Gig Driver Pay Calculator: Your Real Hourly Rate

App earnings screens show gross pay. Your car pays a share of that, and so does the IRS. This calculator strips out fuel, wear, and self-employment tax so you can compare a delivery shift to any other way of spending those hours.

The Costs Apps Never Show You

Fuel is the obvious one. The bigger one is wear: tires, brakes, oil, depreciation, and insurance run roughly $0.15–$0.25 per mile on an ordinary car.

Mileage Deduction Is the Saving Grace

The standard mileage deduction usually exceeds your real per-mile cost, which lowers taxable profit substantially. Log every mile with a tracking app — untracked miles are money handed back.

How to Raise Your Real Rate

Work dense areas, decline long low-paying trips, stack peak-pay windows, and avoid dead-mile returns. Drivers who track cost-per-mile routinely earn 30–40% more per hour than drivers who accept everything.

When Gig Driving Makes Sense

It is excellent for immediate cash and terrible as a long-term plan, because income stops the moment you stop. Use it to fund something that keeps earning without you.

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