The IRS gives you 76 cents for every business mile. Most gig workers collect less than half of what they're owed — not because the rules are complicated, but because nobody told them which miles count and how to track them.
The IRS rule is simpler than most guides make it sound: you can deduct miles driven for business purposes. For gig workers, that means any mile driven while your platform app is active — including miles driven to reach a passenger or pickup location after accepting a job.
The miles you cannot deduct: your commute from home to where you start working (even if you turn the app on as you leave), and any driving done with the app closed. Once the app is off, the trip is personal.
The most valuable misunderstood rule: deadhead miles count. For Uber and Lyft drivers, this is the miles from your current location to the passenger after you accept a ride request. For DoorDash and Grubhub, this is the miles from wherever you were to the restaurant after accepting an order. These miles consistently represent 30–40% of a rideshare driver's total deductible mileage — and every platform either underreports them or doesn't report them at all.
Short answer: none of them do it accurately. Here's the honest breakdown of what each platform provides and how far short it falls:
| Platform | Provides mileage data? | Includes deadhead miles? | IRS-compliant log? | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uber | Partial | No | No | Understates by 30–40% |
| Lyft | Partial | Some | No | Better than Uber, still incomplete |
| DoorDash | No | No | No | Track yourself entirely |
| Instacart | No | No | No | Track yourself entirely |
| Amazon Flex | No | No | No | Track yourself entirely |
| Grubhub | Partial | No | No | Understates pickup miles |
Every active gig worker should use a dedicated mileage tracking app. Stride (free) and MileIQ ($5.99/month) are the two most used among drivers. Start tracking from the moment your platform app goes online. Stop when you go offline for the day.
The IRS offers two methods for deducting vehicle costs. You choose one at the start of your first year with a vehicle and there are restrictions on switching.
76¢ per business mile in 2025. Simple, requires only a mileage log, and for most drivers produces a larger deduction than actual expenses because the IRS rate is set generously to cover average vehicle costs. Works best for high-mileage drivers with newer efficient vehicles.
Deduct the real cost of gas, insurance, maintenance, registration, and depreciation — multiplied by your business-use percentage. More accurate in theory but requires tracking every receipt. Usually only wins for very high-cost vehicles (trucks, luxury cars) with lower mileage. Cannot be used if you previously used standard mileage for that vehicle.
GigExit Pro tracks your real hourly rate after gas, miles, vehicle wear, and self-employment tax. Not what the app shows — what you actually keep.
See GigExit Pro →You can deduct any miles driven with your app active, including deadhead miles from your current location to a passenger after accepting a ride request. You cannot deduct your commute from home to where you start working or any miles driven with the app closed.
The IRS standard mileage rate for business miles in 2025 is 76 cents per mile. This applies to all gig workers including rideshare and delivery drivers.
Yes, deadhead miles are fully deductible for delivery drivers. These are the miles you drive from your current location to a restaurant or merchant after accepting a delivery job, and they typically represent 30-40% of missed deductions for most drivers.
The average gig worker misses approximately $5,000 in annual tax savings by not properly tracking deductible miles. Full-time rideshare drivers can leave over $10,000 in deductions on the table if they only count passenger miles instead of all app-active miles.