Schedule C for gig workers: line-by-line walkthrough

IRS Form 1040 Schedule C is the form sole proprietors and single-member LLCs use to report income and expenses from a business. If you drove for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Amazon Flex, or any other gig platform during the tax year, you are filing Schedule C. There is no opt-out, no simpler form, no "I'm just a driver, not a business" exemption. The IRS treats gig drivers as small business owners, and Schedule C is the form for small business owners.

Schedule C is two pages long, contains 48 numbered lines plus subsections, and asks questions that may not seem to apply to a driver but do. This walkthrough covers each section as it relates specifically to gig drivers: what to enter, what to skip, and what the IRS is actually asking for.

Part I: Income (lines 1–7)

The first part of Schedule C calculates your gross income from the business. Most gig drivers will fill in lines 1, 2, and 7. The middle lines apply primarily to retail businesses with returns and refunds.

Line 1: Gross receipts or sales

Enter the total gross amount your platforms paid you during the tax year — fares, delivery fees, tips, bonuses, and incentive payments. This is your gross earnings before any deductions.

For Uber, this comes from the Tax Summary in your Driver Dashboard. For DoorDash, it is in the Earnings tab. For Instacart and Amazon Flex, it is in their respective year-end summaries. If you received a 1099-NEC, the Box 1 amount goes here. If you received a 1099-K, the gross amount goes here. If you earned income but did not receive a 1099 because you were below the threshold, you still report all of it.

If you drove for multiple platforms, sum them together on Line 1. You file one Schedule C for the whole rideshare and delivery business — not a separate Schedule C for each app.

Line 2: Returns and allowances

Enter zero for most gig drivers. This line is for businesses that issue refunds.

Lines 3–6: Cost of goods sold

Skip these. Cost of goods sold (COGS) is for businesses that sell physical products. Driving services have no COGS.

Line 7: Gross income

Same as Line 1 for most gig drivers. This is your gross income before deductions.

Part II: Expenses (lines 8–30)

This is where you deduct every business expense you incurred during the year. Each line is a category. Use the lines that apply to your work and skip the rest.

Line 8: Advertising

Most rideshare and delivery drivers do not advertise. If you run paid promotions for a referral code, those costs go here.

Line 9: Car and truck expenses

This is the big one for drivers. If you use the standard mileage rate, multiply your business miles by the IRS rate (72.5¢ for 2026). Enter that total on Line 9. If you use the actual expense method, calculate the business-use percentage of your actual vehicle costs and enter that here.

Note that Schedule C requires you to also fill out Part IV (Information on Your Vehicle) at the bottom of page 2 if you claim car expenses on Line 9. See below.

Line 10: Commissions and fees

Service fees, processing fees, or commissions paid to a platform that are not already excluded from your Line 1 gross income would go here. For most drivers, the platform's gross payment is what they reported, and any platform fees are already netted out in your 1099. Check your platform's tax summary carefully — if Uber reports your "gross" as the driver-side amount (after their commission), do not deduct the commission again on Line 10.

Line 13: Depreciation and section 179

If you use the standard mileage rate, leave this blank — the standard rate already incorporates depreciation. If you use the actual expense method, calculate vehicle depreciation here.

Line 15: Insurance (other than health)

If you carry rideshare-specific or commercial auto insurance riders, the business-use portion can go here. Standard personal auto insurance is generally covered under the standard mileage rate; only the additional commercial coverage is deductible separately.

Line 17: Legal and professional services

If you paid a CPA to file your taxes, the business portion of that fee goes here. If you consulted with a lawyer about forming an LLC for your driving business, that fee goes here.

Line 18: Office expense

Most gig drivers do not have an office. Skip this unless you maintain a dedicated workspace.

Line 22: Supplies

This is where most "stuff for the car" goes: phone mounts, dash cams, charging cables, insulated bags for delivery, floor mats specifically purchased for the business, snacks and water for rideshare passengers, hand sanitizer, masks, cleaning supplies. List the total.

Line 23: Taxes and licenses

Rideshare-specific licenses, business registration fees, and local business taxes go here. Vehicle registration is partially deductible if you use actual expenses; if you use standard mileage, it is already included.

Line 24a: Travel

Generally not applicable to local rideshare/delivery work. This is for overnight business travel, not your normal dashing radius.

