1. Ranked, Not Just Listed
Every rideshare deduction list on the internet recites the same items in alphabetical order. Here they are in the order that matters — by what they're worth to a typical full-time Orlando driver, using 2026 figures.
2. 1. Mileage — Worth More Than Everything Else Combined
The 2026 standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile for January–June, and 76 cents for July–December. A full-time driver with 30,000 business miles deducts roughly **$22,300**. Nothing else on the list comes close. What counts: miles with the app on — to pickup, on trip, between rides. What does not: home to your first stop (that is commuting), or anything personal. The records decide it: a log written at the time — date, miles, purpose — from the app's tracker or your own. The full method rules, including the first-year choice, are in the mileage guide.
3. 2. Tolls and Parking — The Orlando Specialty
E-Pass and SunPass charges during app-on miles are fully deductible. This market runs on toll roads: the 408, the 417, the 528 airport runs. Keep the transponder statement and mark the business trips. For a full-time driver, airport runs alone can make this a four-figure deduction. One wrinkle: Uber's toll reimbursements are included in your 1099 income. The deduction and the income pair up. Neither is ignored.
4. 3. The Phone and Its Share of the Plan
The phone is the office. Deduct the business-use share of the bill — not the whole bill unless the phone is business-only. A defensible percentage, applied consistently, beats an aggressive one you cannot explain.
5. 4. Passenger Supplies — If You Run That Kind of Car
Water, mints, chargers, tissues: deductible when provided as part of the service. This is a real category for full-service drivers and a rounding error for everyone else. Keep the receipts; the category survives on them.
6. 5. Platform Fees and Commissions
The single largest *dollar* deduction after mileage for most drivers — Uber's cut often runs 25–40% of fares. It is included in your 1099 income and deducted as a business expense, so the reconciliation between your payout statements and the form is what makes it real. That reconciliation is covered in how drivers reconcile 1099s — the method is identical for any platform worker.
7. 6. Cleaning and Maintenance
Car washes (business share), detailing between rider groups, the interior wipes. Small, real, receipt-driven.
8. What Doesn't Deduct — Ever
- The commute from home to first login - Personal miles with the app off - Your own gas and repairs *if you take the standard mileage rate* — the rate already contains them. One method or the other, never both on the same vehicle in the same year - Traffic tickets, ever, under any theory
9. Bonus and Quest Income
Uber's quests, streak bonuses, and referral payments are taxable self-employment income, reported like fares. The self-employment tax primer covers how they stack — remember that every dollar here carries the 15.3% SE layer on top of income tax.
10. One Driver, Two Methods
Illustration for a driver choosing methods in year one — 30,000 business miles, $3,400 of actual vehicle costs (gas, insurance, maintenance, depreciation share): - **Standard mileage:** 30,000 miles at the blended 2026 rates = roughly **$22,300** - **Actual expenses:** $3,400 — and only the business-use share of it, at 85% business use = **$2,890** For most drivers the standard rate wins by an order of magnitude, which is why it is the default. Actual expenses can win for a new, expensive, low-mileage vehicle — run both before the first-year choice locks. The full first-year rule and switching constraints are in the mileage guide.
11. The Two Moves That Beat Any Deduction
For most drivers, two habits outearn the entire list above: 1. **The log kept at the time** — worth more than every supply receipt combined 2. **Quarterly estimates paid** — because a $22,000 mileage deduction still leaves a real tax bill, and April is a bad month to meet it Delivery instead of rideshare? The DoorDash tax guide covers the differences. Run your own numbers in the free Self-Employed Tax Estimator — nothing you type leaves your browser — then see the Driver Plan or start secure intake.