How Much Should Uber and Lyft Drivers Set Aside for Taxes?
Most rideshare drivers should set aside 25–30% of their earnings for taxes, though the exact number depends on your total income, filing status, and how much you're able to deduct, since self-employment tax applies on top of regular income tax.
As a rideshare driver, Uber and Lyft don't withhold taxes from your pay, so you're responsible for both income tax and self-employment tax, which covers Social Security and Medicare and currently runs 15.3% of your net earnings. This surprises a lot of new drivers, because even in a low income tax bracket, that self-employment tax still applies in full.
Deductions directly reduce what you're taxed on before that percentage is calculated, which is why mileage tracking matters so much for rideshare drivers specifically — with the standard mileage rate, your per-mile deduction is often the single largest factor in what you actually owe.
A simple approach: after each weekly payout, move 25–30% into a separate savings account before you spend any of it. Drivers with strong mileage deductions may end up owing less than that, but it's safer to set aside more than you think you'll need.
Other factors that affect your quarterly tax number:
Whether you also have a W-2 job with taxes already withheld
Total mileage tracked and which deduction method you use
Whether you drive for multiple rideshare or delivery platforms
State income tax rates, which vary significantly by location
The most common mistake drivers make is estimating their tax set-aside using gross earnings instead of net earnings after mileage and other deductions, which leads to over-saving or under-saving in ways that are hard to catch until filing time.
BossTax's free app estimates your running tax set-aside as your rideshare income comes in, factoring in your tracked mileage automatically.
Curious what your actual number looks like based on your mileage? Book a free intro call and we'll walk through it together. Click here.
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