The app's number ignores your car and your taxes. This page shows three honest views of the same shift — and never pretends to know your tax bill.
Counts TOTAL working time, not "active time"Tax reserve is your choice, never presetFree — no signup
The shift
Optional: tax-planning reserve
A cash-planning assumption, not a calculation of your tax liability. Leave it off to see the before-tax view only.
Your three views appear here
Reading the three views:Operating cash is what the shift put in your pocket after the car — the number to compare against a W-2 hourly. The tax illustration uses the IRS standard-mileage method (deduction basis ≠ your cash cost — different numbers on purpose, never mixed in one line) and ignores platform fees, other deductions, and your household's full tax picture. The spendable estimate just applies your chosen reserve to the illustrative profit — floored at zero, because a losing shift doesn't mail you a refund.
SE tax: generally 15.3% on 92.35% of net SE earnings (≈14.1%) before limits and the half-SE-tax deduction — IRS Topic 554; income tax is additional and personal. Standard-mileage rates: IRS (2026 split year). Parking & tolls deduct on top of the mileage rate (Schedule C instructions). Federal only — state tax varies. Not tax advice. Reviewed July 2026
Why "total working hours" is the honest denominator
Platforms like to quote earnings per active hour — the clock that runs only while you're on a delivery. But the twenty minutes you sat in the parking lot waiting for the next ping were work too: you were on shift, unavailable for anything else, burning phone battery and patience. Real hourly pay divides by everything from "started looking" to "went home." It's always a lower number, and it's the only one comparable to a W-2 job.
Because we'd be guessing. Self-employment tax is the predictable part — generally 15.3% on 92.35% of net self-employment earnings, about 14.1% before limits and the half-SE-tax deduction. Income tax on top depends on your filing status, state, other household income, W-2 withholding elsewhere, and credits. A single mom dashing part-time with a W-2 job and two kids might owe nearly nothing extra; a full-timer in a high-tax state might need every bit of 30%. Pick a planning number, watch what happens at filing time, adjust. A tax professional beats any preset button — including ours.
One more honesty note: the illustration here assumes the standard mileage method and treats shift earnings as business receipts. It doesn't reconcile platform fee statements or 1099s, and doesn't include your phone plan, hot bags, or other deductible expenses — real filings have more moving parts, all in your favor.