HELP!! Understanding Door Dash Taxes and Deductions for 1099 Income

Yes, you absolutely can deduct expenses beyond just your vehicle costs! As an independent contractor (which is what you are as a DoorDash driver), you can deduct any "ordinary and necessary" business expenses. This includes things like your tablet if it's primarily used for DoorDash, those hot bags, portion of your cell phone bill used for business, parking fees while delivering, etc. For your vehicle, you have two options: the standard mileage deduction (58.5 cents per mile for 2025) OR actual expenses (gas, maintenance, depreciation, etc.). Most drivers find the standard mileage option simpler and often more beneficial. Regarding your second question - your 1099 income and W-2 income will be reported on the same tax return, but they're handled differently. Your DoorDash deductions only offset your DoorDash income (reported on Schedule C). They don't directly reduce your W-2 income. However, your combined income (after Schedule C deductions) will determine your overall tax bracket.

I was in your exact situation last year - regular job plus started doordashing. I spent hours trying to figure out all the tax stuff and eventually found this awesome tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that totally saved me. It's specifically designed to help gig workers figure out their deductions and handles both W-2 and 1099 income. What I loved most is that it walked me through all the different categories of deductions I could take as a dasher - not just mileage but also phone expenses, bags, clothing, even percentages of my internet bill. It shows you exactly what's deductible and helps track everything so you don't miss out on savings.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai based on the recommendation here. I was really skeptical at first (I'm always suspicious of tax tools), but this thing actually helped me identify $3,400 in legitimate deductions I would have missed on my DoorDash income! Not only did it handle both my regular job and gig work, but it showed me some deductions I had no idea about - like part of my phone plan, a percentage of my home internet (since I use it to get orders), and even small things like car chargers and phone mounts. The biggest help was walking me through exactly how to track mileage properly going forward and how to legally maximize deductions without risking an audit. Seriously wish I'd found this earlier!

If you've been trying to get help directly from the IRS about 1099 deductions, good luck with that! I spent 3 HOURS on hold last month trying to get someone to answer questions about my gig work deductions. Finally discovered a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a real IRS agent in 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was able to ask specifically about deducting hot bags, phone expenses, and how it all works with my regular W-2 job. The agent walked me through everything step by step. Saved me from making some mistakes that would have cost me hundreds.

OK I need to apologize to profile 9 - I was the one who said Claimyr sounded like a scam. After posting that I decided to try it myself because I've been trying for WEEKS to get IRS clarification on some DoorDash deduction questions. It actually worked! Got me through to an agent in about 45 minutes (still faster than the hours I wasted before). The IRS person confirmed I can deduct my hot bags, portion of my phone, and even part of my car insurance as business expenses. They also explained exactly how to handle having both W-2 and 1099 income. I was 100% wrong and this service saved me a ton of stress. Just wanted to correct myself publicly.

One important thing no one mentioned: you need to make quarterly estimated tax payments on your DoorDash income! When you have a W-2 job, taxes are withheld automatically, but with 1099 work, nothing is withheld. If you wait until tax time to pay, you might get hit with underpayment penalties. I found this out the hard way last year and had to pay extra. You can either increase withholdings at your regular job to cover the additional income or make quarterly payments directly to the IRS.

I did doordash last year and messed up my taxes by not tracking my miles properly. KEEP A MILEAGE LOG starting today!! The standard mileage deduction was worth waaaaay more than itemizing all my other expenses. Download a mileage tracking app that records your trips automatically. I use Stride and it saved me over $1800 in taxes last year just from mileage deductions alone.