Mileage Tracking for Shipt Shoppers
Many Shipt shoppers drive 8,000 to 22,000 business miles a year. At the 2026 IRS standard rate of 72.5 cents per mile, that is a deduction range of $5,800 to $15,950 for the workers who can claim it.
Who can deduct
Shipt shoppers are independent contractors. Owned by Target, the platform pays via 1099-NEC. You file Schedule C and deduct mileage on line 9 at the 2026 IRS rate of 72.5 cents per mile.
How Shipt shoppers actually drive
Full-time Shipt shoppers commonly drive 12,000 to 20,000 business miles a year. Most Shipt orders involve shopping inside the store plus delivery driving, so driving is roughly half the work-time but a meaningful per-order distance.
Typical deductible trips
The trips below are the ones Shipt shoppers most commonly forget to log, plus the obvious ones. Auto-tracking catches all of them, including the small ones that add up.
- Driving from your starting location to a Target or partner store for shopping
- Driving from store to customer's home for delivery
- Driving between back-to-back orders at the same or different stores
- Driving while logged in and waiting for orders during a shift
- Driving to pick up specialty items at a different store mid-order
How TruMile helps
TruMile auto-detects every drive using motion plus location, so the trips above get logged whether you remember them or not. Smart classification learns your repeat routes (between regular client homes, between job sites, to your supply store) and starts tagging them automatically after a few trips.
At year-end, one tap turns your trip log into an IRS-compliant CSV or PDF you can hand to your accountant or paste into Schedule C. The math is already done.
Free for 40 auto trips a month, every month. If you are anywhere near the high end of the typical mileage range, the unlimited Pro tier at $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year usually pays for itself in the first week of tax season.
FAQ for Shipt shoppers
Are Shipt and Instacart taxed the same way?
Yes. Both are 1099 grocery-delivery platforms. Both report on Schedule C. Both have the same standard mileage deduction. Drivers who run both platforms combine all miles on a single Schedule C.
Does Shipt count my time inside the store as deductible?
Time inside the store is not mileage (you are not driving). The shopping itself is part of the service you provide, but it does not generate mileage deduction. The drives between store and customer, between back-to-back orders, and during waiting time are deductible.
Tips - taxable?
Yes. All tips, whether through the platform or in cash from the customer at delivery, are taxable income on Schedule C.
What about the cost of bags or coolers I bring on shifts?
Reusable shopping bags, insulated coolers, and beverage carriers used for shifts are deductible business expenses. Save receipts.
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