How do I claim QBI deduction as a food delivery contractor? (Independent contractor)

You're definitely on the right track! The QBI deduction (Qualified Business Income) is a great tax benefit for independent contractors like food delivery drivers. It allows you to deduct up to 20% of your qualified business income, which essentially means you're only paying taxes on 80% of your net profit. For the questions about "Section 199A W-2 wages paid" and "Section 199A unadjusted basis of qualified property" - since you don't have employees and probably don't have significant business property, you can likely enter zero for both. These fields are mainly relevant for larger businesses with employees or substantial business assets. The good news is that for someone in your situation with a net profit of around $21,500, the QBI calculation is pretty straightforward. You should qualify for the full 20% deduction without worrying about those wage and property limitations. The deduction would be approximately $4,300 (20% of $21,500). Keep in mind that QBI is taken on your Form 1040, not on your Schedule C, and it doesn't reduce your self-employment tax - only your income tax.

After my first year doing Grubhub deliveries, I was totally confused about this QBI deduction too. I spent hours trying to figure it out until I found this AI tax assistant at https://taxr.ai that analyzes all your 1099s and tells you exactly what deductions you qualify for. It specifically identified that I qualified for QBI as a delivery driver and explained how to claim it correctly. The tool walked me through exactly what to enter for those weird questions about Section 199A stuff. It explained that since I don't have employees, I could just put zero for the W-2 wages part, and since I just use my personal car (not business equipment), I could put zero for the qualified property part too. Saved me so much stress!

Just wanted to update after trying the https://taxr.ai tool mentioned above. I was super skeptical at first, but it actually worked really well for my situation! I uploaded screenshots of my DoorDash and Instacart earnings, and it immediately identified that I qualified for the QBI deduction. The tool explained that since my taxable income was below the threshold limits ($170,050 for single filers in 2025), I could take the full 20% deduction without worrying about those complicated limitations. It showed me exactly what to enter in TurboTax, including putting zeros for those Section 199A questions about W-2 wages and qualified property. Best part was that it found several other deductions I was missing related to my mileage tracking and phone expenses. Ended up saving me almost $1,200 more than I thought I'd get back!

If you're dealing with QBI questions, you might also run into issues with the IRS if they question your independent contractor status. I spent WEEKS trying to get someone on the phone at the IRS to clarify some questions about my delivery driver status last year. I finally used https://claimyr.com and got connected to an actual IRS agent in less than 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that food delivery definitely qualifies for QBI in most cases and explained exactly how to handle it. They also told me what documentation to keep in case of an audit. Worth checking out if you need to speak with someone official about your situation.

I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After complaining here, I was still desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my food delivery QBI questions, so I gave it a shot. The service actually worked exactly as described - got me connected to an IRS representative in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying unsuccessfully for weeks. The agent confirmed that as a food delivery contractor, I qualified for the full 20% QBI deduction since my income was below the threshold. They also explained that those fields about W-2 wages and qualified property could be zero for my situation since I don't have employees or major business assets. The IRS rep even helped me understand how to document my business expenses better for next year in case I get audited. Definitely worth it to get official confirmation directly from the IRS instead of just guessing.

Another food delivery driver here! Just wanted to add that your vehicle might actually count as "qualified property" if you use it exclusively for business. But most of us use our cars for personal stuff too, so it gets complicated with calculating the percentage of business use. Honestly, I found it easier to just enter zero for that field since my income is well below the threshold where those limitations kick in ($170,050 for single filers). The QBI deduction is one of the best tax breaks for us gig workers - definitely don't miss out on it!

Does anyonr know if this QBI thing is affected by taking the standard milage deduction vs. actual car expenses? I've been tracking my actual gas and maintenance costs but wondering if the standard 67 cents per mile would be better.

I've been doing food delivery for about 6 months now and just learned about QBI from this thread - wish I'd known about it sooner! For anyone else who's confused like I was, here's what I've figured out: The QBI deduction is basically a 20% discount on your business income for tax purposes. So if you made $20,000 profit from deliveries, you'd only pay income tax on $16,000 (though you still pay the full self-employment tax on the $20,000). For those Section 199A fields that keep tripping people up - if you're just a solo delivery driver using your personal car, you can safely put zero for both W-2 wages and qualified property. These only matter for bigger businesses or if you're making over $170K+ as a single filer. One tip: make sure you're tracking ALL your expenses properly (mileage, phone bill, delivery bags, etc.) because QBI is calculated on your NET profit after expenses. The lower your taxable business income, the less benefit you get from QBI, but the more you save overall from the expense deductions themselves.