Do I need to report low self employment income from multiple gig apps?

Yes, you do need to report all self-employment income regardless of how small the amount is. The IRS requires you to report all income you receive. While there is a $400 threshold for when you must pay self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes), there's no minimum threshold for reporting the income itself. So both your Instacart earnings of $950 and your Uber Eats earnings of $130 need to be reported. You'll receive 1099 forms from these companies if you earned $600 or more (so likely just from Instacart), but even if you don't receive a 1099 from Uber Eats, you're still legally required to report that income. You'll report this on Schedule C of your tax return, and you can deduct business expenses like mileage, which might reduce your taxable income.

After struggling with a similar situation last year, I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that was super helpful. I had done some freelance design work and some food delivery and wasn't sure how to handle everything correctly. The site actually analyzed my gig work situation and explained exactly what forms I needed and how to report multiple income sources. It even helped me understand what expenses I could deduct that I had no idea about! Saved me way more than I was expecting on my taxes.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and WOW what a difference! I was seriously about to just not report my smaller gigs because it seemed too complicated, but the tool made it super simple to handle all my different income sources. It found SO many deductions I had no idea about! Not just mileage, but also partial phone bills, hot bags I bought, even a percentage of my car insurance. I ended up with a much smaller tax bill than I expected. Definitely recommend for anyone juggling multiple gig apps like I was.

If you're struggling to get answers directly from the IRS about your self-employment situation, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I had some specific questions about reporting income from multiple gig jobs and couldn't get through to the IRS for weeks. I was really skeptical at first, but after waiting on hold for hours multiple times, I gave Claimyr a try. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The service got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. The agent confirmed that I needed to report ALL self-employment income regardless of amount and explained exactly how to fill out the Schedule C for multiple gig jobs. Totally worth it for the peace of mind!

The IRS rule is pretty straightforward on this - if your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more, you need to file a tax return and report ALL your self-employment income, regardless of how small each individual source is. So in your case, since your combined earnings from DoorDash ($950) and Grubhub ($135) total $1,085, you definitely need to report both. Even if one amount seems insignificant, you're required to report all income you receive. You'll need to fill out Schedule C to report your business income and expenses, and Schedule SE to calculate self-employment tax. The good news is you can deduct business expenses like mileage, a portion of your phone bill, and other costs related to your delivery work, which can reduce your taxable income.

I need to eat my words here. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr myself since I had some questions about my gig work that I couldn't get answered. Honestly, I'm shocked. After trying for THREE WEEKS to get through to the IRS myself and always getting the "call volume too high" message, Claimyr got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that yes, I need to report ALL self-employment income, even the small amounts, and helped me understand exactly how to handle my specific situation with multiple gig apps. The peace of mind was absolutely worth it. I was about to just guess on my tax return which probably would have caused problems later.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year with multiple gig apps and small amounts! After hours of research and frustration, I found this AI tax assistant that completely saved me - https://taxr.ai I uploaded screenshots of my earnings from all the different apps and it immediately identified what needed to be reported and how to categorize everything correctly. It even helped me figure out what expenses I could legitimately deduct (way more than I realized!). The tool walked me through how to report multiple small self-employment incomes on the same Schedule C and made the whole process super easy to understand. Highly recommend checking it out if you're confused about your gig work taxes!

Just to add something that nobody mentioned yet - even if you have to report all self-employment income, you can combine all your gig work on a single Schedule C if they're in the same general line of business. So your Instacart and Uber Eats could go on the same form since they're both delivery services. This makes it simpler to file and you can combine your expenses. Just make sure you keep good records of everything in case you get audited!

Just wanted to follow up and say I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread and it was seriously impressive! I had income from Instacart, DoorDash, and some random TaskRabbit jobs that added up to about $1500 total. The system showed me exactly how to report everything together, even though some were under the $600 threshold for 1099s. The best part was discovering I could deduct part of my phone bill, insulated delivery bags I bought, and even a portion of my car insurance as legitimate business expenses. It saved me around $240 in taxes! The explanations were super clear and it even generated a deduction worksheet I can keep with my tax records in case of an audit. Totally worth it!

Don't forget that the standard mileage deduction for 2024 is 67 cents per mile! That can really add up for delivery drivers. Make sure you're tracking ALL your miles when you're working, not just when you have an active delivery.

If you're having trouble getting answers from the IRS about self-employment reporting requirements, I highly recommend using Claimyr to actually get through to an IRS agent. I spent HOURS on hold trying to ask about my situation with multiple gig apps last year before giving up. Then I found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you when an actual human agent is on the line. I got definitive answers straight from the IRS about reporting multiple small income sources and what documentation I needed to keep. For peace of mind, nothing beats getting the official word directly from the IRS about your specific situation. Seriously changed how I deal with tax questions now.

Just a heads up that if your net earnings from self-employment (after expenses) are less than $400 total, you don't have to pay the self-employment tax, which is a huge relief for small side gigs. You still need to report the income, but you might not owe additional taxes on it.

I need to admit I was totally wrong. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still desperate for answers about my rideshare income so I tried Claimyr anyway. The service actually worked exactly as advertised. I was at work when they called saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent walked me through exactly how to report my Uber, Lyft and Amazon Flex income on the same Schedule C, and confirmed I needed to report ALL of it even when some were under $600. She also explained which expenses were clearly deductible vs which ones might need additional documentation. Honestly saved me hours of frustration and probably kept me from making mistakes on my return. I'm still shocked it worked so well. They definitely earned their fee by saving me from an entire day waiting on hold.

Everyone's giving great advice but don't forget about your expenses!! Make sure you track all your mileage for both apps - that's usually the biggest deduction for delivery drivers. You can deduct 65.5 cents per mile for 2024 which adds up fast. Also, a portion of your phone bill, insulated bags, car chargers, etc. can all be business expenses. The self-employment tax sucks (15.3%) but good expense tracking can reduce what you owe significantly.

Just went through this last tax season! A BIG tip: If you're filing with tax software, don't make separate Schedule Cs for each gig app. Combine them all as one "business" of delivery driving or whatever your gig work is. Makes things WAY simpler and you only pay one SE tax calculation. I made about $8,500 across four different apps last year. Saved a ton by tracking mileage and other expenses.

It's worth mentioning that if this is a side gig on top of your regular W-2 job, you might need to make quarterly estimated tax payments next year if you expect to owe more than $1000 in taxes from your self-employment income. You can get penalties if you wait until filing season to pay everything!

Yes, you absolutely need to report both income sources! The $950 from DoorDash and $135 from Grubhub must both be reported on your tax return, regardless of how small the amounts seem. Here's the key rule: There's NO minimum threshold for reporting self-employment income. While companies only send 1099-NEC forms when you earn $600 or more (so you might not get one from Grubhub), you're still legally required to report ALL income you receive. Since your combined total is $1,085, you'll also need to pay self-employment tax (15.3% for Social Security and Medicare) because you're over the $400 threshold. You'll report everything on Schedule C and calculate the SE tax on Schedule SE. The good news? You can deduct legitimate business expenses like mileage (67¢ per mile for 2024), portion of your phone bill, insulated bags, car chargers, etc. These deductions reduce your taxable income and can make a significant difference in what you owe. Since both gigs are delivery work, you can combine them on a single Schedule C rather than filing separate forms for each app. Keep good records of everything in case of questions later!