You may have noticed some things are different tax-wise when it comes to delivering for Doordash. If you're used to employee W2 forms, how things work with reporting your income is different.
How does this all work? Why did you get a 1099 form instead of a W2? What are we supposed to do with all of this?
We're going to take a look at how earnings and income reporting works for Doordash Dashers. We'll look at the forms, why they do things the way they do, and what to do with them.
Here's what we won't do: We're not going to try to cover the entire Doordash tax picture. It's impossible to cover it well in just one article. That's why this is part of a series of articles, each examining different aspects of taxes for self-employed individuals. You can read an overview of Doordash taxes and see the entire list of articles in our Doordash tax series.
But here, we'll talk about Doordash income. We'll examine:
About this article
The purpose of this article is to explain how the money you get from Doordash fits into the bigger tax picture. We discuss income reporting for Doordash drivers in the United States but will not discuss how it works in other countries.
This is not tax advice and should not be taken as such. This is written for educational purposes, explaining how taxes work so you can be prepared for tax season. You should seek a tax professional for guidance regarding your individual tax situation.
Do Dashers get a W2 form?
No. Doordash delivery drivers do not get W2s because they are independent contractors, not Doordash Employees (with a few exceptions).
Your agreement with Doordash states that you provide services as a business, not as an employee. This means Doordash is not your boss or employer. You're running a business, and Doordash is your customer.
The only people receiving W2 forms from Doordash are corporate employees or support staff employed by Doordash.
I mentioned there may be exceptions: Doordash recently launched ultra-fast delivery in New York City. There are some employees hired through Doordash subsidiary DashCorps who provide deliveries. The service is only available in New York City as of this writing.
We will not discuss DashCorp employees further in this report, as this is about how independent contractor income works for Dashers.
Does Doordash report independent contractor income?
Yes. Doordash is required by law to report annual payments exceeding $600 made to any independent contractor. They will send a report to the Internal Revenue Service detailing who received payments and how much they were paid.
Doordash also sends out 1099 forms to Dashers, informing them how much total earnings were reported to the IRS.
If Doordash drivers made less than $600, Doordash is not required to report that total income to the IRS, and Doordash will not send them a 1099 form.
What is the Doordash 1099 and how does it differ from a W2?
Doordash sends income reports on IRS form 1099-NEC. The NEC stands for Non-Employee Compensation. This is not the same thing as a W-2 form, as there are several differences:
- There is no tax withholding on a 1099 form.
- Form 1099 does not list federal, state, or local income. Typically the only thing on the form is line 1: Nonemployee compensation. That line is a report of your payments as a self-employed individual.
- Doordash does not send multiple copies of your 1099 like they do a W2. They only send one copy.
- You do not attach a copy of your 1099 form to your personal tax return.
The most crucial distinction is that a W2 form reports your employee earnings, whereas a 1099 reports your business's earnings.
How do I get my Doordash 1099 from Stripe?
Doordash is required by law to send your 1099 to you by mail or email no later than January 31 (or the first business day afterward). If they mail it, it must be placed in the mail by January 31. It can take several days to reach you by mail.
Doordash uses a third-party company, Stripe, to handle the distribution of 1099 forms. Stripe is a payment company that processes most Dasher payments.
Here is the timeline that Doordash sent out on December 1, 2021, explaining the process for the end of 2021 and early 2022. I do not expect the process to change in later years other than some dates may vary.
- December 1: Stripe will send an email asking you to create an account using your Doordash account login credentials and to confirm contact information
- January 7: This is the deadline for creating a Stripe Express account and choosing your delivery method. If you have not done so by then, on January 31, Doordash will send your 1099 by mail to your last known address.
- Early to mid-January: In mid-2021, Stripe made a “draft” version of my 1099 form available through their portal. This was an excellent chance to examine it and see if there were any issues.
- January 31: Stripe will either upload your Doordash 1099 to their portal or send it via U.S. Mail. They will email you to notify you.
- Mid-February: You should have received your 1099 either electronically or by mail. Doordash states it may take up to 10 business days for a copy to reach you by mail.
Can I download my 1099 from Doordash?
Doordash does not offer an option to download your 1099 through the Dasher app or the Doordash website. You will have to do it through Stripe Express.
It's not necessary to wait for Doordash or Stripe to send you a notice to log into your Stripe account. You can go to connect.stripe.com/express_login. Enter the email address associated with your Dasher account on the sign-in page. Stripe will text a confirmation number to log you into your portal account.
Screenshot of the Tax Forms page from the Stripe portal for Doordash drivers. This screenshot shows the 1099 draft, which Dashers can review.
On the home page, you will see a dashboard showing your earnings for the year. Note that the total does not include payments received through the DasherDirect debit card. You can click on Tax Documents and see if your 1099 form is available there.
Do I have to file taxes on my Doordash income?
As an independent contractor, you file taxes as a business owner (usually a sole proprietor). You are responsible for reporting all of your income and making your own tax payments. It does not matter how little that income is; you must report it.
Whether you have to pay a tax bill on that income is a different question. The answer to that depends on what your final business income is.
As a small business owner and self-employed delivery driver, income taxes from your business are based on your profit or what's left over after taxes. If you didn't have any profit, you likely wouldn't have to pay additional taxes on your business income.+
How your Doordash 1099 earnings are not the same as personal income
We've said this many times, but it's worth repeating. As a Doordash independent contractor, you file taxes as a small business owner.
