Every gig platform sends drivers an annual tax summary with a mileage number. Drivers who use that number on their tax return are leaving 30-50% of their deductible mileage on the table.
What the IRS lets you deduct
For gig drivers, the IRS recognizes three categories of business miles:
- Period 1: online and waiting for a request
- Period 2: en route to pick up the passenger or order
- Period 3: passenger or order in the vehicle (active trip)
All three categories are deductible. Plus deadhead miles (driving back from a drop-off, repositioning between platforms).
What each platform counts
- Uber: "online miles": periods 2 and 3, sometimes period 1.
- Lyft: Period 3 always; periods 1 and 2 sometimes.
- DoorDash: "Active delivery miles": usually only period 3.
- Instacart: Active shopping + delivery. Excludes drives between batches.
- Walmart Spark: Active delivery only.
- Amazon Flex: Block-period miles. Excludes drives to/from the warehouse.
What every platform misses
- Drives between back-to-back trips on the same platform
- Drives between trips on DIFFERENT platforms
- Repositioning to busier areas during quiet times
- Drives to platform-required locations (vehicle inspections, background checks)
How big the gap is
For full-time gig drivers, the gap between platform-reported and IRS-deductible miles is typically 30-50%. A driver reporting 22,000 active miles on the Uber summary may have 32,000+ deductible miles. At 72.5¢/mile, that is $7,250 in additional deduction.
What to do
Run an auto-detection mileage tracker in the background while you drive. The tracker records every drive whether you are on a platform, between platforms, or repositioning. The result is a complete contemporaneous log that beats both the platform numbers and IRS audit standards.
On Schedule C, line 9, claim your tracker total, not the platform number. The platform summary is supporting evidence; the tracker log is the primary record.
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