earnings
Net vs gross earnings for gig workers
Platform dashboards highlight gross active time. Your rent money is what remains after miles, fuel, insurance gaps, and the 15.3% self-employment tax on profit.
- Treat published hourly rates as a starting point, not take-home.
- Use the IRS standard mileage rate as a quick proxy for vehicle cost per mile.
- Run our free net pay calculator before you decide a market is “good.”
Gross is marketing; net is reality
Median gross for many delivery and rideshare markets often sits in the high teens to low twenties per active hour. After subtracting roughly $0.76 per business mile (2026 IRS standard rate), unpaid deadhead, and self-employment tax, many drivers land closer to the mid-teens — or lower in sparse markets.
A simple mental model
Start with gross hourly. Multiply miles per hour by the IRS rate. Subtract that cost. Then subtract ~15.3% self-employment tax on what is left. The result is still optimistic (it ignores commercial insurance premiums and repairs), but it stops the “I’m making $25/hr” illusion.
Tools that close the gap
Mileage apps (Everlance, Gridwise) capture deductible miles you would otherwise forget. Tax-aware banking (Found, Lili) parks a percentage before you spend it. Multi-app trackers like Solo help you see which platform actually pays after the wait time.