The 1099-NEC form from Doordash does not report your personal income. All it does is say how much money they paid your business. This is your business's revenue here, not your personal income.
We talk about this in more detail in other articles in this series, but here's how it works in a nutshell. You start with your Doordash income. If you contracted with another food delivery service or other gig economy apps, you would add in money made from those gigs.
Then you subtract your Doordash-related tax deductions (business expenses). That includes your business mileage amount if you use the standard mileage rate (or total car expenses if you use the actual expense method). The amount that's left over is your profit.
Your profit is your personal income.
What do you do with your Doordash 1099?
The entire process discussed above involves filling out IRS form Schedule C: Profit or Loss from Business.
You will add the income reported on your 1099-NEC from Doordash to the income section of Schedule C. In the expense section, you subtract your car and other business expenses. The profits left over after those deductible expenses are moved to your 1040 tax form as income.
Schedule C lets you take tax write-offs for your business regardless of whether you itemize or take the standard tax deduction. That's because it happens in a different part of your return than your deductions.
In a way, filling out your Schedule C is a lot like creating your self-employed version of a W2. The profit from Schedule C, not your 1099 income, is added as income on your tax forms.
You may notice that you do not receive multiple copies of your 1099 form. This is because, unlike your W2, you do not attach copies of it to your tax return. You neither submit Doordash's EIN (employer identification number) nor other tax information with the return. All you do is add your Doordash earnings to line 1 of Schedule C.
Frequently asked questions about Doordash income and 1099s
What if my 1099 from Doordash is wrong? You first want to ensure you know what you received from Doordash throughout the previous year. Keeping good records throughout the calendar year will allow you to do this. Do not rely on simply adding up earnings in the earnings tab on the Doordash driver app, as that total only goes back a few months. It does not cover the entire current year.
You can get a better picture by adding up the earnings displayed in the Stripe Connect portal. Note that the Stripe portal doesn't include payments from the DasherDirect card. If you received payments via that card, you would also want to add up those payments as well. Those can be found in the DasherDirect app.
When you are sure the 1099 form is wrong, you must contact Doordash to demand a corrected 1099. You can email support@doordash.com with details or contact Dasher support.
You can read more here about resolving 1099 issues with Doordash.
Why is Doordash sending a 1099-NEC instead of the 1099-MISC form? Doordash used to report payments using form 1099-MISC. However, the IRS changed the form starting with the 2020 tax year and now requires them to use 1099-NEC.
Is my 1099 form the same as a W2? No. There are several differences. The main difference is that a W2 reports employee wages. A 1099 form reports payments that were made to your independent contractor business. Money reported on the 1099 is your business's revenue, also known as gross earnings. Your taxable income for your business is determined on Schedule C, which subtracts expenses from business revenue to determine profits.
Do I need to send my 1099 in with my taxes? No. Your 1099 is not the same as a W2 and is not submitted with your tax return. However, the IRS will record your earnings as they are reported by Doordash.
Will the IRS catch a missing 1099 on my Doordash taxes? They might. The IRS has a record of all your 1099 income from different companies. They will compare that income to what you reported on your Schedule C form. If you reported less income than they have on record, they might contact you about the discrepancy.
Why isn't there any withholding on my Doordash 1099? Doordash does not take taxes out for you. You are not an employee. As an independent contractor filing taxes as a business, you must set aside money for your own taxes.
Do I have to pay taxes if I made less than $600 with Doordash? Whether you have to pay taxes depends on your taxable income. You do have to report your Doordash income, whether you receive a 1099 form or not. Whether you pay taxes on that income depends on several factors, such as how much was left over after expenses and what other earnings you had.
Do I have to pay taxes if I made less than $400 with Doordash? You must report all income, regardless of how little it is. There is a $400 threshold for self-employment tax. Schedule SE states that if your total self-employment profits are less than $400, you do not have to file that form or pay self-employment tax.
That $400 total is based on profits, not on Doordash income. It's also based on total self-employment earnings, not just Doordash. Therefore, if you earned less than $400 from Doordash but made money with other delivery apps, you will still have to pay self-employment taxes.
Can I download back copies of my Doordash 1099? You can download copies of your 1099 through the Stripe Connect portal going back to the 2021 tax year. Doordash worked with Payable before 2021, and there's no longer access to your Payable account. You would need to contact Doordash support to request previous 1099 forms.
Can I file Doordash taxes without a 1099? Yes. The IRS does not require a copy of your 1099 form nor do they ask for payor information. All you do is add your gross Doordash earnings to line 1 (gross receipts) of Schedule C. Tax software programs and some tax preparers may ask for things like address and Tax ID, however none of that is actually added to the tax forms that are submitted when you file.
Has Doordash fixed its 1099 reporting issues? It's hard to say. In previous years, Doordash was notorious for sending out incorrect 1099 forms. Doordash did not keep a running total of annual earnings and used Payable for processing 1099s.
Stripe purchased Payable and took over Doordash's payment processing. The Stripe Connect portal does keep a running record of payments, which Dashers can access. However, that list does not include DasherDirect payments. The possibility may exist that merging two sets of payment records could create issues in the future.
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