Grubhub Driver Taxes in 2026: What to Set Aside and What to Deduct

No commission means no fee to deduct

The commissions you hear about with Grubhub are charged to restaurants, not to drivers. As a driver you keep your base pay plus 100% of your tips, and the only thing that ever comes out is an optional cash-out fee of about 50 cents if you take your money early instead of the free weekly deposit. For your taxes, this is a double-edged detail. The good news is that what you are paid is what you keep. The catch is that, unlike a rideshare 1099-K that includes fees you get to deduct back out, a Grubhub driver has no platform fee to subtract. Your gross income starts at the full amount, and your deductions have to come from your vehicle and gear instead.

Grubhub classifies drivers as independent contractors, so nothing is withheld. You report your driving on Schedule C as a small business, you are taxed on the profit rather than the payouts, and you get a business’s deductions in exchange for handling the tax yourself.

The form: a 1099-NEC

Grubhub pays drivers directly, so it reports your earnings on Form 1099-NEC. For payments made on or after January 1, 2026, the reporting threshold rises from $600 to $2,000 (per Rev. Proc. 2025-32); for the 2025 tax year the old $600 threshold still applied. A handful of very high-volume drivers may see a 1099-K instead, but that is only about which form reports the income, not how much you keep. The rule that matters more than any threshold: all of your income is taxable whether or not a form arrives, and the Grubhub earnings summary gives you the numbers to report if no form does.

Mileage is the deduction that brings the bill down

Because there is no commission to deduct, mileage carries even more weight for a Grubhub driver than for rideshare. The 2026 IRS standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per business mile (per Notice 2026-10), and it bundles gas, maintenance, repairs, insurance, and depreciation. A driver logging 8,000 business miles deducts $5,800 before anything else. The miles that count are the ones driven while you are online and available: to the restaurant, to the customer, and between orders. The drive from home before you go online is commuting and is not deductible. Two drivers with the same pay can owe very different tax depending on whether they kept a log. The rules for a log that survives an audit are in how to keep a mileage log the IRS will accept.

On top of mileage, deduct the business-use share of your phone plan, delivery gear like insulated bags and phone mounts, and tolls and parking during deliveries. You cannot add gas or oil changes on top of the standard mileage rate, since those are already inside the 72.5 cents.

Self-employment tax and quarterlies

Your Schedule C profit faces self-employment tax of 15.3% (12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of net earnings, starting at $400 of net income, plus ordinary income tax at your bracket and state income tax in most states. Half of the SE tax is deductible, and the Social Security portion stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Because nothing is withheld, the IRS expects quarterly estimated payments if you will owe $1,000 or more for the year, due April 15, June 15, and September 15, 2026, then January 15, 2027. Size each set-aside with the set-aside calculator, and see the full mechanics in our quarterly tax guide. If you also drive for DoorDash, Uber Eats, or others, the DoorDash and Uber guide covers reporting several delivery apps on one Schedule C.

This guide is general information, not personalized tax advice. Unusual situations, like multi-state driving or switching vehicle methods, usually warrant a CPA. The numbers here are sourced from IRS publications and current at 2026-06-18; rates and thresholds change.