Yes. Amazon Flex sends a 1099-NEC to every driver it paid $600 or more during the tax year. Flex drivers are independent contractors, so Amazon withholds nothing from your pay, and the form simply reports your gross earnings to you and to the IRS. If you earned less than $600, no form arrives, but the income is still taxable and still has to appear on your return.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation
Why Flex Drivers Get a 1099-NEC and Not a W-2
Amazon classifies Flex drivers as independent contractors running their own delivery work rather than employees. Employees receive a W-2 with income tax, Social Security, and Medicare already withheld. Contractors receive Form 1099-NEC (Nonemployee Compensation), which reports how much a payer sent them with nothing taken out.2Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?
Federal rules require any business that pays a non-employee $600 or more in a calendar year to file a 1099-NEC.3eCFR. 26 CFR 1.6041-1 – Return of Information as to Payments of $600 or More Box 1 shows your total gross payments from Amazon before any expenses. That is the figure the IRS already has, so your return needs to match it.
Getting Your Form and Checking It
Amazon must deliver the 1099-NEC by January 31 of the year after the tax period. Most drivers download a PDF from Amazon’s Tax Central portal using their Flex account credentials. Unless you opted in to electronic-only delivery, a paper copy should also come by mail.
Compare Box 1 to what the Flex app shows for the year and to the deposits from Amazon in your bank account. If the numbers do not agree, contact Amazon and ask for a corrected 1099-NEC before you file. Filing a figure that does not match what Amazon reported is one of the surest ways to trigger an automated IRS notice.
When You Owe Tax on Flex Earnings
Two separate thresholds matter here, and they are easy to confuse. The $600 figure is when Amazon has to send you a form. The $400 figure is when you owe self-employment tax. If your net Flex earnings (gross pay minus deductible business expenses) hit $400, you must file Schedule SE and pay self-employment tax, even if no 1099 ever arrives.4Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
Self-employment tax covers the Social Security and Medicare contributions that an employer would normally split with you. On your own, you pay both halves. The combined rate is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare.4Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
The calculation flows through three forms:
- Report gross Flex income on Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) and subtract allowable business expenses to arrive at net profit.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040)
- Carry that net profit to Schedule SE, which figures the 15.3% self-employment tax.6Internal Revenue Service. Schedule C and Schedule SE
- Deduct half of your self-employment tax as an adjustment to income on Schedule 1. The deduction lowers your taxable income even though it does not lower the SE tax itself.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax
On top of self-employment tax, Flex earnings are also subject to ordinary income tax. If you also hold a W-2 job, Flex income stacks onto your other income for that calculation.
Deductions That Lower the Bill
Every legitimate business expense you claim on Schedule C reduces both your income tax and your self-employment tax. Recordkeeping is the whole game. Round-number guesses will not survive an audit.
Vehicle Mileage
Mileage is almost always the largest deduction a Flex driver has. You have two methods. The standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per business mile for 2026, and that single number covers gas, depreciation, insurance, and maintenance.8Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents per Mile, Up 2.5 Cents The actual expense method tracks every vehicle cost separately and deducts the business-use percentage.
One lock-in rule catches new drivers. To use the standard mileage rate on a vehicle you own, you have to pick it in the first year the car is available for business use. After that first year you can switch between methods freely. But if you start with actual expenses, you can never move that vehicle to the standard mileage rate.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 510, Business Use of Car Starting with standard mileage keeps your options open.
Whichever method you pick, keep a contemporaneous mileage log with the date, destination, business purpose, and odometer readings. A GPS mileage app builds an audit-ready record automatically. Parking and tolls incurred during deliveries are deductible on top of either method.
Phone and Supplies
Your phone runs the Flex app, so a share of the monthly plan is deductible. If the phone is also personal, deduct only the business-use percentage. Insulated bags, phone mounts, dollies, and packing materials used exclusively for Flex are fully deductible.
Health Insurance
Self-employed drivers can often deduct premiums for medical, dental, and vision coverage for themselves, a spouse, and dependents. For a sole proprietor filing Schedule C, a policy in your own name qualifies. You claim it on Form 7206, and it reduces adjusted gross income directly. You cannot take the deduction for any month you were eligible to join a subsidized plan through an employer or a spouse’s employer, even if you did not actually enroll.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 7206
Qualified Business Income
The Section 199A deduction lets eligible sole proprietors deduct a share of qualified business income from taxable income. Recent legislation made it permanent and set it at 23% of qualified business income starting in 2026.11Internal Revenue Service. Qualified Business Income Deduction Take your Schedule C net profit, multiply by 23%, and that amount comes off taxable income. It does not reduce self-employment tax, only income tax. The full deduction is available if your total taxable income stays below $201,750 (single) or $403,500 (married filing jointly) for 2026.
Paying Through the Year
The IRS runs on pay-as-you-go. Because nothing is withheld from Flex pay, contractors make quarterly estimated payments using Form 1040-ES to cover both income tax and self-employment tax.12Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Taxes For the 2026 tax year the due dates are April 15, 2026; June 15, 2026; September 15, 2026; and January 15, 2027.
Missing a deadline or underpaying triggers an underpayment penalty, with interest currently running at 7% per year, compounded daily.13Internal Revenue Service. Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2026 You generally avoid the penalty by paying at least 90% of your current-year tax or 100% of last year’s tax, whichever is smaller.12Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Taxes
If you also work a W-2 job, there is a simpler route. Raise the withholding at your day job by enough to cover the Flex tax, and you may not need to file estimates at all. The IRS treats withholding as paid evenly across the year, even if you increase it late in the year.
State Taxes Still Apply
Your 1099-NEC income does not stop at the IRS. Most states with an income tax also require you to report self-employment earnings, and in states that participate in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing Program, Amazon’s 1099 data can flow to the state automatically.14Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC Some states also require their own quarterly estimated payments with separate forms and deadlines, and a handful have no income tax at all. Check your state tax agency’s self-employment filing instructions, because state penalties stack on top of federal ones. Some cities and counties add a business license requirement for contractor work.