Common Forms and Rules That Gig Drivers Need to Know for Tax Season
The day none of us want to think about is steadily approaching —Tax Day 2025. If you want to get a head start, filing is open now, but you’ll have to file your 2024 tax returns by April 15, 2025, if you want to make the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline.
For gig workers who work for app-based companies like GrubHub, Lyft or Uber, you’ll want to study up on the best way to file your taxes. After all, in many cases, you’re considered independent contractors — not employees.
While seasoned freelancers and gig workers likely know the drill when it comes to the process of filing your own taxes, it can be a daunting task for anyone new to the industry. One important rule to remember is you should report any total income of $600 or more from a client or company.
One possible reason for confusion? Your tax documents may not have arrived via snail mail (the way they typically would with a full-time employer) — especially as more and more companies start offering digital, downloadable copies of tax filing documents.
Regardless, any companies you contracted have an IRS-stipulated deadline to file these forms: Jan. 31. In any year, if you haven’t gotten anything by late February, it’s a good idea to reach out to the appropriate parties.
Here’s a rundown of the tax forms you’ll need to use as a gig worker — plus a look at the tax policies of five of the most popular gig app companies: DoorDash, Instacart, Grubhub, Lyft and Uber.
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Common Tax Forms for Gig Workers
One important note: there was a change in guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor last year on how to classify gig workers. On Jan. 10, 2024, the Labor Department came out with a new rule on employee vs. independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This was meant to redefine a Trump administration-era change that had shifted the language of the economic reality test, essentially the main determinant of how someone is legally considered an employee or an independent contractor. In light of last year’s decision, a number of gig companies, like DoorDash, Uber and Lyft, issued statements saying this wouldn’t change much for them in terms of how they classify drivers. But given the shift, it is worth evaluating depending on the kind of gig work you did.
Common Income Forms Sent to You
Companies that paid you more than $600 in a calendar year should send you a 1099 (either digitally or in the mail), as required by law. If you work across multiple apps, it’s possible you will receive a 1099 from each company. And depending on what companies you work for, you may receive up to three different types of 1099 per company.
The 1099-NEC was introduced in 2020 and is the main tax form that’s now used to report nonemployee compensation of $600 or more, which is what the acronym NEC stands for. Many companies previously used the 1099 MISC (Box 7) to report this income. If you’re an independent contractor who used to receive that form, you’ll likely now receive this one instead. On this new form, employers should fill out the information with how much you earned from them in that calendar year and your billing information. If you look at your invoices and find that they have over or under-calculated, you’ll need to reach out to your client’s accounting department to ensure that they correct their bookkeeping and that your correct total income is reported to the IRS.
The 1099-K form is another common form sent to gig workers. Previously, workers had to meet certain thresholds to receive this form (ie. offer a certain number of rides via Lyft or Uber or earn a certain amount in a calendar year). Beginning in 2022, anyone receiving payments exceeding $600 via a third party network or debit/credit card transactions will get this form, regardless of the number of transactions they completed. These forms are sent directly from the payment card companies, apps or online marketplaces from which you were paid out, rather than the client itself. But just like the 1099-NEC, these companies have until Jan. 31 to file the form.
Reporting thresholds have changed from year to year for this form. In 2024, third-party settlement organizations, i.e. payment services, are required to report transactions for goods or services where the total payments were more than $5,000. That number goes down to $2,500 in 2025 and $500 in 2026, so it’s worth checking back each year.
The 1099-MISC, short for miscellaneous income, has undergone a lot of changes over the years in order to accommodate the creation of the new 1099 NEC tax form. Like we mentioned up top, this form used to be the number one tax form for gig workers and independent contractors. But in 2025? Not so much.
While you may still receive this form as a gig worker, it won’t necessarily be because of your job. Those receiving the 1099-MISC nowadays are often getting it for reasons like collecting at least $600 or more in rent, medical payments, or prizes and awards. If you do happen to get one of these forms, just remember that the amounts listed on it will need to be reported to the IRS as income.
Tax Return Forms You Send to the IRS
After you’ve tracked down all your 1099s and tallied up your net income, your next step is to get that number as low as possible by subtracting any and all applicable business expenses and deductions.
As a gig worker, you may need to file the following tax forms with the IRS:
- Form 1040: This is now the main form used by all U.S. taxpayers to file an annual income tax return. (Forms 1040S and 1040EZ are no longer available.) 1040-SR is available to senior tax filers who want a form in which the text is larger.
- Schedule C: is a sub-form of the 1040 used to tally up your profit and loss as an independent contractor. Line No. 1 (and really the entirety of Part 1) is where you report gross income from all 1099s or from the income summary provided in your gig app. The subsequent boxes are examples of business expenses you may use to lower your taxable income, including car and truck expenses, commissions and fees, mortgage and insurance and utilities. Line No. 31 is your net profit, a number you’ll need for the Schedule SE.
