Do I have to report DoorDash income under $300? How to include it on my taxes?

You're absolutely right that you need to report all income regardless of whether you received a 1099-NEC or not. The $600 threshold is just for DoorDash's reporting requirement to the IRS - it doesn't affect your obligation to report income. For your DoorDash earnings, you'll report this on Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) since you're considered self-employed as a gig worker. You'll list your gross income from DoorDash, then deduct any eligible business expenses like mileage (which is probably your biggest deduction). The resulting net profit gets transferred to Schedule 1 and then to your Form 1040. Don't forget you can deduct business expenses even without a 1099! Track your miles driven for deliveries (the 2024 rate is 67 cents per mile), portion of phone bill used for the app, insulated bags, etc.

I was in the exact same situation last year! After struggling to figure this out on my own, I ended up using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to analyze my situation and it saved me so much stress. I uploaded screenshots of my DoorDash earnings summary and it immediately identified that I needed to report it on Schedule C even without a 1099. The tool explained exactly where to put everything and even calculated my eligible mileage deduction based on the delivery info. It was a huge relief because I was worried about making mistakes on my self-employment stuff.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after reading about it here and wow! I've been doing multiple gig apps for years and always just guessed at my deductions. This tool found legitimate deductions I'd been missing for THREE YEARS. It showed me I could file an amended return for last year to claim missed mileage deductions. I was literally leaving hundreds of dollars on the table! It explained exactly where to report my under-$600 earnings from DoorDash too, which was my original confusion.

If you're planning to call the IRS with questions about reporting this income (which I did last year), save yourself HOURS of frustration and use Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I initially thought I'd just call the IRS directly to ask about reporting small gig income, but I spent an entire afternoon getting disconnected or hearing "due to high call volume" messages. With Claimyr, I was talking to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. They have this system that navigates all the phone trees and holds your place in line, then calls you when an agent is about to answer. You can see a demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent helped confirm exactly how to report my small DoorDash income and what deductions I qualified for.

Ok I need to eat crow here. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided "what the hell" and tried Claimyr. I'm literally shocked that it worked. After trying to reach the IRS for months about my refund AND my DoorDash reporting questions, I was connected to an agent in about 35 minutes. The system called me when the agent was ready just like it said it would. The agent confirmed I needed to file a Schedule C for my small DoorDash income and explained how to claim my mileage deduction correctly. Apparently I've been doing it wrong for years! This service is absolutely worth it if you need actual answers from the IRS.

Just a tip from someone who's been doing gig work for years - take REALLY good records of your mileage if you're doing any delivery app. The standard mileage deduction is usually better than tracking actual expenses, and at 67 cents per mile for 2024, it adds up fast. I usually end up with almost no taxable income from my DoorDash work after mileage deductions. Even if you made less than $300, definitely track those miles! You'll need the total on your Schedule C. I use a simple app that tracks when I'm driving for deliveries.

I'm sort of in the same boat but I did multiple apps - DoorDash, UberEats and Instacart all under $600 each. Do I combine them all on one Schedule C or do separate ones for each app?

Great question! I was in a similar situation a couple years ago with small gig earnings. Just to add to what others have said - when you file your Schedule C, make sure to keep good records of everything even for small amounts. The IRS doesn't care if you made $50 or $5000, they want to see it reported correctly. One thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, platform (DoorDash), gross earnings, and miles driven. Even if you're reconstructing this after the fact, having it organized makes filing much easier. Also worth noting - if your net profit after expenses ends up being under $400, you won't owe self-employment tax, but you still report the income on Schedule C and it flows to your 1040. The income might still be subject to regular income tax depending on your total income and tax situation. Keep all your records for at least 3 years in case the IRS has questions later!