Lyft drivers can deduct miles driven to pickup passengers, transporting passengers, and returning from drop offs.

Yes, you can deduct the portion of your cell phone and data plan costs that are attributable to Lyft driving based on the percentage of business vs. personal use.

Any bonuses, incentives, or tips earned from driving Lyft are considered taxable income and must be reported when filing your taxes.

You must maintain detailed mileage logs that document date, purpose, origin, destination, and total miles for each Lyft trip in order to deduct miles on your taxes.

Yes, you can deduct reasonable expenses for items like water, mints, chargers, and cleaning supplies that are used exclusively for your Lyft passengers. Keep receipts.

Many Lyft drivers are required to make quarterly estimated tax payments on their earnings to avoid underpayment penalties when filing as self-employed.

Lyft issues a Form 1099-K if your total payments exceed $20,000 and you provided at least 200 rides. Otherwise you receive a 1099-MISC.

The IRS has free educational materials online. There are also apps like Everlance, forums, and tax pros that specialize in rideshare taxes and understand deductions.

Add up all business miles driven for Lyft and divide by total miles driven for the year per your odometer to get the business use percentage of your vehicle.

Dead miles without a passenger, partial trips, incorrect odometer tracking, missing tolls, and incorrect percentages are some of the mistakes that reduce mileage write-offs.

No, you report Lyft rideshare income and deduct eligible business expenses the same way as other 1099 self-employment income - on Schedule C with your Form 1040.

Yes, the IRS may request mileage log verification during an audit. Precise odometer-based records provide the necessary documentation to avoid problems.

Contemporaneous mileage logs separating all business and personal use clearly demonstrate which miles were for rideshare activities vs. personal driving.

Yes, tax prep fees you pay for filing your rideshare taxes, including to an accountant, tax professional, or software, are deductible business expenses.

Apps like Everlance automatically record your mileage and allow tagging drives by provider. This eliminates manual logging and provides detailed records.

The IRS recommends keeping tax returns, mileage logs, receipts and relevant tax records for at least 3 years after filing, and ideally for 6 years or more in case of an audit.

Parking, tolls, cleaning, supplies, car washes, repairs, lease payments, maintenance, insurance, and cell phone can all be directly deducted in the percentage attributable to Lyft business use.

Review your Lyft driver history for earning periods, typical routes driven, and passenger destinations to estimate unlogged business miles. But estimates should be a last resort.

Lyft, Uber, and other rideshare platforms provide very similar opportunities for mileage, vehicle, phone and supply deductions. The 1099 forms verify income across providers.

Errors like missing partial trips, incorrect business percentage use, deducting total miles instead of just business, and combining personal errands are common Lyft driver deduction mistakes.