What Types of Taxes Are Applied to Uber Drivers?

If you are thinking about becoming an Uber driver, then you need to learn about paying taxes as an Uber driver. Because you are an independent contractor instead of an employee, Uber does not withhold any taxes from your earnings. You will need to withhold them yourself because you will have to pay both income tax and a self-employment tax.

If you are thinking about becoming an Uber driver, you are probably excited about the prospect of making some extra money working your own schedule. You're also probably wondering about taxes, because Uber isn't like traditional jobs. To learn more about the kind of taxes you will owe with Uber, keep reading.

Your Tax Status at Uber

When you drive for Uber, you are not an employee. Instead, you are an independent contractor. In other words, you're self employed. That means that Uber doesn't withhold any of your earnings to pay your taxes, like normal employers do. That means that you should withhold a portion of your Uber earnings yourself, so you don't get an unpleasant surprise at tax time, because you will not only have to pay your usual income tax, you will also have to play a self employment tax.

Uber's Tax Forms

In order for you to pay the right taxes as an Uber driver, Uber will send you the following tax documents:

  • 1099-K: If you gave 200 rides or more and earned $20,000 or more as an Uber driver, the company will send you a 1099-K. This form describes your gross trip profits. This is for the customers' payments to you.
  • 1099-NEC: This form breaks down all your miscellaneous payments, promotions, and referrals for the year. This is for Uber's payments to you.
  • 1099-MISC: This form summarizes any prizes, legal settlements, and other miscellaneous payments you have received.
  • Tax Summary: This is a breakdown of both your earnings and your business expenses.

You can find the Tax Summary and your 1099 forms in the Tax Information of your Driver Dashboard anytime after January 31st. You can also find your 1099 forms by going to Account, then Tax Info, then Tax Forms.

How To Pay Your Taxes as an Uber Driver

To pay your Uber taxes, follow these instructions:

  1. Get your 1099 form. You can't do your taxes without this form. Uber should send you yours no later than January 31st.
  2. Make an expense list. List out all of the business expenses you had in the last year. This should include everything from gasoline to water bottles for your passengers.
  3. Fill out the Schedule SE and Schedule C forms.
  4. Calculate your profits for the year.
  5. Fill out the 1040 form.
  6. Send the payment you calculated you owe to the IRS.

Contacting Uber

If you need any help with your taxes or have any questions, you can get help from an Uber representative. You can find one on Uber's help forum. There is, unfortunately, no way to reach one by phone.

Further questions?

Ask a followup or related question and we will try to provide an answer in seconds.
Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.

Why does GetHuman Write How-to Guides for Uber Problems?

GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like Uber in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our What Types of Taxes Are Applied to Uber Drivers? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.

Uber

Asked 2 years ago
Updated 9 months ago
Viewed 55,851 times
Uber
Uber taxes
Uber tax forms
Was this page helpful?YesNeeds work
Sharing is what powers GetHuman's free customer service contact information and tools. You can help!