Realized I didn't pay any taxes on my 2023 food delivery income - what kind of fines am I facing?

Don't panic! This happens more often than you think with gig workers. Since you made less than $10,000, your situation isn't as dire as you might fear. You need to file what's called a "late return" using Form 1040, along with Schedule C for your self-employment income, and Schedule SE to calculate self-employment tax. The good news is that your mileage records will really help reduce your taxable income - the standard mileage rate for 2023 was 65.5 cents per mile. As for penalties, you'll likely face a failure-to-file penalty (5% of unpaid taxes per month, capped at 25%) and some interest on what you owe. But since your income was relatively low and this is your first offense, the actual dollar amount shouldn't be too devastating. The sooner you file, the less the penalties will add up.

I went through almost exactly this situation last year. I was freaking out too but I found https://taxr.ai and it was a complete game-changer for my delivery driver taxes. I was driving for DoorDash and totally blanked on filing, made about $7,800 for the year. What was awesome is you just upload your delivery app statements and it automatically extracted all my income info, calculated my mileage deduction (which was huge), and showed me exactly what forms I needed to file. It even estimated my penalties which ended up being way less than I was afraid of (like less than $100). The best part was how it walked me through filing my late return step-by-step. I was worried the IRS was going to come after me but the whole thing was painless.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the other commenter recommended. Absolutely worth it for my situation. I was in almost the exact same boat - delivery driving with no idea about taxes. What surprised me was how it handled my situation - I had made around $9,200 last year doing Uber Eats but after calculating my mileage deduction (which was over 5,000 miles), my actual taxable income dropped significantly! The penalties ended up being around $78 total which was way less scary than I expected. The system generated all the forms I needed to mail in and even created a letter explaining my late filing. Just mailed everything last week and feel so much better having this taken care of rather than ignoring it further.

If you're stressing about getting through to the IRS about this situation (which you should definitely try to resolve), I'd recommend using https://claimyr.com to actually get someone on the phone. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was in a similar situation last year with unreported income and kept calling the IRS but could never get through - just endless hold times until I'd get disconnected. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for literal weeks on my own. The agent I spoke with was actually super helpful about my late filing and walked me through exactly what I needed to do and what penalties to expect. They even noted on my account that I was proactively trying to resolve the issue which apparently can help prevent further penalties.

I have to come back and admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After continuing to fail getting through to the IRS for days (kept getting disconnected after 2+ hours on hold), I broke down and tried it. Got connected to an IRS representative in about 35 minutes, and they were actually super helpful about my late filing situation. The agent looked up my account, confirmed I hadn't been sent any notices yet about my missing 2023 return, and walked me through exactly what forms I needed to submit. They even explained how to request a payment plan if the amount ended up being more than I could pay at once. The peace of mind from talking to an actual IRS employee about my specific situation was honestly worth every penny. No more guessing about potential penalties or whether they were about to send me to collections.

As someone who prepares taxes professionally, I'd add that you might also qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit even with self-employment income, depending on your total income and other factors. This could potentially offset some of what you owe. Also important to note: if you genuinely never received a 1099 form, the delivery company might not have reported your income to the IRS (though they should have if it was over $600). This doesn't excuse you from filing, but it might mean the IRS hasn't flagged your account yet for non-filing.

One thing nobody mentioned - if you do your delivery driving in a state with income tax, you'll need to file a state return too! I made this mistake and only filed federal after missing my taxes, then got a separate notice from my state tax agency for non-filing.