
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Ivanna St. Pierre
•Wait, how does this actually work? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS these days. Do they just keep calling for you or something?
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Elin Robinson
•Yeah right, nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. I've tried everything and still waited 2+ hours. Sounds like a scam to me.
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Esteban Tate
•They use a system that basically holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is actually available. It monitors the IRS phone system and knows exactly when to connect you. I was skeptical at first too, but it's legit. They don't promise instant service - what they do is eliminate you having to personally wait on hold. Instead of you listening to that awful hold music for hours, their system does it and then connects you when a real person picks up.
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Elin Robinson
I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate for answers about some rideshare deductions. Got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 35 minutes (which is LIGHT YEARS faster than my previous attempts). The agent confirmed that while regular commuting isn't deductible, any travel between work sites during the day actually is. Ended up saving me hours of frustration and potentially an audit. Sometimes being proven wrong is a good thing!
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Atticus Domingo
Have you asked your employer about commuter benefits? Some companies offer pre-tax transit accounts that can include rideshare options. Worth checking if your HR department has something like that - it's not a tax deduction but it could save you money by using pre-tax dollars.
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Leslie Parker
•I hadn't even thought about that! I'll definitely check with HR tomorrow. Do you know if there's a limit to how much you can put into those pre-tax commuter accounts?
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Atticus Domingo
•For 2025, the monthly limit for qualified transportation fringe benefits is $300 (it goes up slightly each year with inflation). That wouldn't cover all your rideshare costs, but it would let you pay for a good chunk of them with pre-tax dollars, which is better than no tax benefit at all. The other thing to consider is asking your employer about a hybrid work arrangement to cut down commuting days. Even one work-from-home day per week would reduce your monthly costs by 25%.
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Beth Ford
Have u looked into carpooling options? There are apps like Waze Carpool where u might find ppl going to the same area. Might be way cheaper than uber/lyft every day!
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Morita Montoya
•I've had good luck with Waze Carpool in my area. Found a regular driver who works near my building and now I pay like 60% less than Uber rates.
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Diego Chavez
Another thing to consider is whether any of your rideshare trips qualify as business travel. If you occasionally travel to client meetings, conferences, or temporary work locations that aren't your regular workplace, those trips could be deductible. Keep detailed records of the business purpose, date, and cost for any trips that might qualify. Also, if you're self-employed or have a side business, trips related to that work (like going to meet clients or pick up supplies) are generally deductible business expenses. Just make sure to keep good documentation and separate business from personal trips. The key is understanding the difference between regular commuting (home to primary workplace) which isn't deductible, versus business travel which can be.
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Hugh Intensity
•This is really helpful clarification! I think I might have been mixing up some of my trips. I occasionally have to go to our satellite office across town and sometimes meet with vendors at different locations. Should I be tracking the mileage/cost from my regular office to these other places, or is it from my home? And do I need any special documentation beyond just keeping the Uber receipts?
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