What taxes do Grubhub drivers owe?
As an independent contractor, you're running a one-person business. That means you're on the hook for both the employee and employer share of payroll taxes — plus income tax on top. Here's the full picture:
| Tax type | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employment tax | 15.3% of net profit | Covers Social Security (12.4%) + Medicare (2.9%) |
| Federal income tax | 10–22% (most drivers) | Based on total household income |
| State income tax | 0–9.3% depending on state | 9 states have no income tax |
The SE tax surprise: Self-employment tax is what catches new drivers off guard. When you work a regular job, your employer pays half of Social Security and Medicare (7.65%) and you pay the other half through paycheck withholding — and you never see the employer half. As a Grubhub driver, you pay both halves: the full 15.3%. That's the biggest single difference between W-2 income and gig income.
The silver lining: you can deduct half of your self-employment tax from your gross income when calculating your income tax. It doesn't reduce the SE tax itself, but it reduces the income subject to income tax — a meaningful offset.
Does Grubhub send a 1099?
Yes. Grubhub issues a 1099-NEC to drivers who received $600 or more in payments during the tax year. The form is sent by late January and reports your total gross earnings — before any deductions. You'll typically receive it electronically through the Grubhub driver portal.
You may also receive a 1099-K if Grubhub processes payments through a third-party payment network over the reporting threshold. If you receive both, do not double-count the income — they may overlap. Compare the totals against your own weekly earning summaries.
Even without a 1099, all income is taxable. If you earned $400 delivering for Grubhub and didn't receive a 1099-NEC, you still owe tax on that $400 of net profit. The $600 threshold is a paperwork requirement for Grubhub, not a threshold below which the IRS exempts your earnings.
Keep your weekly earnings summaries from the Grubhub driver app throughout the year. These let you catch any discrepancies if the 1099 total doesn't match what you actually received — and they're useful if a form arrives late or gets lost.
The mileage deduction — your biggest break
The IRS standard mileage rate lets you deduct a fixed amount for every business mile you drive. For most Grubhub drivers, this is the single largest deduction by a wide margin:
| Tax year | IRS standard mileage rate |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 67 cents per mile |
| 2025 (current) | 70 cents per mile |
| 2025 | 70 cents per mile |
Which miles count?
- Restaurant to customer: Fully deductible — this is your core delivery mileage.
- Customer to next restaurant: Fully deductible — you're actively working between orders.
- Home to first restaurant: NOT deductible — this is a commute, same as any other job.
- Last drop-off to home: NOT deductible — commuting home is not a business expense.
- Driving while logged in waiting for orders: Deductible — you're available for work and the app can assign you at any moment.
Real example: A driver earns $18,000 gross from Grubhub in 2025 and drove 8,000 tracked business miles. At 70¢/mile, that's a $5,600 deduction. Net profit drops to $12,400. Self-employment tax alone goes from $2,754 (on $18,000) to $1,897 (on $12,400) — a savings of $857 just from SE tax, before income tax savings are counted. Total tax savings: roughly $1,500–$1,800.
How to track miles correctly
The IRS requires contemporaneous records — meaning mileage logged at the time you drove, not reconstructed from memory months later. The easiest approaches:
- MileIQ — auto-tracks background driving; swipe to classify business vs personal
- Everlance — similar auto-tracking, free tier available
- Stride — free, integrates well with gig economy workflows
- The Grubhub app's built-in tracking — records active delivery miles only; misses logged-in waiting miles and between-order miles
Using only the Grubhub app's mileage estimate will undercount your deductible miles by 20–40%. Use a dedicated mileage tracker that runs in the background.
Other deductions for Grubhub drivers
Beyond mileage, these expenses are deductible as long as they're ordinary and necessary for your delivery work:
- Insulated delivery bags — the bag you use to keep food hot/cold during delivery
- Phone mount — dashboard or vent mount used for navigation while delivering
- Smartphone — business-use percentage — if you use your phone 40% for Grubhub, deduct 40% of the cost and your plan
- Phone plan — business-use percentage — same logic as the phone itself
- Car washes — the business-use portion (e.g., if your car is used 60% for deliveries, deduct 60% of car wash costs)
- Parking fees — only fees incurred while actively on a delivery; not your commute or personal trips
- Tolls — business-portion tolls while delivering
You cannot claim both standard mileage and actual car expenses. If you use the standard mileage rate (recommended for most drivers), that rate already accounts for gas, wear, depreciation, and insurance on a per-mile basis. You can't double-dip by also deducting gas receipts.