Line 24b: Meals (50%)

Generally not applicable. Personal meals while working are not deductible. The 50% deduction is for legitimate business meals (such as taking a colleague to discuss the business), which rarely applies to gig drivers.

Line 25: Utilities

For most drivers, this means cell phone. Calculate the business-use percentage of your monthly bill and enter the annual total here. For example, if your phone bill is $80/mo and you use it for rideshare 70% of the time: $80 × 0.7 × 12 = $672 deductible.

Line 27a: Other expenses

A catch-all for legitimate business expenses that do not fit other categories. List each on Part V (page 2). Common entries for drivers:

• Mileage tracking software (e.g., MileShield)
• Tax preparation software (Schedule C portion)
• Music streaming subscription used in vehicle for passengers
• Roadside assistance / AAA membership (business portion)
• Tolls and parking fees (if not already on Line 9)

Line 28: Total expenses

Sum of all your expense lines.

Line 30: Expenses for business use of your home

Generally does not apply to drivers. The home office deduction requires a portion of your home used regularly and exclusively for business — and rideshare/delivery work rarely qualifies because the business is conducted in your vehicle.

Line 31: Net profit or loss

Gross income (Line 7) minus total expenses (Line 28) minus home office (Line 30). This is your taxable business income. It flows up to Schedule 1, then to your 1040 as self-employment income. It is also the basis for your self-employment tax on Schedule SE.

Part III: Cost of goods sold

Skip entirely. Not applicable to driving services.

Part IV: Information on your vehicle

If you claimed car expenses on Line 9, you must complete Part IV. The IRS asks specific questions designed to verify your mileage claim is reasonable.

• Line 43: Date placed in service. The date you started using the vehicle for the business.
• Line 44a: Business miles. Total business miles for the year.
• Line 44b: Commuting miles. For most drivers, zero — there is no commute when your vehicle is your business.
• Line 44c: Other (personal) miles. Total personal miles.
• Lines 45a–47b: Yes/no questions. Did another vehicle exist for personal use? Do you have evidence supporting your deduction? (Yes — your tracking app's logs.) Is the evidence written? (Yes — digital logs count.)

The total of Lines 44a + 44b + 44c should equal the total mileage your vehicle accumulated during the year. If it does not, the IRS notices.

Part V: Other expenses

Itemize anything you put on Line 27a. List the description and amount for each. Common entries again: mileage tracking software ($39.99), Spotify ($120), AAA ($75 business portion).

How Schedule C connects to the rest of your return

Schedule C does not stand alone. Your net profit from Line 31 flows into three other places:

• Schedule 1, Line 3 (Business income or loss) — adds to your total income on Form 1040.
• Schedule SE, Line 2 — calculates your self-employment tax. This is the 15.3% Social Security and Medicare tax that takes most new gig drivers by surprise.
• Schedule 1, Line 15 — half of your self-employment tax is then deducted as an above-the-line adjustment, reducing your AGI.

Tax software handles these flows automatically. Whether you use TurboTax Self-Employed, H&R Block, FreeTaxUSA, or pay a CPA, the software walks you through the lines and pulls the numbers into the right places. The point of understanding what each line means is so you can verify your tax software's output rather than blindly trusting it.

Three things that make Schedule C smoother

1. Keep a dedicated checking account

A separate bank account for gig income (where Uber and DoorDash deposit) makes Line 1 trivial to verify. It also makes Schedule C income substantively easier to defend in an audit.

2. Save digital receipts in dated folders

By month, by category, in cloud storage. The IRS does not require paper. A tracked receipt with a clear timestamp is better than a faded thermal-paper original lost in a glove box.

3. Reconcile platform totals before filing

Pull your year-end summary from each platform. Compare against your bank deposits. Compare against any 1099s received. Make sure your Line 1 reflects the highest legitimate number — and matches what the IRS already knows from the 1099s. Discrepancies are the most common audit trigger.

The bottom line

Schedule C is not as scary as it looks. For a typical gig driver, you fill in maybe 8 to 12 of the 48 lines, and most of those are zeros. The work is in the records that feed it — your mileage log, your receipts, your reconciliation against 1099s.

A clean Schedule C, backed by clean records, is the difference between a 20-minute filing and a year-long audit. Whatever tools and methods you use, the goal is the same: contemporaneous records, claimed deductions, accurate numbers, reconciled income. Your future self in April will thank you for every receipt you saved in August.