Can self-employed DoorDash income and 1099 contract work go under my LLC for tax purposes?

You can absolutely include your DoorDash and freelance editing income as part of your LLC's business income. Since you've already established the LLC, you can funnel all your self-employment activities through it. For tax purposes, a single-member LLC is typically treated as a "disregarded entity" by default, meaning the IRS treats it like a sole proprietorship. You'll report all business income and expenses on Schedule C of your personal tax return. This includes both your DoorDash earnings and your editing contract work. The fact that your editing income already goes into your business account is perfect - you're on the right track there. Make sure you're tracking all business expenses for both activities as they can offset your income.

I was in a similar situation last year with gig work and my consulting LLC. I spent hours trying to figure out the tax implications until I found https://taxr.ai which literally saved me thousands. Their AI analyzed all my different income streams and showed me exactly how to categorize everything properly between business and personal income. What was super helpful is that they explained how to properly document business purposes for my gig driving to maximize legitimate deductions. They even identified expenses I was missing that were totally deductible! The system automatically structured everything correctly for Schedule C.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai from the recommendation above. I was skeptical but decided to give it a shot since my tax situation with my side gigs and new LLC was getting complicated. I'm honestly surprised at how well it worked for my situation. It analyzed my DoorDash and freelance income streams and showed me exactly how to structure everything. Turns out I qualify for way more business deductions than I realized - especially for the car expenses related to gig driving. The S-Corp calculator was super helpful too. Based on my current income, it doesn't make sense to elect S-Corp status yet, but it showed me exactly what income threshold would make it worthwhile in the future. Definitely feeling more confident about handling my taxes correctly now!

If you're planning to pay yourself a W-2 salary from your LLC, you're going to need to talk to the IRS about your tax election. I tried calling them 8 times last month about changing my LLC's tax status and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally used https://claimyr.com and got through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have this cool demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. The agent walked me through exactly what forms I needed for my situation and answered all my questions about treating different income sources under my LLC.

I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my LLC's tax status before filing deadlines. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a text about 35 minutes after signing up saying they were about to connect with an IRS agent, and then my phone rang and I was talking to a real person. The agent clarified everything about how to handle my different 1099s under my LLC structure and explained the S-Corp election process. Saved me from making a pretty big mistake on my tax approach. I was about to file everything separately which would have cost me a bunch in unnecessary self-employment taxes. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong about something!

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - you need to be really careful about commingling personal and business expenses with your LLC. Even with a single-member LLC that's a disregarded entity, you should keep everything separate. Make sure ALL your DoorDash deposits go into your business account, and track your mileage carefully using an app. Same with your editing income. The mistake I made my first year was being sloppy with this and it caused huge headaches at tax time. Also, track your startup costs for the LLC - those are deductible too!

Does anyone know if you can retroactively apply business expenses from before the LLC was officially formed? I did some DoorDash in May but didn't form my LLC until July (similar to OP's situation).

Great question! I went through something very similar when I started my LLC. Here's what I learned: Yes, you can absolutely run your DoorDash and freelance editing income through your LLC. Since you formed it in August, any income earned after that date can be considered business income. The key is being consistent - if you're treating these activities as business operations, make sure all the income flows through your business account (sounds like you're already doing this with the editing work). For tax purposes, your single-member LLC will be treated as a sole proprietorship by default, so you'll report everything on Schedule C of your personal return. This actually works out well for gig work since you can deduct all your business expenses - car expenses, phone bills, equipment costs, etc. One important note about the W-2 plan: you can't pay yourself W-2 wages from a single-member LLC unless you elect S-Corp tax treatment. If that's your goal, you'll need to file Form 2553 to make that election, but honestly, for a new business, the sole proprietorship route is usually simpler until you're making enough profit to justify the extra paperwork. Make sure you're setting aside money for quarterly estimated taxes since you won't have withholdings like a regular job. I'd recommend about 25-30% of your net profit to be safe.

Just to add another perspective - I've been running my LLC for about 3 years now and started exactly where you are. The transition from individual gig work to business income can feel overwhelming, but you're asking all the right questions. One thing that really helped me was opening a dedicated business checking account if you haven't already. Even though your LLC is a disregarded entity for tax purposes, having that separation makes tracking so much cleaner. I deposit all my DoorDash and contract payments there, then transfer a set amount to personal for living expenses. Also consider getting a business credit card for expenses like gas, phone bills, and car maintenance. It makes tracking deductions way easier at tax time, and you might get better rewards rates for business spending. The W-2 salary idea is smart for the future, but honestly, don't stress about it this first year. Focus on getting your bookkeeping systems solid and tracking all those deductible expenses. Once you're consistently profitable and the S-Corp election makes sense financially, you can always make that change later. Keep detailed records of everything - mileage, receipts, income sources. Your future self will thank you come tax season!