What the 72.5¢ rate actually is
When you drive for DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Spark, or Amazon Flex, you're an independent contractor running a small car-based business. The IRS lets you deduct the cost of operating that car. Instead of saving every gas and repair receipt, almost everyone uses the standard mileage rate: one number that bundles gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation together. For 2026 that number is 72.5 cents for every business mile (IRS Notice 2026-10), up from 70¢ in 2025.
It's a deduction, not a refund — it lowers the income you're taxed on. Drive 12,000 business miles in 2026 and you knock $8,700 off your taxable profit before you count a single other expense. That's why tracking miles is the highest-paying habit in gig work. Run your own number through the mileage deduction calculator to see the tax dollars it puts back in your pocket.
Yes — it covers electric and hybrid cars too
A common myth is that EV and hybrid drivers get a smaller rate because they spend less on gas. They don't. The IRS is explicit that the 2026 rates "apply to fully-electric and hybrid automobiles, as well as gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles." If you deliver in a Tesla, a Prius, or a 15-year-old Civic, you deduct the same 72.5¢ per business mile. For an efficient car this is usually a much bigger deduction than your actual costs — which is exactly the point of the standard rate.
Which miles count (and which don't)
This is where drivers leave money on the table or invite an audit. Deductible business miles are the ones driven with the app on, for work:
Counts: driving to a pickup, driving during a delivery, and driving between orders while you're online and available. If the app is on and you're working, those miles are business miles.
Doesn't count: your commute from home to the zone where you start dashing, errands with the app off, and any personal driving. The IRS treats the first and last legs of a personal commute as non-deductible even on a work day.
The honest gray area is "waiting" miles between gigs. The defensible position is that miles driven while logged in and available are business miles; miles driven after you've gone offline are not. Whatever rule you use, apply it consistently and write it down as you go.
Standard mileage vs. actual expenses
You're allowed to deduct your actual car costs instead — gas, oil, repairs, insurance, registration, and depreciation, multiplied by the share of miles that were for business. For most gig drivers in a reasonably efficient car, the standard 72.5¢ rate comes out both larger and far simpler. Two rules worth knowing: if you want to use the standard rate, you generally must choose it the first year the car is in service for business; and for a leased car, if you start with the standard rate you must keep using it for the whole lease. When in doubt, the standard rate is the safe, simple default.
What the deduction is really worth
The mileage deduction is powerful because it cuts both taxes a gig driver pays. It lowers your self-employment tax (about 14.1% effective on profit) and your income tax (at your bracket). At a 12% income-tax bracket, every 1,000 business miles you deduct saves roughly $190 in combined tax — about 19¢ back for each mile tracked. A driver logging 12,000 miles is looking at well over $2,000 in tax saved, purely for keeping a log. Skip the log and you can't prove the miles, so the deduction — and the cash — disappears.
See the math on your own miles in the mileage deduction calculator, then fold it into the full picture with the quarterly tax calculator.
No log, no deduction
The IRS requires a contemporaneous record — miles logged as you drive, not reconstructed from memory in April. The fix is a 30-second weekly habit: jot your start and end odometer, or let an app track it in the background. The free weekly log records earnings and miles on your own device with no account. This matters more in 2026 than ever, because the new 1099 thresholds mean many drivers won't receive a tax form at all — which makes your records the only source of truth.
Put it together for your platform
The mileage rate is the same across every app, but your earnings and miles aren't. Once you know your real miles, check what an hour actually pays after the car and the IRS take their cut — by platform: DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Spark, or Amazon Flex — or compare them side by side. For the full tax picture by platform, see the guides for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart taxes.