GigWorkerTaxTax estimates for 1099 and gig workers

How to file 1099 taxes for the first time

Your first year on DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Amazon Flex, Instacart or Grubhub ends with a tax return that looks nothing like a W-2 return: no tax was withheld, the app sends a 1099, and you work out your own profit. Here is the order to do it in for the 2026 tax year.

To see the numbers for your own year first, use the annual calculator; it follows the same steps.

The steps

  1. Collect what you were paid

    Find every 1099 form: a 1099-NEC from a company that paid you $2,000 or more in 2026 (it was $600 through 2025), and a 1099-K from a payment platform when payments passed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions. Most apps post them in their tax or earnings section by January 31. Below those amounts you may get no form, but the income still counts: use the app's yearly earnings summary or your own records.

  2. Add up your business costs

    Miles are usually the largest for drivers: $0.725 a mile in this estimate for 2026, from a log with the date, miles and purpose of each trip. Add the business share of your phone, equipment, platform fees the 1099-K amount includes, parking and tolls. With the standard mileage rate, gas and repairs are already covered.

  3. Fill in Schedule C

    Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business) takes your gross income and your costs and gives your profit. One Schedule C covers several apps when they are the same kind of work.

  4. Work out self-employment tax on Schedule SE

    Schedule SE turns the profit into self-employment tax: 15.3% on 92.35% of it, for Social Security and Medicare. Half of it comes off your income on Schedule 1.

  5. Finish Form 1040

    Income tax is worked out on Form 1040 after the standard deduction and the qualified business income (QBI) deduction. Enter any estimated payments you made during 2026, and any tax withheld from a W-2 job.

  6. File and pay by the deadline

    The return for 2026 is due April 15, 2027. If you cannot pay all of it, file on time anyway and ask the IRS for a payment plan: the charge for filing late is larger than the one for paying late.

What first-time 1099 filers often miss

  • Income without a form. Every dollar counts, not only what a 1099 shows.
  • The fees inside a 1099-K. It shows what customers paid before the app's cut; the cut is a business cost.
  • Miles without a log. Write down the date, miles and purpose as you go; rebuilding a year of miles in April is hard to defend.
  • Next year's quarterly payments. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more for 2027, the IRS expects payments during the year. The 2026 fourth-quarter payment was due January 15, 2027; the tracker sets aside from each payout so the next ones are ready.

Where to get help for free

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program prepares returns for free for people with lower incomes, and IRS Free File lists free filing software by income. Many tax programs handle Schedule C at a paid level. A licensed tax professional can review a first return.

Before you rely on it

This page is general information for the 2026 tax year, not tax advice. GigWorkerTax is an independent site, not connected to the IRS or to any gig platform. See the disclaimer and the methodology page.

Sources, checked October 8, 2026: IRS Gig Economy Tax Center · Understanding your Form 1099-K · Schedule C · Schedule SE · IRS payment plans · VITA