Taxes

by Christian Perea on February 18, 2019 Leave a Comment

Using TurboTax Self-Employed and QuickBooks Self-Employed To Simplify Your Rideshare Taxes

Join us for our February YouTube live on Tuesday February 19 at 4:00 pm PT! You can subscribe to our Youtube channel here and be sure to turn on notifications (instructions here) so you know when we go live.

Today we have a sponsored post from Intuit on how to use TurboTax Self-Employed to file your rideshare taxes, and how you can use QuickBooks Self-Employed to track your business income and expenses for a year FOR FREE. I’ve used TurboTax since 2007 and QuickBooks Self-Employed since I began driving for Lyft in 2014. You can use our links to get your TurboTax Self-Employed for $89.99 or TurboTax Live Self-Employed for $169.99.

However I recommend logging into your Lyft or Uber driver accounts and getting TurboTax Self-Employed for free (or TurboTax Live Self-Employed for 50% off) since that is a much better deal!

Takeaway

Get a free copy of TurboTax Self-Employed this year from Uber or Lyft.
Automatically import your 1099s from Uber and/or Lyft.
Get a year of QuickBooks Self-Employed for free (if it’s your first year).

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by Jay Cradeur on February 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

How To Pay Almost $0 In Taxes As A Rideshare Driver

As rideshare drivers nationwide receive their tax summaries from Uber and Lyft, they may be thinking… I wish I could pay less in taxes. Senior RSG contributor Jay Cradeur shows us how he pays less in taxes (legally!)

In 2016, I had gross earnings from Uber and Lyft of over $120,000 in rideshare driving revenue. I paid less than $4,000 in taxes. It is not $0. But it was legal and it was a very low percentage of my revenue. This article will provide you with strategies to dramatically reduce your taxes as a rideshare driver.

I must tell you upfront that I am not a tax professional. You should hire a tax professional if you have any questions about your taxes. One tax professional we recommend is Starzyk CPA. If you’re interested in using his services this year, please fill out this form.

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by Harry Campbell on January 25, 2019 172 Comments

Ultimate Tax Guide for Uber & Lyft Drivers (Updated for 2019)

👉 Tip: the two most important tools during tax season are TurboTax to file your taxes and a mileage tracking app to keep track of your miles!

One of the things a lot of new drivers overlook when they’re just getting started is taxes. Taxes as an independent contractor might seem scary, but they’re actually pretty simple. Today, we’re going to answer all the questions you may have to make sure you maximize your deductions and minimize your taxes paid.

This guide is going to help you with your 2018 taxes (the taxes you will file this year) and there are a few noticeable changes from 2017 so pay attention!

Although this information is for 2018, it is still good information to know but consult with a tax expert for the most up to date tax information.

Every year by the end of January, Uber and Lyft send out 1099s for the prior tax year that detail how much you made, what fees they took out and the miles you drove. And since drivers are independent contractors, all that means for your taxes is that you’ll have to file a Schedule C in addition to your 1040.

Uber and Lyft have been sending out tax summaries to drivers, so if you haven’t received yours by the end of January, you should reach out to them directly (contact Uber here and contact Lyft here).

So let’s get started and see how to file your taxes as a rideshare driver.

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by Harry Campbell on November 5, 2018 13 Comments

6 Uber Tax Deductions That You Don’t Want To Miss This Year

Over the past few months, I’ve seen a lot of misinformation being passed around in regards to rideshare taxes. I definitely commend the drivers who have taken an active approach to figuring it all out but this is not a matter to be taken lightly. I’ve even talked to CPA’s and tax professionals who didn’t really fully understand how rideshare taxes work so you shouldn’t feel too bad.

The problem that I see over and over though is that most people (including some tax professionals) don’t specialize in the sharing economy and 1099 employment. Most of us have only ever worked W2 jobs so these new expense tracking requirements and deductions probably seem like a foreign concept to a lot of us. Don’t worry though, you’re not alone.

Today, I’m happy to bring on Derek Davis, a CPA who specializes in the shared economy to help share a brand new downloadable and free PDF with some tax deductions that you need to know! If you end up hiring someone to help you with your taxes, make sure that they specialize in small business, 1099 or even better the sharing economy. And if you’re like me and you want to do your taxes yourself this year, stay tuned because we’re going to be providing a ton of resources, courses and videos to help with all of that!

👉 Your two most important tools during tax season: Turbotax to file your taxes and a mileage tracking app to keep track of your miles!

Veteran readers of this site should probably already know the basics about driving for a rideshare company and its tax implications. Harry’s podcast explained it pretty well but believe it or not there are a lot of nuances that go into self-employment taxes and rideshare driving in particular.

Nearly everyone is probably aware of the fact that you can deduct the miles you drive as a rideshare driver and some of you may even already understand the difference between the standard mileage rate and the actual expenses method. But the reason why you want to learn and get help from a professional CPA is because there are so many more deductions that go beyond that that you can take advantage of.

Remember, this site is all about helping drivers earn more money by working smarter, not harder. And taking advantage of tax deductions is one of the easiest ways to keep more money in your pocket. But you have to understand them and know how and when they apply. [Read more…]

by Christian Perea on October 13, 2018 8 Comments

Uber Drivers – How To Calculate Your Taxes Using TurboTax

Harry here. Today, RSG senior contributor Christian Perea takes a look at TurboTax Self-Employed, one of the top options if you’re looking to self-file your taxes and reviews how it works, how much you can save and more!

Dealing with taxes as a rideshare driver can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Our 2017 survey showed that 54% of our readers “self-file” their rideshare taxes, and many of them use online filing services to do so.

👉 Your two most important tools during tax season: Turbotax to file your taxes and a mileage tracking app to keep track of your miles!

This year, we’ve partnered with TurboTax and QuickBooks Self-Employed to walk you through the filing process. If you end up using our link, you’ll save $20 when you file your taxes and score a year of QuickBooks Self-Employed for free (it’s usually $10/month).

The best version of TurboTax for rideshare drivers is TurboTax Self-Employed since it’s tailored towards independent contractors. So if you drive for Uber or Lyft or deliver for Postmates or DoorDash, this is the product you may want to use. We’ve been testing it out over the past few weeks and found it makes filing taxes pretty painless, and has some cool features like SmartLook (Live Help) and bank account syncing via ExpenseFinder^™that make it stand out from its competitors.

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