MilesComing soon

Does DoorDash track mileage? Mileage for DoorDash, Uber, and gig drivers

This page is general information, not tax advice.

Delivery and rideshare drivers are independent contractors, so they report income and expenses on Schedule C and deduct the business use of their car under the rules in Publication 463. For most gig drivers the car is the largest deduction, and the mileage log is the record that supports it. The first question most drivers ask is whether the platform keeps that log for them. It does not.

What each platform reports

Note. Platform statements are as of September 2026. Verify each platform's current statement before publish.

  • DoorDash provides an estimate of miles driven while on active deliveries in its year-end summary. It does not record the miles between orders or the miles to and from your starting area.
  • Uber and Uber Eats report on-trip miles, from accepting a request to completing it, in the annual tax summary. Miles spent waiting or repositioning are not included.
  • Instacart reports miles for batches in its year-end information. Driving to the store to start a batch is generally not part of it.
  • Spark (Walmart) reports estimated trip miles for deliveries. It does not keep a log of your day.

What the platforms report generally covers the active delivery or trip legs only. It leaves out the miles between orders, the miles to the first pickup area, and the miles back from the last drop-off, and it does not record the date, destination, and purpose of each trip the way Table 5-1 asks. Treat the platform summary as supporting evidence, not as the log. A mileage tracker for DoorDash or Uber has to be something you run yourself.

Which miles are business

While you are logged in and working, the driving between deliveries, to a pickup, and to a busier area to wait for orders is business driving. The purpose is clear from the nature of the work, which Publication 463 says can be circumstantial evidence. Invoices and delivery records establish when the car was used for business.

The unsettled part is the drive from home to the first pickup and from the last drop-off home. If you have no regular place of work and no home office, Publication 463 treats the first business contact of the day as your office, which makes the trip from home to it commuting. If your home office qualifies as your principal place of business, the trip is business. Whether it qualifies depends on the facts, and a preparer who works with gig drivers can tell you which position fits yours. See the commuting rules on mileage log requirements and Publication 587.

Record a shift as one entry

Publication 463 lets you account for a route of several stops with one record. Its example is deliveries at several locations on a route that begins and ends at the business premises, accounted for with a single record of miles driven. A minimal personal stop, such as lunch, does not interrupt the business use.

For a gig driver this means one entry per shift can be enough, with the start time, the end time, the area worked, the platform, and the miles. Per-delivery entries are more detail than the rules require. Per-shift entries with a platform tag are easier to keep and easier to read.

Multiple platforms on one shift

Driving for two apps at once is still one business, the business of driving. One log covers it. A tag for each platform lets you match the log against each platform's summary at year end.

Working from two cars

If you sometimes drive a household member's car, log those miles under that car. The standard mileage rate can be used for each car you alternate between. It cannot be used if you have five or more cars in business use at the same time.

What to keep

  • Odometer readings at the start and end of the year for each car
  • The shift log, with dates, times, areas, platforms, and miles
  • Parking and toll receipts, which are deductible in addition to the standard rate
  • The platform year-end summaries, as supporting evidence
  • Phone mount, insulated bags, and similar supplies are separate Schedule C expenses, not car expenses

The standard mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents a mile through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1. For 2025 it is 70 cents. See IRS standard mileage rate.

How Miles handles this

Shift mode is built for this. Start a shift and every drive until you end it is business, tagged with the platform you choose, and combined into a single record for the shift with the start and end times and the total miles. Drives detected outside a shift are classified the normal way. The tax summary reports the year's business miles by rate period, and the CSV export lists shifts with their platform tags so you can compare them to the platform summaries. The workflow is on gig drivers.

Miles is coming soon.

For Canada, see taxes for gig drivers.