Multi-app delivery drivers
If you drive for Grubhub alongside DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, or any other platform, you're still operating a single delivery business. The IRS doesn't care which app the order came from — it's all self-employment income from the same activity.
How to handle it at tax time:
- One Schedule C: Combine all delivery income from all platforms on a single Schedule C. Do not file separate Schedule Cs for each app.
- Multiple 1099s: You'll receive a separate 1099-NEC (or 1099-K) from each platform. Add them all up and report the total as gross receipts on your Schedule C.
- Mileage: Track total business miles across all apps. You can use a single mileage log — you don't need to break it down by platform.
Multi-app math example: You earn $9,000 from Grubhub, $7,000 from DoorDash, and $4,000 from Uber Eats — total $20,000 gross. You drove 10,000 business miles total (70¢ = $7,000 deduction). Net profit = $13,000. You owe SE tax + income tax on $13,000, not $20,000. The deduction applies to your combined earnings regardless of which app generated them.
Quarterly estimated taxes
If you'll owe more than $1,000 in federal tax for the year from your Grubhub income, the IRS expects you to pay in four installments throughout the year rather than in one lump sum at filing. Missing quarters doesn't mean you can't catch up — but it does mean the IRS charges an underpayment penalty for each missed quarter.
The 2025 quarterly deadlines:
- April 15, 2025 — Q1 earnings (January–March)
- June 16, 2025 — Q2 earnings (April–May)
- September 15, 2025 — Q3 earnings (June–August)
- January 15, 2026 — Q4 earnings (September–December)
The simplest system: set aside 25–30% of your net profit after the mileage deduction every week when you get paid. After each quarterly period, send that accumulated amount to the IRS at IRS.gov/payments. It takes about 10 minutes and you can pay directly from your bank account.
If your Grubhub income is supplemental and your primary job already withholds enough taxes to cover your full annual bill, you may not owe quarterly payments. Run the numbers after your first quarter to know for sure.
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Check my driver hustle — free →Frequently asked questions
Does Grubhub withhold taxes?
No. You receive 100% of your earnings — no withholding. Grubhub treats drivers as independent contractors, so you're responsible for paying all taxes yourself, either quarterly or at annual filing. There is no employer withholding of any kind.
How do I calculate my Grubhub mileage deduction?
Multiply your total business miles by the IRS standard mileage rate (70¢/mile in 2025). Only count miles driven while working — restaurant to customer, and customer to next restaurant. Your commute from home to your first pickup is not deductible.
Can I deduct my car payment?
No. You can deduct mileage OR actual car expenses — but not a loan payment. Car payments are not a tax deduction for any business. If you use the standard mileage rate, it already accounts for depreciation and the cost of owning the vehicle.
What if I drove for multiple delivery apps?
Combine all delivery income on one Schedule C. You'll receive separate 1099s from each platform — report all of them on the same schedule. Track mileage per app if possible, but combined totals across all apps are acceptable to the IRS.
Do I need to pay quarterly taxes for Grubhub?
Yes, if you expect to owe more than $1,000 in federal tax for the year. Failure to pay quarterly results in underpayment penalties even if you pay in full at filing. The 2025 deadlines are April 15, June 16, September 15, and January 15, 2026.
The bottom line
Grubhub drivers owe self-employment tax (15.3%) plus federal and state income tax on their net profit. The mileage deduction is the most powerful tool available — at 70¢/mile in 2025, it typically wipes out 50–65% of gross earnings before any tax applies. Drivers who track every mile from day one consistently pay hundreds or thousands less than those who don't.
Use a dedicated mileage app (not just the Grubhub app's built-in estimate), set aside 25–30% of net profit weekly, and pay quarterly if you'll owe over $1,000 for the year. Multi-app drivers combine everything on one Schedule C. That's the complete picture.
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