How to use the gig driver profit calculator
- Enter your earnings for a day, a week or a month, including tips, along with the hours worked and miles driven.
- Choose how to count the vehicle cost: your own fuel and per mile costs, or a single cost per mile rate.
- Add any other expenses such as tolls, parking or a share of your phone plan, and a percent to set aside for taxes.
- Read your profit, profit per hour and per mile, and what is left after the tax set-aside.
Formula
Fuel cost = miles / mpg x fuel price
Vehicle costs = fuel cost + miles x other cost per mile (or miles x a single rate)
Profit = earnings - vehicle costs - other expenses
Profit per hour = profit / hours; per mile = profit / miles
The tax set-aside is a plain percent of a positive profit. It is a planning figure, not your tax bill.
Worked example
A driver earns $850 in 32 hours and drives 620 miles at 28 mpg with fuel at $3.50 a gallon. Fuel is $77.50. Adding $0.15 a mile for tires, maintenance and wear gives $93.00, so vehicle costs are $170.50.
Profit is $850 - $170.50 = $679.50, which is $21.23 an hour. Gross pay looked like $26.56 an hour, so about $5 an hour went to the car. Setting aside 25% for taxes holds back $169.88 and leaves $509.62.
Why gross earnings mislead
Per hour earnings shown by an app do not include fuel, wear, insurance or the miles between orders. A car costs money to run even when you are waiting. The profit per hour after those costs is the number to compare with other work. The per mile rate you use matters, so measure your own costs over a few months.
Choosing a cost per mile
You can use your own fuel and upkeep costs, or a published rate per mile, such as the standard mileage rate set by the IRS if you take that tax deduction. The default $0.70 is only an example you should replace. For reference, the IRS lists 70 cents per mile as the 2025 business rate, and 72.5 cents for January to June 2026 and 76 cents for July to December 2026 (https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/standard-mileage-rates, checked October 13, 2026). Check the current rate and the rules before relying on any figure. Compare it with your own spending in the mileage reimbursement calculator and the fuel cost calculator.
Taxes for independent drivers
Gig drivers are generally self-employed, which means paying both income tax and self-employment tax and often making quarterly payments. The 25 percent default is an example. Use the self-employment tax calculator for a closer look, and ask a tax professional about deductions.
Assumptions and limits
- Earnings are what you actually receive after any platform fees that were already taken out.
- Vehicle costs are fuel plus a per mile amount you enter. Depreciation and insurance are included only if you build them into that amount.
- The tax set-aside is an example percent applied to profit when profit is positive.
- This is an estimate for planning and not tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
How much do delivery drivers really make per hour?
It depends on the market, the hours and the car. The right number to use is your profit per hour after fuel and vehicle costs, which this tool works out.
Should I count the miles driving to a pickup?
Yes for cost purposes. Those miles burn fuel and wear the car, even if the app does not pay for them.
What cost per mile should I use?
Use your own costs if you track them. Otherwise a published rate gives a reasonable starting point. The default here is an example, not a recommendation.
Do I need to pay taxes on gig earnings?
In general yes, and as self-employed income it can also carry self-employment tax. A tax professional can tell you what applies to you.