Delivery Driver Tax Calculator (2026): Instacart, Amazon Flex, Grubhub & More
Estimate your 2026 federal taxes and what to set aside when you deliver for one app or several.
Your estimate
Enter your earnings from each app above to see how much to set aside.
Quarterly payments
Pay about $0.00 by each date:
| Self-employment tax (Social Security + Medicare) | $0.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax (extra from gig work) | $0.00 |
| Total federal tax | $0.00 |
Add your business miles: each mile lowers your tax.
Federal only. State taxes and tax credits are not included.
Only one app? The DoorDash and Uber driver calculators do the same math. Delivering in Texas? Texas has no state income tax, but federal tax still applies: self-employment tax in Texas.
What can you write off? See tax deductions for app-based drivers.
Working several apps?
- The tax is on the combined total. The IRS figures self-employment tax on the combined net earnings from all of your businesses, on one Schedule SE, and a loss in one reduces the income from another.
- Report every app. You must report gig income even if it isn’t on a Form 1099 or W-2. For your numbers, use the tax documents and earnings summaries in your own account for each app.
- Count miles once, in one log. A business mile is deductible once, whichever app it was for. Keep one mileage log for all apps with what Publication 463 asks for: the miles, date, destination and business purpose of each trip, and your total miles for the year.
- Set aside from every payout. As an independent contractor you may have to pay quarterly estimated taxes. Putting aside the percentage the calculator shows from each app’s payouts keeps the total on track.
Sources: IRS Instructions for Schedule SE (2025), IRS: Gig economy tax center, IRS Publication 463, IRS: Manage taxes for your gig work
Instacart taxes
If you shop and deliver groceries as an independent contractor, the same federal rules apply as for any gig work: self-employment tax, income tax, the mileage deduction and quarterly payments. For tips, code 804 on the IRS list of tipped occupations names “grocery delivery driver”, but not in-store shopping on its own, so check whether your work is on the IRS list. Log your trips as you go: in Publication 463’s example for someone with no regular office, the drive from home to the first business contact is commuting, while trips from one customer to another can be deducted. For bags and other supplies, see what drivers can deduct.
Sources: IRS: Occupations that customarily received tips, IRS Publication 463
Amazon Flex taxes
Package delivery as an independent contractor follows the same federal rules: self-employment tax, income tax, the mileage deduction and quarterly payments. Code 804 on the IRS list of tipped occupations covers people who “pick up or deliver packages”, with “package delivery person” as an example. A delivery route with several stops can go in your log as one record: Publication 463 says an uninterrupted business use can be accounted for with a single record of miles. Whether the drive from home to where you pick up packages counts is a commuting question the IRS doesn’t answer for app-based work; see the deductions guide for the general rule.
Sources: IRS: Occupations that customarily received tips, IRS Publication 463
Grubhub taxes
Restaurant delivery as an independent contractor is taxed the same way: self-employment tax, income tax, the mileage deduction and quarterly payments. Code 804 on the IRS tipped occupations list gives “pizza delivery driver” and “app/platform-based delivery person” as examples. Business-related parking fees and tolls can be deducted on top of the standard mileage rate, so note each one in your log; Publication 463 doesn’t require a receipt for a transportation expense under $75 or when a receipt isn’t readily available, but you still need the record. More in the deductions guide.
Sources: IRS: Occupations that customarily received tips, IRS Publication 463
How this is calculated
1. Find your business profit
Your mileage deduction is your business miles times the IRS standard mileage rate: 72.5¢ per mile from January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76¢ per mile from July 1 to December 31, 2026. We add your other expenses and subtract the total from your earnings.
Sources: IRS: Standard mileage rates
2. Self-employment tax
92.35% of your profit is taxed at 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security (only on the first $184,500 of W-2 wages and self-employment earnings combined) plus 2.9% for Medicare. If that 92.35% figure is under $400, there is no self-employment tax.
Sources: IRS: Self-employment tax, IRS Topic 554, SSA: Contribution and benefit base
3. Additional Medicare Tax
An extra 0.9% applies to wages and self-employment earnings above $200,000 ($250,000 if married filing jointly, $125,000 if married filing separately). W-2 wages use up that threshold first.
4. Federal income tax
We start from your W-2 wages plus your profit, minus half of your self-employment tax. Then we subtract the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household), the tips deduction (up to $25,000; not available if married filing separately; reduced when modified AGI is over $150,000, or $300,000 if married filing jointly), and the qualified business income deduction (generally 20% of business income, at least $400 if you have $1,000 or more, and reduced at high incomes). The 2026 tax brackets are applied to what is left.
