What kind of resources are out there about taxes for couriers with gig companies like Grubhub, Postmates, Doordash, Uber Eats and others?
There are way too many. There are not enough. It’s kind of both, really. There are a million things, articles, videos and books about self employment taxes. But what is out there specifically about taxes for those of you who deliver with Grubhub, Postmates, Uber Eats, Doordash or other gig companies?
I find a lot of articles that touch on the basics. I see some videos that people have put out. A lot of those videos have bad or incomplete information. There are a few things out written specifically for rideshare drivers. However, while there are some similarities to delivery, there are differences.
As a result, I wanted to put together a comprehensive resource that touches on as much information as possible. I do not represent that I am an expert, by any means. Nor am I a tax professional. However, since I haven’t seen any tax professionals or experts put information together that focuses on what we do, I decided to assemble what information I could find and put it together for you.
With that in mind, do NOT consider any of the information in this series to be tax advice. This series is purely informational and educational. Since I am not a tax professional, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of everything in here. If you want tax advice related to your specific situation as a courier for gig companies like Uber Eats, Postmates, Doordash and Grubhub, please seek a tax professional who understands independent contractors and self employment.
Some other tax resources
One of the best resources out there was just put up by the IRS themselves. The IRS Gig Economy Tax Center page has links to a number of resources and articles that can help you understand your taxes.
These are books that I referenced frequently while putting this guide together. Information I found in these books seems pretty legitimate. Links here are affiliate links to Amazon – you can read more about affiliate links here.
Income Tax Guide for Rideshare and Contract Delivery Drivers. John C. White, the author, worked several years as a tax analyst for the IRS. This book is geared primarily at rideshare drivers and doesn’t get much into the specifics of contract delivery work. However, the nature of rideshare is similar enough to what we do that most of this information is applicable to us.
J. K. Lasser’s Guide to Self Employment and J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2020, both by Barbara Weltman. These provide a broader look at self employment and taxes for independent contractors. I found these books to provide a better overall picture of what taxes are like. There is a lot of information here, and that can make it difficult to narrow down what applies to our delivery businesses.
475 Tax Deductions for Businesses and Self Employed Individuals by Bernard Kamoroff. This is a good resource for identifying business expenses that you may not have been thinking about. It also is useful for figuring out where to categorize those expenses on your Schedule C. I do offer this caution though: You want to have a firm grasp on how expenses work and what really applies to your business. It can be easy to latch on to some expenses that are not really applicable.