Uber and Lyft Taxes 2017: 1099 Forms Are Now Available
Uber and Lyft announced that they would release the 1099s by January 31st and it is finally live as of last week. Here are what the two different services have in terms of tax summaries and 1099s:
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Lyft:
They have a very simplified summary and ride breakdown on their Payouts screen in the online driver portal. The yearly stats from Lyft shows the following things:
- Gross ride earnings – this is what your total fares are for 2017 including the Lyft commission
- Net ride earnings (bottom) – this is what your actual taxable income is from Lyft.
- Driver Mode Miles – all miles logged in driver mode
- Non-ride earnings – passenger and driver referrals, power driver bonuses, mentor payouts, and other non-ride earnings
Below is some more information about Lyft 1099s, which is similar to how Uber has it set up:
- 1099-K: If you receive a 1099-K from us, the dollar amount you see in Box 1 consists of the gross receipts from all rides for which you were paid in the previous year (excluding the T&S and other pass through fees). Please note that this gross amount includes the Lyft Fee, so it will be a larger number than what you took home in ride-related earnings. The 1099-K does not provide a separate box for Lyft to report its cumulative commission to you, but we will provide that information to you in the Dashboard.
- 1099-MISC: If you receive a 1099-MISC, the dollar amount in Box 7 is all income not related to ride earnings, for example referral bonuses, Mentoring, additional amounts, etc.
Lyft Driving Summary For 2017:
To see your tax info, navigate to the Tax Info tab on your Lyft Dashboard (it look similar if you are on your mobile phone):
Here is what it looks like:
There are two tax forms you may be eligible to receive: 1099-K and 1099-MISC. You may receive one, both, or neither based on the following:
- If you generated at least $600 in gross ride receipts from passengers in the last year, you will receive a Form 1099-K.
- If you earned at least $600 from activities other than driving (e.g., referral bonuses, power driver bonus, power zones, other bonuses) in the last year will receive a Form 1099-MISC.
You will also see your 2017 summary whether or not you got a 1099. For those who made less than $600 in each respective category, you can use this summary to calculate your income and file your taxes that way. In 2017, they added “out of ride” miles, which measures miles when you accepted a trip but before you picked up the passenger. This doesn’t measure miles driven while online but not on a trip, so it will still be less than your own mileage records.
Uber
Uber has a similar Tax Information page. There are a few ways to get to the tax summary page:
- Use this direct link to the tax summary page: Tax Information
- You can go to the left navigation bar and click on the link that says Tax Information:
Uber Tax Information
This page will contain the links for the 1099s and your tax summary:
Uber Tax Summary For 2017
Its going to look something like this, but with your actual stats. At the time of the posting, the 2017 summary wasn’t available, so here is the example from 2016. You will need to wait for your tax summary to be posted before doing your taxes since you will need the commission and other deductions from your 1099 in order to file your taxes for your Uber income:
Calculating your Taxable Income
You can see your Lyft or Uber gross fares (with the commission), and then a list of fees. Below is the difference between gross earnings and net earnings
- Lyft: Gross Ride Earnings – Tolls – Lyft (Commission) Fee = Taxable income (net ride earnings)
- Uber: Total – Tolls – Split Fare Fee – Safe Rides Fee = Gross Fares (under 1099-k Breakdown)
- Gross Fares – Uber Phone Fee – Uber (Commission) Fee = Taxable Income (net income)
For those drivers with over $600 worth of passenger or driver referrals, you’ll see that number under 1099-MISC. This figure also includes hourly guarantees, cleaning fee, cancellations and other non-ride payments.
Mileage Deduction?
For drivers who didn’t keep good track of their mileage for 2017, you may be able to claim the “on-trip mileage” directly from Uber or Lyft as your mileage deduction. Being that you didn’t keep a detailed record of it, you may not be able to use it when figuring out your taxes so speak with your local tax preparer about this. Normally, you should be able to claim at least the number in the tax summary
Estimated Taxes
If you earned more than $6000 this year from Uber or Lyft, you may owe estimated taxes. If you are unfamiliar with estimated taxes, you can either view this post or speak with your local tax preparer.
Need More Help?
For additional tax resources, check out my newly launched online course for Rideshare Taxes for Uber and Lyft Drivers!
Have more questions about Uber or Lyft? Head on over to our Rideshare Driver Training Course! Driver Promotions- New Uber Drivers will get up to a $800 bonus after signing up: Sign up for Uber.
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