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (PDF), IRS: No tax on tips, IRS: Qualified business income deduction
5. Only the extra tax from your gig income
We figure your income tax twice, with and without your gig income, and show the difference. If you have a W-2 job, its own tax (usually withheld from your paycheck) is not part of the result.
6. Quarterly payments
The total is divided into four equal payments, due April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027.
Sources: IRS Form 1040-ES (2026, PDF)
Assumptions: all your apps are one business on one Schedule C; you take the standard deduction, have no tax credits and no income other than your gig work and W-2 wages, all tips you enter qualify for the tips deduction, and you have no employees. Every figure and its source is listed on the methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay taxes separately for each app?
No. The IRS Instructions for Schedule SE say that if you had two or more businesses subject to self-employment tax, your net earnings from self-employment are the combined net earnings from all of your businesses; a loss in one reduces the income from another, and you figure the combined tax on one Schedule SE.
The Schedule C instructions say to report all income from your business from all sources, and to complete a separate Schedule C for each business if you owned more than one. They don't say whether work through several apps is one business or several. This calculator treats it as one; a tax professional can tell you how to file.
Sources: IRS Instructions for Schedule SE (2025), IRS Instructions for Schedule C (2025)
I deliver for Instacart and DoorDash. How do I combine them?
Use one row per app in the calculator above: type DoorDash's name into a new row with "Add another app", and enter each app's earnings and tips. Enter your business miles, other expenses and W-2 wages once, for all apps together. The calculator adds the rows up and figures the tax on the total.
Include every app's income, even one that doesn't send you a tax form: the IRS says you must report gig income even if it isn't reported on an information return such as Form 1099-K, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC or W-2.
Sources: IRS Instructions for Schedule SE (2025), IRS: Gig economy tax center
Are Instacart tips taxed?
Yes. The IRS says tips received by self-employed workers are income: they are part of your gross receipts on Schedule C and are subject to self-employment tax.
For 2025 through 2028 there is a new federal income tax deduction for qualified tips of up to $25,000 a year. On the IRS list of occupations that customarily received tips, code 804, "Goods delivery people", gives "grocery delivery driver" and "app/platform-based delivery person" as examples. The list doesn't name in-store shopping, so check whether your work is on the IRS list. If you are self-employed, the deduction can't be more than your net income from the business where you earned the tips. It phases out when modified AGI is over $150,000 ($300,000 if married filing jointly), and married people must file jointly to claim it. It lowers income tax only, not self-employment tax.
Sources: IRS: Tip recordkeeping and reporting, IRS: No tax on tips, IRS: Occupations that customarily received tips
What miles can I deduct when I work several apps?
Count each business mile once, in one log for all apps, and enter the total in the calculator once.
Business miles. Driving between your home and your main or regular place of work is commuting, and the IRS says commuting costs are not deductible. IRS Publication 463 explains which trips count as business in different situations.
Keep a record as you go: the miles for each business trip, the date, the destination and the business purpose, plus your total miles for the year. Business parking fees and tolls can be deducted on top of the standard mileage rate. To use the standard mileage rate for a car you own, you must choose it in the first year you use the car for business.
For 2026 the rate is 72.5¢ per mile for January to June and 76¢ per mile for July to December.
More on what drivers can write off, from tolls and parking to phone costs: Uber & DoorDash tax deductions.
Do I need to make quarterly payments?
The IRS says that if you earn money for gig work as an independent contractor, you may have to pay quarterly estimated taxes. The 2026 due dates are listed next.
April 15, 2026; June 15, 2026; September 15, 2026; and January 15, 2027. You generally have to make estimated tax payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file your return.
Most people avoid the underpayment penalty if they owe less than $1,000 after withholding and credits, or paid at least 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's tax, whichever is smaller. You can pay online, by phone, with the IRS app, or by mail with Form 1040-ES.
Sources: IRS: Manage taxes for your gig work, IRS Form 1040-ES (2026, PDF), IRS: Estimated taxes
Disclaimer
This calculator gives an estimate for planning only. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Your actual tax depends on details it does not ask about. GigTaxMath is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Instacart, Amazon, Grubhub or any other platform. All trademarks belong to their owners; the names are used only to describe who this calculator is for.
Last updated: · Tax year 2026