How To Track Mileage For Instacart In 2024?
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If you signed up for shopping and delivering with Instacart, you probably already know that you are working as an independent contractor.
Using your own car for Instacart means you will have some expenses.
You will not work at the office! But you will spend most of your time on the road delivering from big retailers, such as Safeway, Costco and more, to customers' houses.
Instacart, as well as Doordash, doesn’t pay for gas, vehicle maintenance, or any other car related expenses including the insurance.
But, does Instacart track mileage? In this guide we will explain how Instacart Shoppers in the US can calculate and keep track of self-employed deductible mileage and expenses.
By the end of this article, you will have a clear idea on how to track mileage for Instacart so you know exactly how many business miles you have driven for Instacart and the exact amount to report on the Schedule C form when it is tax time!
As an Instacart Shopper, your main working tool is the Instacart Shopper app.
The Instacart Shopper app allows you to shop for and deliver groceries to people that place orders using the Instacart app. You are free to work on your own schedule and can choose whether to accept or decline order requests through the app.
While reading this article you probably already have a decent number of Instacart deliveries under your belt.
But, does Instacart track mileage? The short answer is no. Instacart is not a mileage tracker app. However, when you get a batch request, Instacart will provide you with some information that will help you choose if you want to accept or decline the batch, including the distance from the retailers to the customer.
The miles you drive from the grocery store to the customer's house are not recorded in your weekly earnings report where you can only see your active time, the number of batches, Instacart payments and customers tip.
However, you can check your batch history to find them.
Instacart doesn’t pay for mileage and does not offer mileage reimbursement. As we said, since you are an independent contractor, you are responsible for your gas expenses, car repairs and other car-related expenses.
However, while you do not get paid mileage for Instacart, when Instacart calculates the pay for every batch they keep in consideration how far you drive for a grocery delivery.
So, how does Instacart calculate mileage?
The distance from the grocery store to the customer is one of the factors that determines how much you earn per batch.
The importance of tracking mileage and expenses is not an issue just for truck drivers. People who drive for a rideshare company or for a delivery company should keep mileage records.
If you are looking for ways to make more money with Instacart, tracking your miles is one of the ways to increase your earnings with tax deductions.
Indeed, when using a car for business, you can deduct all the expenses related to operating the car.
If you want to learn more about how to get the most significant tax return, while delivering with Instacart, we suggest you consult our Instacart taxes guide.
Basically, Instacart Shoppers can deduct their mileage by either using the standard rate mileage method or the Actual Expenses mileage method.
The Actual Expenses method requires more calculations. However you can include costs of gas and oil, car maintenance and repairs, registration fees and more.
The Standard mileage method is easier, but lets you include less items.
The mileage rate for business owners and other self-employed workers is $58.5 in 2022.
Keep in mind that there's no limit to how many miles you can claim a deduction. However, you can only claim the miles you drive for business. The total miles you can deduct that are considered business include:
If you do not want to find yourself saying “how many miles did i drive for instacart?” Keep reading and learn methods and tricks on how to track your mileage.
Maintaining such records can be challenging. Drivers must get gas receipts, toll slip copies, and credit card statements.
In reality, tracking Instacart mileage is not as complicated as it may appear. Instacart has a partnership with Everlance, a mileage-tracking app.
In today's digital world, you can take advantage of a mileage tracking app to save a lot of time.
So, if you choose to use Everlance, you won’t have to worry about writing down how many miles you drove each day while delivering with Instacart.
Everlance is an app that offers a 30-day free trial. After the trial, the app costs $8/month or $5/month when you pay annually for the Premium plan. With a Premium account, the app will track an unlimited number of trips each month. You can also get a Premium Plus account for $12/month or $10/month, which includes additional features like individual training and an account manager.
Below are different ways you can track your miles for Instacart:
You can take a look at our complete guide with the best mileage tracker apps. There are a lot of apps available on the Google Play and Apple app store that you can use to track your mileage. Most of these apps do not require tax software integration and are easy to use.
So, what is the best app to track mileage for Instacart? According to our experience, the best mileage tracker for Instacart are:
The mileage log provides documentary evidence, as required from the IRS.
Your mileage report for the business usage of your vehicle must contain the following important information:
Find our step by step tutorial to make a perfect irs mileage log:
At Bestreferraldriver, we like to make the life of our readers easier. You can download this mileage log template.
At BestReferralDriver we are a team of GigWorkers passionate and we like to share our tips to help other side hustlers make the most of their gig. The following are useful tips that can help you increase your tax return.
One of the first helpful tricks involves using Gas Reward Apps. For example, the GetUpside app allows you to earn cashback rewards on your gas expenses. GetUpside shows you nearby gas stations that can save you an average of $0.25 per gallon. All you have to do is claim the offers through the app and upload a photo of your gas receipt to get the cashback.
Gig workers who drive for companies like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash are struggling because they have to pay for gas out of their own pocket. And, because they're contract workers, the companies don't reimburse them. Using the GasBuddy gas card is a great way to get discounted gas prices at the pump.
Do not worry! If you have an incomplete records to prove your mileage, then you must prove the element with:
Some apps like Para can help you to collect and aggregate your mileage records.
As we said above, Instacart batches display the number of miles you have to drive to reach your destination while delivering the order from the grocery store to the customer.
However, if you want to be a super Shopper and a professional gig worker, you should use one of the methods suggested above and track your miles to reduce your tax liability.
There isn’t an average mile driven for Instacart. Some gig workers work full time, others only part time. It really depends on your activity on the app.
However, according to the stats we collected as a team of delivery drivers, the average Instacart Shoppers traveled anywhere from 60 to 250 miles per day.
Instacart doesn’t pay for your mileage while delivering Instacart orders. Shoppers are independent contractors and responsible for all car related expenses, including gas.
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