Do I have to report my Doordash earnings if I only owe $100? Gas and meal deductions might zero out profit...

You absolutely need to report all your self-employment income, regardless of the amount. The IRS requires you to report all income earned, even if your deductions might offset it completely. Here's the good news though - your mileage deduction alone might eliminate your tax liability. The standard mileage rate for 2024 was 67 cents per mile, so 650 miles would give you about $435.50 in deductions right there. However, meals while delivering aren't fully deductible unless they were for business purposes (like client meetings), not just because you got hungry during your shift. You'll need to file Schedule C to report your Doordash income and expenses, and Schedule SE for self-employment tax if your net profit is $400 or more. Even if your deductions eliminate your income tax, you might still owe self-employment tax, which kicks in at $400 of net earnings.

I was in literally the exact same situation last year with my Uber Eats side hustle. I made about $900 and was considering just not reporting it because of all my expenses. I found this amazing tool called https://taxr.ai that basically analyzed all my delivery app statements and automatically calculated all my potential deductions. It surprised me how many legit deductions I could take that I hadn't even thought about. Like a percentage of my phone bill since I use it for the app, part of my car insurance, even a portion of my car payment can be deductible if you use the actual expense method instead of standard mileage. The tool found me an extra $215 in deductions I would have missed. It's actually pretty easy to use - you just upload your statements and answer a few questions. Definitely made me feel more confident about filing correctly.

Just wanted to update after checking out that taxr.ai site. I was skeptical at first but it actually found me over $500 in deductions I hadn't considered! The mileage tracking feature is really helpful since I was terrible about keeping records. It automatically calculated my business use percentage for my phone bill and even figured out the portion of my car insurance I could deduct. The best part was it showed me that after all legitimate deductions, my net profit was only like $180, so I don't even owe self-employment tax. I'm still reporting everything of course, but it's nice knowing I'm doing it correctly without paying taxes I don't actually owe. Definitely worth it if you're doing any kind of delivery gig work.

Just FYI - if you're having trouble figuring all this out and want to talk to an actual IRS agent (which I needed to do last year with my doordash stuff), you can use https://claimyr.com to get through to the IRS without waiting on hold forever. I shared a video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS last tax season about my gig work. It was impossible - either busy signals or "call back later" messages. Claimyr actually called and waited on hold for me, then called my phone when an agent was on the line. The agent walked me through exactly what forms I needed for my delivery gig and what deductions were legit.

Ok I need to apologize and follow up on my comment about Claimyr. I was totally wrong and I'm eating my words now. I actually tried the service because I was having MAJOR issues with my 1099 forms from multiple gig apps. I was on hold with the IRS for 2+ hours before giving up. Used Claimyr and got connected to an agent in about 45 minutes without having to actually sit by my phone. The agent fixed my issue in like 10 minutes once I got through. Saved me from a huge headache and possibly filing incorrectly. So yeah, sorry for being a jerk about it. It actually works exactly as described and saved me hours of frustration.

Don't listen to people telling you not to report. The apps send 1099s to the IRS. If you made $780, Doordash 100% sent a 1099-NEC to the IRS with your info. If you don't report it, you'll get a nice letter from the IRS in a few months asking why you didn't. Speaking from experience here... the penalties and interest add up quick even on small amounts.

Just an FYI - meal expenses while delivering aren't business expenses just because you're working. I'm a tax preparer and see this mistake ALL THE TIME with delivery drivers. Meals are only deductible if you're traveling away from your "tax home" (basically overnight trips) or if it's a business meal with clients/customers. Just eating because you're hungry during your shift isn't deductible.

As someone who's been doing gig work for a few years, I'll echo what others have said - you definitely need to report the income. But here's something that might help: even though your meal expenses during deliveries aren't deductible (as Diego correctly pointed out), don't forget about some other potential deductions that are easy to miss. For example, if you bought any insulated bags, phone mounts, or other equipment specifically for deliveries, those are legitimate business expenses. Also, if you had to pay any fees to DoorDash or other platforms, those would be deductible too. One thing I learned the hard way - start tracking everything now for 2025, even small expenses. Get a mileage tracking app or keep a simple log. It makes tax time so much easier when you have good records from the beginning rather than trying to reconstruct everything at the end of the year. Good luck with your filing! The good news is that with your mileage deduction alone, you'll likely owe very little or nothing in taxes.