Updated October 29, 2026
If you drive for DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Instacart or a similar app as an independent contractor, the miles you drive doing the work are business miles. You deduct them on Schedule C, and in 2026 each one is deductible at 72.5 cents through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1. The drive from home to your first pickup, and from your last drop-off back home, usually counts as commuting.
The exception is a home office. If yours qualifies as your principal place of business, trips from home to a work location can count. Most drivers' setups don't qualify, so ask a tax professional before you count on it. Publication 587 covers home offices.
Driving around waiting for a ping, or heading to a busier part of town. The IRS hasn't written a rule for app-based driving specifically. Many drivers count these miles, since they're online and working. It's a judgment call, so log them as their own entries and ask a tax professional how to treat them.
Some apps show a mileage total in the yearly tax summary. It's a handy check. But some of those totals only count miles while you're on an active order, which leaves out the driving between orders. And it isn't a log you kept. Keep your own. Each trip needs the date and where you went, why you went, and the miles. Here's what the IRS wants in a mileage log.
A Saturday of deliveries in July 2026:
| Odometer | Reading |
|---|---|
| Leaving home | 42,310 |
| At the first pickup | 42,316 |
| At the last drop-off | 42,401 |
| Back home | 42,408 |
Business miles usually run from the first pickup to the last drop-off: 42,401 minus 42,316 is 85 miles. At 76 cents that's $64.60. The 6 miles out and 7 back would usually be commuting.
Count all 98 miles door to door and you'd claim $74.48. That's $9.88 a shift, or about $988 over 100 shifts, for miles that would normally count as commuting.
Most drivers use the standard rate because it's simpler. It already covers gas and wear on the car. Insurance and depreciation are in there too, so you can't deduct any of those as well. The other way is actual expenses, the business share of everything the car cost you. To keep the standard rate as an option, you have to use it in the car's first year of business driving. A tax professional can tell you which comes out ahead for your car. The 2026 IRS mileage rate page has the rest of the rules.
This is general information, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional about your own return.
If you want this on your phone, Milepost lets you tap Start a trip at your first pickup and End after your last drop-off, then works out the miles at the 2026 rates. It'll be on the App Store soon.