Grubhub Driver Tax Deductions for 2026: The Write-Offs That Matter

Your biggest write-off as a Grubhub driver is your mileage. Every business mile is worth the IRS standard rate, which is split for 2026: 72.5 cents per mile from January through June, then 76 cents from July through December. On top of mileage, ordinary costs of the job - your delivery bag, a phone mount, parking, tolls - are deductible too. Grubhub sends a 1099-NEC once your pay crosses $2,000 for the year, but you owe tax on every dollar you earn whether that form arrives or not.

Sources: IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 (business standard mileage rate: 72.5 cents per mile for trips January 1-June 30, 2026, rising to 76 cents for trips July 1-December 31, 2026). IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (2026 1099-NEC issuance threshold of $2,000). IRS, Self-Employment Tax (15.3% on 92.35% of net profit).

You're an independent contractor, not a Grubhub employee

Grubhub classifies every driver as a 1099 independent contractor rather than an employee. Nothing gets withheld from your pay - no federal income tax, no Social Security, no Medicare. That's different from a W-2 job, where the employer withholds and matches part of the payroll tax. As a Grubhub driver, you're responsible for the full 15.3% self-employment tax yourself - 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare - applied to 92.35 percent of your net profit rather than the full amount. It also means you file Schedule C, and every legitimate business expense - mileage first - reduces that taxable profit.

The mileage rate is split for 2026 - use the right half

Don't apply one number to your whole year. The IRS raised the business mileage rate mid-year, something it's only done once before, in 2022.

• January 1-June 30, 2026: 72.5 cents per business mile.
• July 1-December 31, 2026: 76 cents per business mile.

The rate that applies depends on the date you drove the delivery, not the date you file your return. A dated mileage log is what lets you split your miles correctly between the two halves instead of guessing at tax time.

A worked example

Say you logged 9,000 business miles delivering for Grubhub in 2026 - trips to pick up orders, drives between deliveries, and the miles back to a waiting zone - split evenly across the year:

1. First half (Jan-Jun): 4,500 miles x $0.725 = $3,262.50
2. Second half (Jul-Dec): 4,500 miles x $0.76 = $3,420
3. Total mileage deduction: $3,262.50 + $3,420 = $6,682.50

That's over $6,600 off your taxable profit before you count a single other expense, and because Schedule C deductions reduce both income tax and self-employment tax, the real cash value is higher than the deduction number alone suggests. Run your own mileage total through the mileage deduction calculator to see what it's worth for your year.

Keep a log the IRS will accept

The mileage deduction is only as strong as your log. The IRS wants a contemporaneous record - dates, miles, and business purpose, written close to when you drove, not reconstructed in April. A single end-of-year estimate doesn't hold up if you're ever asked to back it up. Grubhub's own app only tracks miles with an order in the car; the drives between orders and the trip out to a waiting zone count too, and those are exactly the miles that disappear without your own record.

What else you can deduct

Mileage is the biggest line for most Grubhub drivers, but it's not the only one. You choose between two methods for your vehicle: the standard mileage rate above, or actual expenses - gas, insurance, repairs, and depreciation, prorated by your business-use percentage. You can't mix both methods for the same vehicle in the same year. Outside the vehicle itself, ordinary costs of the job - your insulated delivery bag, a phone mount, the business-use share of your phone bill, parking and tolls paid on a delivery - are deductible regardless of which vehicle method you pick. Miles from your home to the spot where you log into the app for your first delivery are personal commuting miles, not business miles.

Driving for more than one app

Plenty of Grubhub drivers also run DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Instacart in the same week. If delivery is the business activity across all of them, it's one business for tax purposes: one Schedule C, and every business mile from every platform combines into a single mileage figure. You'll get a separate 1099 from each platform, but the miles and the deduction don't split by app. See the multi-platform gig tracking guide for how to keep that straight across apps.

Where it lands on your return

Your Grubhub income and your mileage deduction both flow through Schedule C. The deduction lowers your net profit, which lowers both your regular income tax and your self-employment tax, doing double duty in a way a W-2 deduction never could. Read what a 1099 form is if you're not sure which form to expect or when.

Does Grubhub take taxes out of my pay?

No. As a 1099 contractor you get paid in full, with nothing withheld. You're responsible for setting money aside yourself and paying it through quarterly estimated payments or at filing.

Can I deduct mileage and my gas receipts at the same time?

Not for the same vehicle in the same year. The standard mileage rate already builds in gas, maintenance, and depreciation. You pick one method, standard mileage or actual expenses, for that vehicle and use it for the year.

Do I need to pay quarterly estimated taxes on Grubhub income?

Generally yes, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year after your mileage deduction and other write-offs. The IRS charges a penalty for underpayment if you wait until April instead of paying as you earn.

The mileage deduction only holds up if the log does. TruMile records every Grubhub trip automatically in the background, splits business miles from personal, and keeps the dated record the IRS expects. See how it works for self-employed drivers.

Related guides