- Schedule SE: This is another 1040 sub-form for self-employed (gig) workers. Use it to calculate your self-employment tax.
- Schedule 2: is an “additional tax form,” i.e. where you provide the amount you owe in self-employment taxes from the SE form above. Put that figure on line No. 4 and the grand total on line No. 21.
- Form 1040-ES: Use this form, instead of the standard 1040, if you need to file quarterly taxes. Even if you file quarterly taxes, you will have to file an annual tax return at the end of the year.
Tax Policies and Resources of 5 Popular Apps
What forms you receive and what tax service you choose to file with depends on the company you’re working for. Each company has slightly different tax policies and may offer discounts for different tax-filing software services. Here’s how they stack up.
DoorDash
DoorDash partners with Stripe. According to the company, your 1099-NEC form will be available via Stripe e-delivery starting Jan. 31. You should be able to immediately see your tax documents on the Earnings tab of the Dasher app, if you click on “View payout details” and “Tax documents.” If you signed up with a mileage tracking app like Everlance to track your miles throughout the tax year and see if you qualify for any exemptions, you can retrieve your mileage information through the group. Otherwise, DoorDash said it will send mileage estimate emails in late February 2025 to US & Canada dashers who dashed by car and had on-delivery mileage. Review DoorDash’s tax FAQ for more information. If you haven’t received your 1099-NEC or your mileage information, contact DoorDash customer support.
Primary tax form: 1099-NEC.
Who: Gig workers who earned more than $600 the previous calendar year.
How: Electronic form available via app.
Instacart
Much like DoorDash, Instacart had previously partnered with Stripe to provide tax forms to its contractors. But since 2023, that partnership is no longer in place. Thus, per other media sources, Instacart will upload your tax forms directly into the app—and they have to follow the same Jan. 31 deadline. If you have any issues receiving your forms, or have questions, you can reach out to the company by logging into the Shopper Helping Center. This site is locked and available to shoppers only.
Primary tax form: 1099-NEC.
Who: Instacart shoppers who earned more than $600 the previous calendar year.
How: Electronic form.
Grubhub
If you’re a Grubhub driver who earned more than $600 in 2024, and are enrolled in electronic communications, then you should have received your 1099-NEC via your GrubHub Driver Portal by the end of January 2025.
Visit Grubhub’s taxes FAQ for more information. If you haven’t received your form by Feb. 15, Grubhub recommends logging back into your driver portal to be sure.
Primary tax form: 1099-NEC.
Who: Grubhub drivers who earned more than $600 the previous calendar year.
How: Electronic form on app.
Lyft
According to Lyft’s tax site for drivers, the company partners with TurboTax to provide discounted self-employed tax-filing services. All Lyft drivers receive 25% off TurboTax federal filing products. Elite and Platinum drivers even get 50% off TurboTax Premium and Live Premium.
To access your tax documents online (which may include the 1099-K as well as the 1099-NEC), log in to your driver dashboard and click the “Tax Information” tab. There, you’ll be able to view your 1099-NEC (if you earned $600 or more), 1099-K (if you earned at least $5,000 from ride payments in 2024) and an unofficial tax summary document compiled by Lyft. The tax summary displays your net earnings and is especially useful if you don’t meet the earning threshold for either 1099 form. All tax documents will be available in the Tax Center on your driver dashboard by January 31, 2025.
Primary tax forms: 1099-K and 1099-NEC.
Who: Lyft drivers who earned more than $600 the previous calendar year.
How: Electronic forms.
Uber
Like Lyft, Uber partners with TurboTax to provide self-employed tax-filing services – including 25% off for all drivers for TurboTax Premium Federal edition and TurboTax Live Assisted Premium Federal edition, and 50% off for Diamond drivers.
You can view your tax summary on or after Jan. 31 (which may include the 1099-K as well as the 1099-NEC), via your partner dashboard and on drivers.uber.com. You should have access to Uber’s tax summary even if you haven’t met the income thresholds for either 1099 forms. For more information on tax documents provided by Uber, visit their Tax Support page.
Primary tax forms: 1099-NEC and 1099-K.
Who: Uber drivers who earned more than $600 the previous calendar year.
How: Electronic forms.
Contributor Larissa Runkle specializes in finance, real estate and lifestyle topics. She is a regular contributor to The Penny Hoarder. Contributor Matt Mastasci contributed to this report.
Writer Elizabeth Djinis is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder, often writing about selling goods online through social platforms. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Smithsonian Magazine and the Tampa Bay Times.
