Please view my video for my personal analysis of a Form 1099 from Uber. You will learn about the information that the IRS receives, the information that you need to use, and other important items. Following is a transcript of the video:

Hi everyone, my name is Joe Starzyk. I am the owner and sole operator of Starzyk CPA, LLC. The video I have for you today will provide a walk-through of a sample Form 1099 from Uber. We’re going to look at a Form 1099-K, a Form 1099-MISC, and a sample tax summary report that Uber provided its drivers in 2014. My goal is to leave you with a good understanding of the tax documents you received, and how they can help you prepare your tax return.

So first, we’re going to look at the Form 1099-K. Uber recently began issuing these forms to their drivers along with the Form 1099-MISC. This form looks a little more complicated than needed, but, thankfully, we only need to look at one number on this form.

Before we do that, you’ll always want to make sure that the information Uber has on file for you is correct. Double check the spelling of your name, make sure your address is up to date, and that the social security number on the form is correct.

The number we want to focus on is in box 1a titled “Gross amount of payment card/third party network transactions.” The amount for the example here is $4,512.77. This amount represents your total gross income received from Uber for the year. This is not your business profit for the year. We will see later that this amount should agree to the tax summary that Uber provided you.

Next, we have the Form 1099-MISC. Uber still uses this form to report any referral or incentive payments to you. Again, you want to make sure that your name and address is correct, and that Uber has the correct social security number on file for you.

From this form, you would need to take the amount reported in box 7, titled “Nonemployee compensation.” In our example, this is equal to $572.84. You would add this amount to figure your gross earnings from Uber for the year. And again, this amount should agree to the Tax Summary report that Uber has provided you, which we will cover next.

Here is a sample 2014 Tax Summary report that Uber was providing its drivers. What Uber has done was provide you with the information that they have on file for your account. Unlike the amounts on the Forms 1099-K or MISC, this information is not required to be reported to the IRS.

On the left side, you will find the Form 1099-K Breakdown. You’ll see information listed on the various fees collected by Uber for you. This amount is higher than what Uber actually paid you directly. The total that you see on the bottom ties to the amount reported in box 1a of the Form 1099-K that we just looked at.

On the right side, you will the Form 1099-MISC breakdown along with other potential deductions. The referral/incentive line agrees to the amount reported in box 7 of the Form 1099-MISC. This covers the income items on the Tax Summary report.

As you can see, there is a note towards the bottom of the form that says “items in bold may be deductible.” This includes the tolls, split fare fee, and safe ride fees that are listed in the 1099-K Breakdown. This also includes the other potential deductions listed, which are the Device Subscription Costs, the Uber Fee, and the On-Trip Mileage. For 2015, the mileage deduction is equal to 57.5 cents per mile (58.5 cents a mile for 2022 and 56 cents a mile for 2021), which equates to about a $950 deduction for our example.

You are generally entitled to all of these deductions. You would report the gross income amounts, which is the $4,512.77 plus the $572.84 as income on your Schedule C. You can then report the bolded items as expenses on your Schedule C on the relevant lines. Keep in mind, you are entitled to more deductions than what is listed here. Be sure to visit my website for other common deductions that you may be missing out on.

Thank you for listening to my video. I hope the information I provided will help you with your tax return. Visit my website, starzykcpa.com, for more free information and valuable tips that can help save you money on your tax return.