Grubhub mileage deduction in 2026
Two things to get right, and the second one is where the money is.
The rate. 2026 has two business standard mileage rates — 72.5¢ per mile January 1 through June 30, and 76¢ July 1 through December 31. The rate is set by when you drove, not when you file, so a Grubhub log has to be date-segmented.
The miles. Any platform-reported mileage figure generally covers the paid portion of a delivery. It does not cover the drive to the restaurant before the offer was accepted, the wait-and-reposition between offers, or the drive back out of a delivery zone. For delivery work those unpaid miles are commonly 30 to 50 percent of the total, and they are generally deductible business miles.
So a driver relying on the platform's number is potentially claiming half of what they actually drove. At 2026 rates that is real money.
What Grubhub's figure covers, and what it misses
| Mile type | On a platform mileage report? | Generally deductible? |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant to customer, on an active delivery | Usually yes | Yes |
| To the restaurant after accepting | Sometimes | Yes |
| To a hotspot while online and available | No | Generally yes |
| Repositioning between offers while online | No | Generally yes |
| Out of a delivery zone back toward your area | No | Generally yes |
| Personal errands while offline | No | No |
The three bolded rows are the gap, and they are exactly the miles a tracker with a manual start button loses — because nobody presses start to drive toward a hotspot. Which gig miles count.
The 2026 arithmetic
A Grubhub driver with 15,000 business miles, split 6,000 in the first half of the year and 9,000 in the second:
| Period | Miles | Rate | Deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 – Jun 30 | 6,000 | 72.5¢ | $4,350.00 |
| Jul 1 – Dec 31 | 9,000 | 76¢ | $6,840.00 |
| Total | 15,000 | — | $11,190.00 |
Applying 72.5¢ to all 15,000 gives $10,875 — $315 short. Applying 76¢ to all of them gives $11,400, overstating by $210. Neither is correct, and only a dated log lands on the right number. The full two-rate explainer. · Free calculator.
What a defensible Grubhub log contains
Publication 463's standard is the same for every platform: for each trip, the date, the mileage, the destination or route, and the business purpose, recorded at or near the time of the trip.
For delivery work in practice that means:
- Every trip dated. Non-negotiable in a two-rate year.
- Unpaid working miles included, with a purpose noted — "drove to zone, online" is a sufficient purpose.
- Personal trips in the log, marked personal. A log containing only business trips looks filtered. One showing classification actually happened is more credible, and it gives you the total-miles figure you need anyway.
- Your Grubhub delivery history exported and kept. It is strong corroborating evidence of where you were and when — but it is corroboration, not the log.
The rest of the return
Mileage goes on Schedule C, Line 9, with vehicle details in Part IV. Parking fees and tolls are deductible in addition to the standard mileage rate rather than being folded into it, so keep those receipts separately.
You owe self-employment tax at 15.3 percent of net earnings on top of income tax, and the obligation applies whether or not Grubhub sent you a 1099. Schedule C for gig drivers. · Quarterly estimated taxes.
The question the deduction does not answer
A correct log tells you your deduction. It does not tell you whether the driving was worth doing.
Grubhub reports gross. Your car takes a cut of every mile in fuel, tyres, maintenance and depreciation — including the unpaid ones. A $9 order 11 miles away is not a $9 order once the 22-mile round trip is priced against your actual cost per mile.
That is the second half of what MileTruth is for, and it is a different question from the tax one. Why your gig pay is lower than it looks. · What a mile really costs you.
General information, not tax advice. Every number here traces to an IRS source linked below so you can check it. MileTruth is not affiliated with Grubhub.
Questions and answers
Does Grubhub track my miles for taxes?
Platform mileage figures generally cover the paid portion of a delivery and not the unpaid miles driving to the restaurant, repositioning between offers, or returning from a delivery zone. Those unpaid miles are commonly 30 to 50 percent of a driver's total and are generally deductible business miles.
Can I use Grubhub's mileage number on my taxes?
It is useful supporting evidence and generally not a complete log on its own. IRS Publication 463 requires a record showing the date, mileage, destination and business purpose of each trip, kept at or near the time of the trip.
What is the mileage rate for Grubhub drivers in 2026?
The same as for any business use of a car - 72.5 cents per mile for miles driven January 1 through June 30, 2026, and 76 cents for July 1 through December 31. The rate is set by when you drove, not when you file.
How much can a Grubhub driver deduct for mileage?
It depends entirely on business miles driven. At 2026 rates, 15,000 business miles is a deduction of roughly 11,100 to 11,400 dollars depending on how the miles split across the June 30 boundary.
Do I need to report Grubhub income if I did not get a 1099?
Yes. Income is reportable whether or not a platform sent you an information return, and net earnings from self-employment of 400 dollars or more generally trigger self-employment tax and a filing requirement.
MileTruth. “Grubhub mileage deduction in 2026.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 6, 2026. https://miletruth.bakerventuresstudio.com/answers/grubhub-mileage-deduction-2026/