Lyft Driver Taxes

As a Lyft driver, the IRS considers you an independent contractor, so you’ll receive 1099 tax forms rather than a W-2 from Lyft like an employee would. 

Plus, you’re responsible for reporting your earnings and paying income and self-employment taxes due. Learn how to get your Lyft tax documents, file your federal tax return, and deduct common business expenses.

Important Lyft tax documents

While you won’t get a W-2 from Lyft, it will provide the following downloadable tax documents on the “Tax Center” tab of your online driver dashboard by January 31 of the following year:

• Annual Summary: If you’ve earned anything from Lyft during the tax year, you’ll get this unofficial summary of your ride payments (including tips and reimbursements) and non-ride earnings (such as bonuses). It also shows potentially deductible business expenses, including platform and service fees, tolls and third-party charges.
• 1099-K: This official tax document reports your Lyft ride payments, including passenger-paid fees and taxes. It also includes the company’s taxpayer identification number (TIN) rather than the Lyft EIN number (employer identification number) for tax reporting purposes. For the 2024 tax year, you’ll only receive this form if your ride payments total at least $5,000. However, the federal threshold is expected to get lower in the next few years, and several states already use a lower amount.
• 1099-NEC: You’ll get this official tax form if your Lyft non-ride earnings, including bonuses and referrals, were at least $600 during the tax year.

Filing requirement if you don’t receive the 1099 forms

Even if you don’t get any Lyft 1099 form, you must still file a federal tax return with your Lyft income if your self-employment net earnings are at least $400 or you meet another filing requirement. In that situation, Lyft advises referring to your Annual Summary for earnings details.

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Lyft tax return filing process

Let’s look at how to file taxes for Lyft.

Gather your tax documents

In addition to downloading tax forms from your Lyft driver portal, gather 1099 and W-2 forms for other jobs and income sources you have. You might also need to look through your bank statements to find income that isn’t reported on official tax documents. Plus, look for receipts, logs, and other documents that show your Lyft-related driving expenses.

Choose a tax filing method

As a Lyft driver, you’ll usually file a Form 1040 (Individual Tax Return) with Schedule C for your business’s profit or loss. You have these options when choosing how to file taxes for Lyft:

• Hiring a professional tax preparer
• Using IRS Free File
• Using paid tax preparation software
• Completing and mailing paper forms

When filing your Lyft driver taxes, you’ll also be responsible for paying any remaining taxes owed. The IRS provides Form 1040-ES for figuring out your estimated tax payment amounts. A common recommendation is putting aside 25% to 30% of your Lyft earnings to account for taxes, which you can pay through the mail, over the phone and online.

Where to report your income and expenses

Regardless of how you file taxes for Lyft, your gross Lyft earnings will go in Part I of Schedule C, and Part II and Part V will include information about your eligible business expenses. Your business profit or loss will go on Line 31. Finally, Part IV will request basic vehicle and mileage details.

Your tax return must also have some supplemental tax schedules, including Schedule 1 (Additional Income and Adjustments to Income) and Schedule SE (Self-Employment Tax). Information from these forms will transfer back to your Form 1040. 

You can check out our self-employed tax guide to learn more about the tax return process.

Important tax deadlines and dates

Make a note of the IRS deadlines for paying your estimated Lyft taxes and filing your return. The IRS can charge interest and penalties if you’re late or you underestimate your tax payments.

Quarterly tax payments

Typically, if you expect to owe at least $1,000 in taxes, you’ll need to make quarterly federal income tax payments. Additionally, you must include 15.3% in self-employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare) unless your net earnings are less than $400. 

Here are the typical quarterly tax payment deadlines, which move to the next business day if they’re on a weekend or federal holiday:

• First quarter (January through March): April 15
• Second quarter (April through May): June 15
• Third quarter (June through August): September 15
• Fourth quarter (September through December): January 15 of the following year

The IRS provides Form 1040-ES for figuring out your estimated tax payment amounts. A common recommendation is putting aside 25% to 30% of your earnings to account for Lyft taxes, which you can pay through the mail, over the phone and online.

Annual tax return filing

The annual tax return filing deadline is April 15, but it moves to the next business day when that date falls on a weekend or federal holiday. If you need more time to file your Lyft driver taxes, you can use Form 4868 to request an automatic six-month extension, but your tax payment deadline won’t change.

Common tax write-offs for Lyft drivers

You may qualify for several deductions that help you reduce your tax liability as a Lyft driver. Only business-related expenses are deductible, so you must separate the business and personal portions when there’s mixed use involved.

Vehicle expenses

Your largest write-off as a Lyft driver will likely be your business-related vehicle expenses, which you can deduct in one of two ways:

• Standard mileage rate: This is the easier and often more profitable method that involves deducting your eligible Lyft mileage at the IRS standard rate ($0.70 in 2025), rather than itemizing individual vehicle expenses. So, if you drive 3,000 business miles in 2025, you would deduct $2,100.
• Actual expense method: If you choose this more complex method, you’ll write off the business portion of various individual vehicle-related expenses. This can make sense if your costs are very high. For example, if you incurred $6,000 in vehicle expenses and used your car for Lyft 40% of the time, your deduction would be $2,400. 

Try calculating both ways to see which method yields the higher deduction. Also, make sure your car qualifies for your chosen method. Read more in our self-employed mileage deduction rules guide.

Other Lyft driver expenses

Here are some examples of other popular tax write-offs for Lyft drivers:

• Tolls
• Parking and airport fees
• Vehicle supplies, such as tool kits, floor mats and portable battery packs
• Phone expenses, including data plans, accessories and business apps
• Lyft platform fees and commissions
• Food, drinks and entertainment for riders
• Business insurance and license fees
• Self-employed health coverage
• Office supplies
• Pre-tax retirement plan contributions

Bookkeeping and tracking your mileage

While your Lyft Annual Summary includes some details about potential deductions, you should still properly track business expenses that you may qualify to write off on your tax return. 

A mileage tracker app can help you automatically track and report your personal versus Lyft trips. You should also keep receipts, invoices or statements for business expenses and log these important details:

• Purchase date
• Expense amount
• Type and business purpose of the expense
• Percentage of business versus personal use
• Location (for lodging and meals)
• Other people who participated (for meals)

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