Mileage Tracking for Instacart Earnings work for Instacart, you can save money by keeping track of the miles you drive—which is a form of expense that can deduct from your earnings. As an independent contractor, Instacart won’t pay for your car expenses, including gas and maintenance. You can use a mileage tracking app to keep track of your miles and then deduct them from your earnings at tax time.
Instacart doesn’t have a mileage tracking system, so you can’t use the app to track your miles. However, you can check how many batches you’ve completed and use that number to calculate the distance you drive. Or even better, you can use a tracker app. This is more convenient because it will automatically track your mileage and calculate tax deductions for you.
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Mileage Tracking
Mileage Tracking for Instacart Earnings driving a personal vehicle, the IRS requires you to keep track of business-related mileage. You can deduct miles driven on behalf of Instacart if they are clearly related to your work. For example, if you’re delivering groceries in Los Angeles and need to make stops at two different stores during one trip, then those miles would be deductible as part of your income from Instacart.
The miles you drive to get from your home to the store (from the beginning of shopping) aren’t included. Instacart doesn’t provide individual reports on how much you drive for them. But if you go through your batch history (which shows where and when orders were placed), it is possible to calculate the exact distance traveled.
So, all in all, you are paid for the delivery, not by how far you drive. This is different from getting reimbursed for the miles you drive. So, if you want to know how much you’re earning, you’ll need to take a look at your batch history. Read on to find out how else you can track your Instacart mileage.
How to Track Mileage for Instacart
While most people know how to use the Instacart app on their smartphones, some may not be aware of how to track mileage for Instacart. Here are some ways you can track your drive time for Instacart:
Use a Tracker App
So many driving apps may make you money, it’s no surprise gig economy employees have so many mileage tracking applications.
You should use one of these applications to log your miles more efficiently.
Many automatically record your journeys and mileage. They can also assist you understand how much you can make driving, helping you determine if it’s worth it.
Gridwise and Hurdlr are popular gig economy mileage monitoring apps. You can quickly log kilometers, calculate taxes, and submit all relevant information to your organization.
Mileage tracking tools might help you decide which food-delivery app is more profitable if you use Uber Eats or DoorDash. These tools can help you understand your revenues and expenses, enabling you to make smarter business decisions.
Keep a Mileage Log Book
While it may not seem like the most effective way to track your mileage, keeping a log book in your car is one of the easiest ways to keep track.
All you have to do is write down how far you drove and when on a mileage logbook and keep it in your car. You can either buy a mileage logbook online or create one yourself by drawing out squares and writing down the details of your trips as needed.
If you go this route, make sure you keep a pen in your car so that you can quickly write down the details of each trip. This will allow you to record how far you drive each day and what time of day it happens so that you can submit this information later when filing your taxes or reporting it on an expense report.
Use an Odometer
If you are using an odometer in your vehicle, be sure to start tracking your miles as soon as possible. This will allow you to accurately determine how much money you can make with each delivery.
To calculate the mileage you have driven, you can use a mileage calculator. This will help you determine how much money you can expect to make based on your driving data.
Why is It Important to Track Your Instacart Mileage?
It’s important to track your Instacart mileage because it helps you get paid accurately. You can use the information you gather to file taxes, too.
The IRS’s standard business mileage rate is $0.585 per mile; that means you can score tax deductions depending on how much you drive and make as an Instacart employee.
Your car is a depreciating asset, which means it loses value over time. The IRS allows you to deduct the cost of owning and operating your vehicle. The deduction is based on the miles you drive for business purposes. The difference between what you earn and what it costs to run your car (including fuel, maintenance, and repairs) is deducted from your income before taxes are computed.
So if you want to get the most out of your tax return, then it’s important that you track how many miles you’re driving for Instacart orders.
Final Thoughts
The Instacart platform is a great way to earn money by delivering groceries. However, you need to understand how to track mileage for Instacart if you want to get reimbursed fairly for your services.
We recommend using a mileage tracking app to help you determine whether or not the gig economy is right for you. They can help you get a better understanding of how much time and money it takes to deliver food, which will help you make an informed decision about whether or not this is something worth pursuing.
