DoorDash does not withhold a cent from your earnings. As a Dasher you are an independent contractor, which means the tax side of the job belongs entirely to you. It comes down to three pieces, the form DoorDash sends, the miles you drive, and whether you owe the IRS during the year or just in April.
The 1099-NEC and what it misses
If you earned $600 or more, DoorDash sends a Form 1099-NEC (through Stripe Express) each January showing your gross earnings, including base pay, promotions, and tips paid through the app. The IRS gets a copy, so that income is known. What the form does not show is any of your costs. Those come off on your Schedule C, and for Dashers they are big.
Mileage is the largest deduction
The standard mileage rate lets you deduct a fixed amount for every business mile, covering gas, maintenance, insurance, and wear in one number. For a Dasher, business miles include driving to pick up an order, delivering it, and repositioning between offers while the app is on. At typical delivery density, mileage alone often erases 30% to 50% of gross earnings.
Track from your first dash. A mileage app, or a dated odometer note at the start and end of each shift, both hold up. Smaller deductions stack on top, the insulated bag, phone mounts, the share of your phone plan used for dashing, tolls, and parking while delivering.
What the profit owes
Earnings minus deductions is your profit, and it owes income tax at your bracket plus about 15.3% self-employment tax, which starts at just $400 of profit. A common all-in range is 20% to 30% of profit, so the safe habit is setting that share of each week's payout aside. The 1099 tax calculator gives you your own number instead of the range.
Quarterly payments, or not
If you expect to owe $1,000 or more at filing time, the IRS wants four payments during the year, and skipping them adds an underpayment penalty. Dashing next to a W-2 job? Your paycheck's withholding counts toward the test, and a small W-4 adjustment can cover the dash income with no quarterly payments at all. Full-time Dashers should read the self-employed guide for the whole calendar.
See what your dashing really owes
Enter your earnings and miles and get your set-aside percentage and quarterly payment, free.
Sources: IRS Gig Economy Tax Center · IRS Schedule C