2026 tax year · US · Updated May 19, 2026

Gig Earnings Calculator

What do you actually make on Uber, DoorDash, Etsy, or Airbnb after platform fees, mileage, and self-employment tax? Most gig workers have no idea their real hourly rate. Enter your numbers below and find out in seconds.

Your numbers

Runs entirely in your browser — your numbers are never sent to a server.

$
Total Dasher earnings — base pay plus tips, before vehicle expenses.
Track this in a mileage app (Stride, Everlance) — every business mile counts.
Mileage method
$
Optional. Things you bought specifically for this work.
Tax situation (advanced)
$
Used to estimate your marginal income tax bracket. Default $0 if gig work is your only income.
Heads up: Select your state above to include state income tax. Otherwise this is a federal-only estimate.

Your real 2026 take-home

Gross DoorDash earnings
$30,000
Vehicle expense deduction0.725 × miles driven (IRS standard rate)
−$18,125
Net self-employment incomeWhat lands on your Schedule C
$11,875
Self-employment tax15.3% × 92.35% (Social Security + Medicare)
−$1,678
Estimated federal income taxIncremental tax from this SE income
−$0
True take-home
$10,197
True hourly rate1,250 hours/year
$8.16/hr
Effective take-home rateTrue take-home ÷ gross earnings
34%
Quarterly estimated paymentSE tax + federal income tax, divided by 4
$419

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Gig worker deductions checklist

Every IRS-approved write-off for Uber, DoorDash, Etsy, Fiverr, and Airbnb workers — on one page. Plus 2026 quarterly due dates and the mileage tracking apps that won't lose your data.

  • Platform-by-platform deduction list
  • Mileage tracking apps that actually work
  • 2026 quarterly tax due dates

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Why your “earnings” aren’t your take-home

Every gig platform shows you a number — DoorDash’s Dasher pay, Uber’s weekly summary, Etsy’s sales total. None of those numbers are what you’ll actually keep. Three things eat into them, in order:

  1. Platform fees — Etsy, Fiverr, TaskRabbit, and Airbnb take a cut visibly. Uber and DoorDash already took theirs before you saw the number.
  2. Business expenses — the big one is mileage. The IRS lets you deduct $0.725 per business mile in 2026 (Notice 2026-10, up 2.5 cents from 2025), which is usually more than what gas + maintenance actually cost you, so it lowers your taxable income substantially.
  3. Self-employment + income tax— what’s left gets hit with 15.3% SE tax (Social Security + Medicare) plus your federal income tax bracket. For most gig workers that’s 12% or 22% on top.

Worked example: DoorDash, 1,250 hours, 20,000 miles

Say you Dashed $25,000 last year, drove 20,000 business miles, and worked 25 hours a week for 50 weeks. You have no W-2 income and you’re single. Here’s what actually happens:

  • Mileage deduction: 20,000 × $0.725 = $14,500
  • Net self-employment income: $25,000 − $14,500 = $10,500
  • SE tax: $10,500 × 0.9235 × 15.3% ≈ $1,484
  • Federal income tax: $0 (after the half-SE-tax deduction and $16,100 standard deduction, taxable income is below the threshold)
  • True take-home: ~$9,016
  • True hourly rate: $9,016 ÷ 1,250 hours = ~$7.21/hr

The gross looked like $20/hr. The truth is closer to minimum wage once you account for the car you’re putting miles on and the taxes you owe.

Track your mileage from day one

The mileage deduction is the biggest single thing standing between a gig worker and a tax bill. If you don’t track miles, you can’t deduct them. Stride, Everlance, and MileIQ all log miles automatically via GPS — set it up once and forget it.

If you only Dash on weekends, only the miles driven during active orders (and from the moment you go online until you go offline, in most cases) qualify as business miles. Commuting from home to your first delivery is generally not deductible.

Pair this with quarterly tax planning

Once you know your real take-home, divide your expected tax bill by four and pay it quarterly with Form 1040-ES to avoid penalties. We have a deeper guide here: How to pay quarterly self-employment tax. You can also see the pure SE tax breakdown with our Self-Employment Tax Calculator.

These are estimates, not tax advice. State income tax is included when you select a state (2026 single-filer brackets, excluding state standard deductions and local taxes). If your situation is unusual (multiple businesses, W-2 plus 1099, S-Corp election), talk to a CPA.

Where these numbers come from

Take-home is computed as gross earnings minus platform fees, expenses, and the IRS standard mileage deduction, then minus self-employment tax, federal income tax, and state income tax where selected. The rates come from these primary sources:

Constants last verified against these sources on June 10, 2026. Every value is also pinned by an automated test suite that fails if a rate in the calculator drifts from the figure we transcribed from the source.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use the IRS standard mileage rate or actual car costs?
For most rideshare and delivery work, the IRS standard mileage rate wins by a wide margin. At $0.725 per mile (2026 — Notice 2026-10), 20,000 business miles deducts $14,500 — more than gas, oil, and routine maintenance would for a fuel-efficient car. Actual costs only beat the standard rate if you drive an expensive vehicle a lot of miles. You must pick one method in the first year you use a vehicle for business; switching later is restricted.
Do I have to pay quarterly taxes on gig income?
Yes, if you expect to owe more than $1,000 in federal taxes for the year (after withholding from any W-2 job). The IRS expects four payments roughly on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year, via Form 1040-ES or IRS Direct Pay. Skipping quarterly payments triggers an underpayment penalty at filing time, even if you pay everything you owe by April 15.
Does DoorDash, Uber, or Instacart report my income to the IRS?
Yes. For payments made in 2026, platforms issue a 1099-NEC once they pay you $2,000 or more (the threshold was $600 through 2025), and marketplaces like Etsy issue a 1099-K above $20,000 and 200 transactions. The IRS receives a copy of every form. Even if you don't receive a form, you're legally required to report all self-employment income.
What else can I deduct beyond mileage?
A lot. Phone bill (business-use portion), hot bags and supplies, car washes, parking and tolls during deliveries, health insurance premiums (self-employed health insurance deduction), home office if you have one, accounting software, and any other ordinary and necessary expense for the business. This calculator's 'Other business expenses' field is where you'd add these up.
Why is my Etsy or Fiverr take-home so much lower than my sales?
Platform fees stack faster than people expect. Etsy charges roughly 6.5% per transaction plus ~3% payment processing plus listing fees — about 10% effective. Fiverr keeps 20% of every order under $500. On top of that, you owe self-employment tax (15.3%) and federal income tax (10–37% marginal) on what's left. That's why a $50,000 Etsy year often nets closer to $30,000 in your pocket.
Does this calculator include state income tax?
Yes — select your state from the dropdown and the calculator adds a 2026 state income tax estimate using single-filer brackets. Nine states have no income tax (Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, and others), while California and New York exceed 10% at their top brackets. The state estimate excludes state standard deductions and local taxes (e.g. NYC), so treat it as a slightly conservative figure — your actual state liability at filing may be a bit lower. Leave the dropdown on 'No state selected' for a federal-only estimate.
I work multiple gig platforms — which one should I pick?
Run the calculator separately for each platform's earnings to see which is actually most profitable for your hours. Many drivers find that DoorDash pays better per hour than Uber Eats in their city, or vice versa — but only after running the mileage and tax math. Once you know each platform's true hourly rate, you can shift hours toward the most profitable one.

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