How to Complete Schedule 1 Form for Married DoorDash Drivers? Separate or Combined?

You'll need to complete separate Schedule SE forms for each of you. Each person with self-employment income needs their own Schedule SE because it calculates the self-employment tax for each individual based on their earnings. For Schedule 1, you'll actually need just one form since you're filing jointly, but you'll list the combined total of both of your self-employment taxes. Line 15 of Schedule 1 is where you'll report the total self-employment tax deduction from both Schedule SE forms. The reason you need separate Schedule C and Schedule SE forms is because self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) is assessed individually, even for married couples. But many of the adjustments to income on Schedule 1 are reported on your joint return together.

I was in the same situation last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was a lifesaver for our DoorDash taxes. I uploaded pictures of our 1099s and all our forms, and it analyzed everything and explained exactly what we needed to do. For Schedule SE, it confirmed we needed separate forms since they're tied to individual Social Security numbers. But for Schedule 1, it showed us how to combine everything correctly for our joint return. The tool even flagged some deductions we missed related to our mileage that saved us about $840!

I want to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after my skeptical question. I decided to try it since I was struggling with the same Schedule 1 and SE situation as OP with my wife's and my side businesses. I was really surprised by how helpful it was! I uploaded photos of our partially completed forms and our 1099s, and it immediately identified that we needed separate Schedule SE forms but could combine everything on one Schedule 1. It even caught a math error I made on one of my Schedule C forms that would have caused problems. The explanations were clear and in plain English, not tax jargon. Definitely made paper filing way less stressful.

When I was stuck on this exact issue last year, I spent 3 days trying to reach the IRS for clarity. Kept getting disconnected or wait times of 2+ hours. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes who confirmed that yes, my wife and I each needed our own Schedule SE forms with our individual SSNs, but we only needed one Schedule 1 for our joint return. The agent even walked me through exactly how to fill out the forms correctly. Saved me so much stress and probably prevented errors that would have triggered a letter from the IRS later.

I need to admit I was completely wrong. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to give Claimyr a shot since I was completely stuck on some complicated Schedule C deductions related to my DoorDash work. I figured it wouldn't work, but I was desperate after trying to reach the IRS for two weeks. To my absolute shock, I got a call back in about 35 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. The agent spent almost 20 minutes walking me through exactly how to handle my specific situation, including confirming that my wife and I each needed separate Schedule SE forms with our own SSNs. I've never been able to get that kind of help before. Completely changed my opinion.

Just wanted to add something important here that nobody mentioned. Make sure you're using the correct version of Schedule SE. There's a "Short Schedule SE" (Section A) and "Long Schedule SE" (Section B). Most self-employed people need to use the Long Schedule SE, especially if you have multiple sources of income or if your net earnings are over $400. Each spouse needs their own full Schedule SE form with their individual SSN.

One more tip for Schedule 1 - make sure you're using the 2024 version of the form! I mistakenly used the 2023 version last year and it caused all kinds of confusion because they change the line numbers sometimes. Also double check that your Schedule C profits match exactly what you enter on Schedule SE for each person. Small discrepancies can trigger automatic notices from the IRS.

As someone who went through this exact same confusion last year with my spouse, I can confirm what others have said - you absolutely need separate Schedule SE forms for each of you since they're tied to individual SSNs and calculate self-employment tax separately. But here's something that helped me get organized: create a simple checklist. For each spouse: Complete your own Schedule C (already done ✓), then your own Schedule SE using the Long version (Section B) since you're both over $400 in earnings. Make sure the net profit from Schedule C matches exactly what you put on Schedule SE. Then for your joint return: Use ONE Schedule 1 where you'll combine both of your business income totals and both of your self-employment tax deduction amounts. The key is keeping the individual calculations separate but reporting the combined totals on your joint forms. Don't feel bad about being overwhelmed - the IRS forms really aren't user-friendly! But once you get the pattern down, it's much clearer than it initially appears.