How much tax refund can I expect as a DoorDash driver with mileage deductions?

What you're seeing is actually how tax deductions are supposed to work! Your mileage deduction is reducing your taxable income enough that your total tax liability is less than what you've already paid in throughout the year. The standard mileage rate for 2025 is significantly higher than previous years, which is helping a lot of gig workers. When you drive for business, those miles create a legitimate business expense that reduces your profit. Less profit = less taxes. Make sure you're accounting for self-employment tax too - that's the 15.3% you pay for Social Security and Medicare (since you're both employer and employee). Even with that, the mileage deduction can often wipe out your tax liability if you've driven enough miles relative to your income. One thing to check - have you had any taxes withheld from other jobs or made estimated tax payments during the year? If so, that's likely why you're seeing a refund rather than owing.

After struggling with my gig worker taxes for two years, I finally tried out https://taxr.ai and it was a game-changer for understanding my deductions. I was in the same boat as you - totally confused about how my mileage deduction was affecting my taxes. The app analyzed all my delivery income and expenses, then explained exactly how the mileage deduction works against my 1099 income. Turns out I was actually missing other deductions too (part of my phone bill, portion of car insurance, etc). The best part was it showed me how to properly document everything in case of an audit. It has this feature that helps you categorize your expenses specifically for delivery driving and calculates your potential refund based on actual tax code for gig workers.

Just wanted to update after checking out taxr.ai that the previous commenter mentioned. I was super skeptical (as you can see from my comment), but it actually helped me understand my situation. Turns out I've been calculating my DoorDash taxes all wrong for 2 years! I wasn't properly accounting for my mileage or tracking other legitimate business expenses. The audit protection feature gave me confidence since I was always worried about deducting too much. The tax code visualization for gig workers made it clear why I was getting confused about my refund vs. payment situation. Apparently I've been overpaying by quite a bit. Already planning how to use my unexpected refund!

If you're worried about your calculations, you might want to talk to an actual IRS agent to confirm everything. I was in a similar situation last year and tried calling the IRS for weeks with no luck getting through. Then I found this service called https://claimyr.com that got me connected to an IRS rep in under an hour when I'd been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They got me a callback from the IRS so I didn't have to stay on hold. The agent confirmed my DoorDash deduction calculations were legit and explained why I was seeing a refund instead of owing. Apparently it's super common for delivery drivers who track their mileage properly. The peace of mind was totally worth it rather than wondering if I was doing something wrong.

Ok I need to eat my words here. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr since I've been trying to reach the IRS about my DoorDash taxes for THREE WEEKS with no luck. I got a callback from an actual IRS agent in 45 minutes. FORTY-FIVE MINUTES. After I'd wasted hours upon hours trying myself. The agent confirmed that yes, it's totally normal for gig workers to get refunds if their mileage deduction is high enough relative to their income. She even walked me through how to properly document everything to avoid audit flags. Turns out I've been overpaying for years because I didn't understand how the deductions worked. So yeah, I was wrong and it works. Posting this so other skeptics like me don't miss out.

Another thing to consider is whether you've had any other income with withholding. If you had a W-2 job in addition to DoorDash where taxes were being withheld, those withholdings might exceed your actual tax liability after your business deductions. That could explain why you're seeing a refund instead of owing money. The calculator is probably assuming you've had taxes withheld somewhere.

Don't forget you still have to pay the self-employment tax of 15.3% on your net profit from doordash (after deducting mileage and expenses). The mileage deduction reduces your income tax but you still gotta pay SE tax on whatever profit is left.

This is actually a really common scenario that confuses new gig workers! Your calculation sounds about right. Here's what's happening: Your $7,300 DoorDash income minus the $2,600 mileage deduction leaves you with $4,700 in taxable profit. The self-employment tax on that would be around $664 (15.3%), plus regular income tax. But if you had taxes withheld from another job earlier in the year, those withholdings get applied against your total tax liability. So even though you owe taxes on your DoorDash income, the amount already withheld from your W-2 job might be more than your total liability, resulting in a refund. A few things to double-check: - Make sure your tax calculator is including self-employment tax (many don't) - Verify you're using the correct 2025 mileage rate (it's $0.70 per mile) - Consider other deductible expenses like phone usage, delivery bags, etc. It's totally normal to get a refund in this situation - it just means you prepaid more than you actually owe. Just make sure all your deductions are legitimate and well-documented!