[BurgerTiime]

https://knowtechie.com/uber-payment-per-hour/

Uber and Lyft offer a great way to make some extra cash or even start your own small business. Or do they? For one ride-sharing driver, the answer is a firm no when looking at his per hour rate.

Road Guy Rob recently took to YouTube to explain just how much money he made during nine hours of driving. He explained:

You won't believe how much money my Excel spreadsheet said I made after 9 hours of driving. On a whim, I signed up for both Uber and Lyft to see how much net profit I could make. After a long day of driving, I opened Microsoft Excel and entered my gross income and subtracted all my expenses. It gave me a picture of just how lucrative it could be for me to drive for ridesharing apps.

So how much did he make? Just 42 cents per hour. Yes, you heard that right. For a quick explanation, by the time you take off 40% for taxes (Uber and Lyft drivers are technically contracted workers), gas, and wear-and-tear on the car, the numbers become increasingly dismal.

 

[Zebonkey]

If you take 40% for taxes, you're not doing your taxes right.

 

[BurgerTiime]

If you take 40% for taxes, you're not doing your taxes right.

It wasn't just taxes. It's required Medicare and social security. That's the big issue. Most drivers miss that. Even you did.

 

[Atom guy]

It wasn't just taxes. It's required Medicare and social security. That's the big issue. Most drivers miss that. Even you did.

I do my taxes using TurboTax. Every year as I am putting the numbers in it starts calculating what I owe, and the state and federal numbers go gray, which is what I owe for self employment taxes (when the numbers are red it is what you owe in income taxes). Those numbers stay there no matter what deductions I put in, UNTIL I put in the Obamacare premiums I paid. Then magically they turn green and I go from owing money to getting a refund.

 

[steveK2016]

It wasn't just taxes. It's required Medicare and social security. That's the big issue. Most drivers miss that. Even you did.

In GA, the only tax that my CPA couldnt drop to a zero based on deductions is the GA self employment tax. All other taxes can be deducted to $0.

I owed taxes because I made over $1 per mile, combined miles including dead miles. The average uber driver probably doesn't get that much and may actually have enough mileage to net $0 in taxes unless they have a similar tax to GAs self employment tax.

Expenses is where part timers rule. I need a car for my full time job that pays a great salary. So the car is covered by those earnings, so I'm not going to count that expense twice by also accounting for it in my Uber earnings. A full time driver cant do that.

 

[Mista T]

I have 2 local taxes to add in, each are $200. Amortized over the year as a full time driver, they are pennies per day. If I were part time, they would be prorated at a much higher %.

Taxes are the same way. I own a home, so I get mortgage deduction. Kid in college is educational expense. My taxes, even with the extra stuff, winds up being closer to 20% when state is added in. Everyone is different.

 

[Steelersnut]

https://knowtechie.com/uber-payment-per-hour/

Uber and Lyft offer a great way to make some extra cash or even start your own small business. Or do they? For one ride-sharing driver, the answer is a firm no when looking at his per hour rate.

Road Guy Rob recently took to YouTube to explain just how much money he made during nine hours of driving. He explained:

You won't believe how much money my Excel spreadsheet said I made after 9 hours of driving. On a whim, I signed up for both Uber and Lyft to see how much net profit I could make. After a long day of driving, I opened Microsoft Excel and entered my gross income and subtracted all my expenses. It gave me a picture of just how lucrative it could be for me to drive for ridesharing apps.

So how much did he make? Just 42 cents per hour. Yes, you heard that right. For a quick explanation, by the time you take off 40% for taxes (Uber and Lyft drivers are technically contracted workers), gas, and wear-and-tear on the car, the numbers become increasingly dismal.

What did this guy do? One day as experiment? Does he have a ratings cutoff? Does he know what areas to avoid? Does he know when to cancel? Does he know anything? Recently raised mine to 4.88 and making $25hr. This is without a doubt the dumbest post ever.

So junior youtube poster knows everything?

 

[Stevie The magic Unicorn]

There's a problem with his math.

His math is paying his taxes BEFORE removing money for expenses.

a commenter on the video did the math on it

$91 gross income ($9.10 an hour)

Minus gas (25.38)
Minus wear&tear (his estimate on expenses) $25.38

Taxable profit ($40.24)

X 40% (taxes) = $16.01

$91
-$25.38
-$25.38
-$16.01

For a total profit after taxes of... $24.23

Or for 9 hours $2.69 an hour
(1978 min wage was $2.65 an hour)

A huge improvement over his initial numbers, but still barely over 1/3 of federal min wage.

 

[steveK2016]

There's a problem with his math.

His math is paying his taxes BEFORE removing money for expenses.

a commenter on the video did the math on it

$91 gross income ($9.10 an hour)

Minus gas (25.38)
Minus wear&tear (his estimate on expenses) $25.38

Taxable profit ($40.24)

X 40% (taxes) = $16.01

$91
-$25.38
-$25.38
-$16.01

For a total profit after taxes of... $24.23

Or for 9 hours $2.69 an hour
(1978 min wage was $2.65 an hour)

A huge improvement over his initial numbers, but still barely over 1/3 of federal min wage.

If he is using SMD hed have $0 tax unless he has state self employment taxes that cannot be deductsd to $0 like in Georgia.

If he spent $25 on gas then he did roughly 227 miles for a deduction of $119, so that can be carried over to other income.

So that at least brings it to $4.47