roadie pays for the trip, not the time.
roadie matches you with deliveries on routes you're already driving. it's a side-gig model — but the irs doesn't care that it's part-time.
free 2026 roadie tax calculator: self-employment tax, mileage deduction at 72.5¢/mile, federal & state brackets, and quarterly estimated payments for roadie package delivery 1099 contractors.
your roadie math
the form arrives. or it doesn't. you still owe.
roadie pays per 'gig' — a flat fee for picking up something from point a and dropping at point b. fees scale with distance, urgency, and item size. some gigs are local ($10–$40), some are interstate ($100–$500+). you choose what to accept.
roadie's payment structure makes deduction tracking critical because some long-haul gigs reimburse mileage as part of the fee — but they don't break it out separately on the 1099. the irs lets you deduct the actual miles at 72.5¢ regardless of what roadie 'allocated' for fuel.
5 deductions specific to roadie
roadie's longer routes can rack up 300+ miles in one delivery. mileage deduction often exceeds the entire delivery fee in pure dollar terms — you keep the difference.
if you bought blankets, tie-downs, dolly straps, or a hand truck specifically for roadie loads, all deduct.
log every toll — long-haul gigs accumulate them fast.
business-use percentage of phone and plan.
frequent long-haul deliveries justify the actual-expenses method for some drivers. talk to a cpa if you do 30,000+ miles a year.
side-gig roadie driver in nashville, 10 hrs/week, $9,500/year gross, 11,000 miles
tn has no state income tax. mileage deduction (11k × 72.5¢ = $7,975) almost wipes out the gross. you'd owe minimal federal income tax, but ~$170 in se tax on the net. that's the magic of high-mileage low-density gigs.
roadie, specifically
is roadie owned by ups now?+
yes — ups acquired roadie in 2021. but roadie still operates as a separate contractor platform. your 1099 comes from roadie llc.
i drove 400 miles for a $200 roadie gig. what's the math?+
$200 gross income, 400 × 72.5¢ = $290 mileage deduction. net loss of $90 for income tax purposes — but you still pay se tax on the gross portion that's net of expenses. usually means a long haul is a tax break for your overall return.
what if i deliver while traveling for vacation?+
mixed-use trips are tricky. only the miles that were 'necessary' for the gig count — not the part of the trip you'd have driven anyway. document carefully.
do i need commercial insurance?+
for low-value local deliveries, your personal insurance likely covers (check your policy). for high-value or interstate, get a commercial rider — it deducts as a business expense.
also drive, sell, host, or stream elsewhere? combine on one schedule c.
your roadie 1099 income gets added to every other gig you do for the year. one self-employment return covers all of it — and miles, fees, and home-office allocations may apply across platforms.