1099-NEC vs 1099-K for gig drivers
Two different forms, one obligation that does not depend on either.
A 1099-NEC reports non-employee compensation paid to you for services. A 1099-K reports payments settled through a payment card or third-party payment network. Gig platforms use one or both depending on how they classify and route what they pay you, and it is entirely normal for a multi-app driver to receive several of both.
The thing to internalise: your reporting obligation exists whether or not any form arrives. Income is reportable regardless, and net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more generally trigger self-employment tax and a filing requirement. "I did not get a 1099" is not a tax position.
And the number on a 1099-K is frequently larger than what you actually received, because it reports gross transaction volume before the platform's fees. That is not an error and you do not fix it by reporting less.
Which is which
| 1099-NEC | 1099-K | |
|---|---|---|
| Reports | Non-employee compensation for services | Payments settled through a card or third-party network |
| Typical gig use | Referral bonuses, incentives, direct service payments | Customer-facing transaction volume routed through the platform |
| Includes platform fees? | Generally reports what was paid to you | Often reports gross, before fees |
| Threshold | Set by the IRS and has been stable | Has changed repeatedly in recent years |
| You must report the income | Yes | Yes |
| You must report it even without the form | Yes | Yes |
The 1099-K threshold has moved several times. Do not rely on a number you remember from a previous year, and do not conclude from a missing form that nothing is reportable. Check the current IRS guidance for the year you are filing.
Why the 1099-K number looks too big
This is the single most common confusion and it produces two opposite mistakes.
A 1099-K can report gross amounts settled through the network — before the platform's commission, service fees and other deductions. Your bank saw a smaller number.
The wrong fix is to report the smaller number and hope nobody compares. A mismatch between your return and an information return the IRS also received is precisely what generates a notice.
The right approach is to report the gross figure as income and deduct the platform's fees as a business expense on your Schedule C. Same profit, and it reconciles.
What to actually do
- Collect every form. Multi-appers commonly get several. Missing one does not remove it from the IRS's copy.
- Reconcile against your own records — platform earnings summaries and bank deposits. You want to understand any gap before you file, not after.
- Report gross, deduct fees. Do not net silently.
- Report income you were not sent a form for. Cash tips, small platforms under a threshold, referral payments.
- Then apply your deductions, of which mileage is almost always the largest.
The form reports income. It says nothing about your deduction.
This is the part that matters most and the part the forms cannot help with.
A 1099 tells the IRS what you were paid. It says nothing about the 20,000 business miles you drove to earn it — and at 2026 rates that is a deduction of roughly $14,500 to $15,200, which is usually larger than every other Schedule C expense combined.
That deduction is entirely yours to substantiate. Publication 463 wants a record showing the date, the mileage, the destination and the business purpose of each trip, recorded at or near the time. No platform provides it, and platform mileage figures generally cover only the paid portion of a trip — excluding the unpaid repositioning miles that are commonly 30 to 50 percent of a delivery driver's total.
So the shape of the year is: the forms establish a large gross number, and your own records establish the much smaller profit you are actually taxed on. Only one of those two is your responsibility, and it is the one worth thousands.
Unpaid miles are still deductible. · What the IRS requires in a mileage log. · Schedule C for gig drivers.
2026's two rates apply to the deduction, not the forms
The forms are unaffected. Your mileage deduction is not: 2026 has 72.5 cents per mile through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1, determined by when you drove. An annual mileage total with no dates cannot be computed correctly. The two-rate explainer.
General information, not tax advice. 1099-K reporting thresholds in particular have changed repeatedly and continue to; check current IRS guidance for the year you are filing rather than relying on a remembered figure.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between a 1099-NEC and a 1099-K?
A 1099-NEC reports non-employee compensation paid directly to you for services. A 1099-K reports payments settled through a payment card or third-party network. Gig platforms use one or both depending on how they classify and route your earnings, and some drivers receive both in the same year.
Do I have to report gig income if I did not get a 1099?
Yes. Income is reportable whether or not an information return was issued. Net earnings from self-employment of 400 dollars or more generally trigger self-employment tax and a filing requirement, and receiving no form does not change that.
Why does my 1099-K show more than I was paid?
Because a 1099-K reports gross transaction volume settled through the network, before the platform's fees and other deductions come out. What lands in your bank is lower. You report the gross and deduct the fees as business expenses rather than netting them silently.
What do I do if my 1099 is wrong?
Contact the platform and request a corrected form. If the total is genuinely wrong, do not simply file a different number without records - keep your own earnings records and the correspondence, because a mismatch between a filed return and an information return is exactly what triggers a notice.
Does a 1099 tell the IRS about my mileage?
No. Information returns report income only. Your mileage deduction is yours to substantiate with a dated per-trip log, and it is what turns the gross figure on the form into the much smaller profit you are actually taxed on.
MileTruth. “1099-NEC vs 1099-K for gig drivers.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 6, 2026. https://miletruth.bakerventuresstudio.com/answers/1099-nec-vs-1099-k-for-drivers/