Drove for Lyft for just a few days while working full-time W-2 job - how to file taxes correctly?

Yes, you'll need to report that Lyft income! Since you were an independent contractor for Lyft (not an employee), you should receive a 1099-K from them if you made over $600. You won't file a separate 1099-NEC form yourself - that's something businesses use to report what they paid to contractors. Instead, you'll report your Lyft income on Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) that you'll attach to your regular 1040 tax return. The good news is you can deduct expenses related to your driving - mileage being the big one. Keep in mind you'll also need to pay self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) on your net profit from Lyft. Your W-2 job and your independent contractor work get reported on the same tax return, just on different schedules/forms. Most tax software will walk you through both income types pretty easily!

Just want to share something that saved me a ton of time when I was in almost your exact situation! I did DoorDash part-time while working my regular job and was totally confused about how to handle all the different tax forms. I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that analyzed my tax situation and guided me through exactly which forms I needed and how to file them correctly. It was especially helpful because it showed me which driving expenses I could legitimately deduct, calculated my self-employment tax, and explained how everything fit together with my W-2 income. I would've missed out on several deductions without it. You just upload your docs and it breaks everything down for you - super simple for mixed income situations like yours.

Just wanted to update - I tried out taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was exactly what I needed for my DoorDash/W-2 situation! It found almost $380 in additional deductions I would have missed (mostly related to partial use of my phone plan and some vehicle maintenance costs that were deductible). The document analyzer caught things I didn't even think to ask about. Way easier than trying to figure out all the Schedule C stuff on my own. Definitely recommend for anyone else in this mixed income situation!

If you're having any issues with missing 1099 forms from Lyft, I had a nightmare situation last year where my forms weren't showing up in the driver portal. After wasting HOURS on hold trying to reach someone at Lyft, I used this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual human at Lyft support in like 20 minutes instead of the hours I was spending on hold. They have this smart system that navigates phone trees and holds your place in line - you can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They just call you back when a human actually picks up. Saved me so much frustration when I was trying to sort out my tax documents. Works for reaching the IRS too when you need to sort out tax questions directly.

Alright I need to eat my words here. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr when I needed to call the IRS about an issue with my mixed W-2/1099 return. I was expecting to waste my entire afternoon on hold like usual, but their system actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back when an agent picked up, and resolved my issue in about 10 minutes of actual talking time instead of the 2+ hours I spent last time I called the IRS. Never been so happy to be wrong about something!

Don't forget you can choose between taking the standard mileage deduction (56 cents per mile in 2021) OR itemizing your actual car expenses (gas, maintenance, depreciation, etc.). For most people who only did rideshare briefly, the standard mileage rate is way easier and usually better. But you need to have kept track of your miles!

Make sure you put aside enough for taxes on that Lyft income! Unlike your W-2 job, there's no withholding on 1099 income. You'll owe income tax plus self-employment tax (15.3%) on your profit. Even after deductions, you might be surprised by how much you owe if you're not prepared.