Standard Mileage vs Actual Expenses for Delivery Drivers (2025–2026 Guide)
Your car is your biggest business expense as a gig driver. The IRS gives you two ways to deduct it: the standard mileage rate or the actual expense method. Here's which one saves you more money — and answers to the questions every DoorDash and Uber Eats driver asks.
The Standard Mileage Rate: The Simple Method
The standard mileage rate for 2025 is 70 cents per mile driven for business purposes. This is the rate set by the IRS effective January 1, 2025.
Every business mile you drive is worth 70 cents in deductions — automatically. That single number bundles together:
- Gasoline
- Car insurance (business-use portion)
- Routine maintenance (oil changes, tires, brakes)
- Depreciation of the vehicle's value
- Registration and licensing fees
You don't track individual gas receipts or insurance bills. You just track miles.
The Actual Expense Method: Track Everything
The actual expense method lets you deduct the real costs of operating your car — but only the business-use percentage.
Step 1: Track all your car expenses for the year:
- Gasoline
- Car insurance premiums
- Repairs and maintenance
- Depreciation (annual decline in vehicle value)
- Registration and license fees
- Parking fees and tolls
- Car wash expenses (if work-related)
Step 2: Calculate your business-use percentage. If you drove 15,000 total miles and 10,000 were for work, your business-use percentage is 67%.
Step 3: Multiply total car expenses by your business-use percentage. If you spent $9,000 total and drove 67% for work, you deduct $6,030.
The Car Loan Question: What You Can (and Can't) Deduct
This is the most common misconception among gig drivers: you cannot directly deduct your monthly car loan payment.
Here's why: a loan payment has two components — principal (paying off the debt you owe) and interest. Principal reduces a debt, not a business expense. Only the interest portion may be deductible.
| Component | Standard Mileage | Actual Expense |
|---|---|---|
| Loan principal payments | Not deductible (depreciation is bundled into the 70¢ rate) | Not deductible (depreciation is deducted instead) |
| Loan interest | Cannot deduct separately (bundled in rate) | Can deduct business-use % of interest as a separate expense |
| Depreciation | Bundled into 70¢ rate automatically | Deduct using IRS depreciation tables (MACRS, Section 179, or bonus depreciation) |
| Car purchase price | Cannot deduct directly | Cannot deduct directly — only recovered through annual depreciation |
Which Method Is Better for Delivery Drivers?
For most DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers, standard mileage wins. Here's why:
- High mileage drivers benefit most. If you're driving 20,000+ business miles per year at 70 cents, that's a $14,000 deduction — hard to beat with actual expenses unless your car is extremely cheap to operate.
- No receipt-keeping required. You only need to log miles and dates — not gas receipts, insurance statements, or repair invoices.
- Simpler math. There's no business-use percentage calculation involved.
Actual expense may be better if:
- You drive an inexpensive car with very high actual costs (e.g., old beater that burns oil and needs frequent repairs)
- You have very high insurance premiums relative to your mileage
- You purchased a vehicle and want to accelerate depreciation using Section 179
Parking Fees and Tolls: Always Deductible
Good news regardless of which method you choose: parking fees and tolls paid during business deliveries are 100% deductible as separate business expenses on Schedule C. They are never reduced by a business-use percentage. Track them, keep receipts or bank records, and deduct every dollar.
"I Didn't Track My Miles All Year" — How to Reconstruct
Forgot to log miles? You're not alone. The IRS technically requires "contemporaneous records" — meaning you're supposed to log miles as you drive them. But if you didn't, reconstructed records are still better than nothing.
Here's how to rebuild your mileage:
- Google Maps Timeline. If you had location history enabled on your phone, Google recorded every trip you took. Go to maps.google.com → Timeline to export your history by date. Filter for the days you worked.
- Platform delivery logs. DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Instacart all maintain records of your delivery history. Log into your Dasher/driver account and export or screenshot your delivery history. You can estimate per-delivery mileage based on delivery zones.
- Gas station records. Your bank or credit card statements show every fuel purchase. Pair gas fill-up dates with your delivery calendar to establish which days you drove for work.
- Calendar or schedule records. If you kept any kind of work log — even a text thread where you told a friend "working DoorDash today" — that corroborates dates.
Commuting Miles vs. Business Miles: Know the Difference
Not every mile you drive is deductible. The IRS has a strict definition:
- Commuting miles (NOT deductible): Miles driven from your home to your first pickup location or first active delivery zone. Miles driven from your last delivery back home.
- Business miles (deductible): Miles driven between pickup and dropoff locations. Miles driven between one delivery and the next. Miles driven to a restaurant pickup after accepting an order.
Calculate Your Actual Quarterly Tax Payment
Mileage deductions reduce your taxable profit. Run your numbers with our free calculator to see exactly what you owe — state + federal, factoring in your deductions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I write off my car loan payment for DoorDash?
No — car loan payments are not directly deductible. The principal portion of a loan payment is not an expense; it reduces a debt. Only the interest may be partially deductible (under actual expense method, as a percentage equal to your business use). The vehicle cost itself is recovered through depreciation — either bundled into the standard mileage rate at 70 cents/mile, or claimed annually using IRS depreciation tables under the actual expense method. Many drivers make the mistake of deducting their full monthly payment — this is incorrect and can cause IRS problems.
Standard mileage rate vs. actual expenses for delivery drivers — which is better?
Standard mileage is better for most delivery drivers. At 70 cents/mile in 2025, if you drive 15,000 business miles you get a $10,500 deduction automatically. To beat that with actual expenses, you'd need $10,500 in real car costs after multiplying by your business-use percentage — which is rare unless you drive very expensive or heavily used vehicles. The added complexity of actual expenses (tracking every receipt, calculating depreciation, determining business-use percentages) usually isn't worth it unless your actual costs are unusually high.
What if I didn't track my miles for Uber Eats all year?
Reconstruct them using Google Maps Timeline, your Uber Eats driver app delivery history, gas station purchase records from your bank statement, and any calendar or schedule records. Use conservative estimates and document your methodology. The IRS prefers contemporaneous records but accepts reasonable reconstruction with supporting evidence. Going forward, track every business mile — use a mileage app or the mileage tracker included in the QuarterPilot $1 kit.
What is the 2025 standard mileage rate?
The IRS standard mileage rate for 2025 is 70 cents per mile for business use. This rate is set annually by the IRS and covers the average cost of gas, insurance, depreciation, and maintenance. Multiply your total business miles by 0.70 to calculate your deduction. The IRS will announce the 2026 rate late in 2025 — check IRS.gov for updates.
Are commuting miles deductible for gig drivers?
No. Miles from your home to your first active delivery location are commuting miles — the IRS does not allow a deduction for them, even for self-employed gig workers. The deductible business miles begin when you're actively working: driving to a restaurant after accepting an order, driving between pickups, and driving between deliveries all count. The drive home after your last delivery is also commuting and is not deductible.