DoorDash sends your DoorDash 1099-NEC electronically through Stripe Express, the payments platform DoorDash uses to deliver tax documents. Once the form is filed, you log in to your Stripe Express account and download a PDF copy. For the 2026 tax year, DoorDash is only required to issue a 1099-NEC if you earned $2,000 or more during the year, up from the $600 threshold that applied through 2025.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employers Tax Guide You still owe tax on every dollar you earned dashing whether or not a form shows up, so your own earnings records matter either way.
Who Gets a 1099-NEC From DoorDash
Starting with payments made in 2026, DoorDash and other payers must issue a 1099-NEC only when total nonemployee compensation reaches $2,000 for the year.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1099 NEC and Independent Contractors If you crossed $2,000 in dasher earnings, expect a form. If you didn’t, you likely won’t get one.
The threshold controls the paperwork, not the tax. Earn $1,500 dashing in 2026 and DoorDash won’t send a 1099-NEC, but the IRS still expects that $1,500 on your return.3Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center Pull your total earnings from the DoorDash app’s earnings summary and use that figure.
Set Up Stripe Express Before Tax Season
Once you become eligible for a 1099-NEC, Stripe emails an invitation to the address DoorDash has on file for you.4Stripe: Help & Support. Stripe Express The link in that email walks you through creating your Stripe Express account and confirming your tax information. You’ll enter your Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number, and the name and number must match IRS records. A mismatch can lock you out of your form.
If Stripe can’t verify you automatically, it may ask for a government photo ID and a document showing your home address.5Stripe: Help & Support. What Do I Need to Do to Verify My Stripe Account Finish this step when the invitation arrives, not in late January. It saves you from scrambling when the form is ready.
Download Your 1099-NEC
Log in at connect.stripe.com/express_login, open the Tax Forms tab, and download the PDF.4Stripe: Help & Support. Stripe Express Save a copy somewhere you’ll find it again. That PDF is your official record of nonemployee compensation for the year.
DoorDash and Stripe must furnish your copy and file with the IRS by January 31.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025) In practice, forms tend to appear in Stripe Express during the last few days of January. If nothing is there by early February, check your spam folder for the original Stripe invitation. You may still need to finish account setup before the form becomes visible.
Want a Paper Copy in the Mail
Whether a mailed copy is offered is up to DoorDash.4Stripe: Help & Support. Stripe Express If postal delivery is available, opt in through your Stripe Express settings, and confirm your mailing address in the DoorDash app before mid-January. Mailed forms still have to be postmarked by January 31,6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025) and delivery usually takes one to two weeks after that.
If Your Form Never Shows Up
Earned at least $2,000 and still nothing by mid-February? Contact DoorDash support with the name and email address on your account. Support can confirm your eligibility, re-issue the form, or help sort out Stripe Express access. Give them a few business days to respond.
If the deadline approaches and you still don’t have the form, the IRS says to estimate your income from your own records and file on time rather than wait.7Internal Revenue Service. What to Do When a W-2 or Form 1099 Is Missing or Incorrect The DoorDash app gives you the earnings total you need. Filing on time protects you from the failure-to-file penalty; if a 1099 later shows different numbers, you can amend the return.
How Dasher Income Gets Reported
Dashers are independent contractors, so your delivery income goes on Schedule C (Form 1040), where sole proprietors report business profit or loss.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2025) You list gross earnings, subtract business expenses, and the net profit carries over to your Form 1040 as taxable income.
You also file Schedule SE to calculate self-employment tax on those net earnings.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2025)9Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax For the 2026 tax year, individual returns are due by April 15, 2027.11Internal Revenue Service. When to File Form 4868 gets you an automatic six-month extension to file, but any tax owed is still due April 15.
Quarterly Estimated Payments
DoorDash doesn’t withhold anything from your pay, so the IRS expects estimated payments across the year rather than one lump sum at filing. The four due dates for 2026 income are:12Internal Revenue Service. Individuals 2
- April 15, 2026, for income earned January through March
- June 15, 2026, for income earned April through May
- September 15, 2026, for income earned June through August
- January 15, 2027, for income earned September through December
You generally avoid an underpayment penalty if you pay at least 90% of the current year’s tax or 100% of last year’s tax, whichever is less. If your prior-year adjusted gross income was over $150,000, the 100% figure rises to 110%.13Internal Revenue Service. Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals Penalty
Deductions That Lower Your Tax
Your taxable dasher income is net profit, not gross earnings, so deductions matter.10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554, Self-Employment Tax For most drivers the biggest one is mileage. The IRS standard mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents per business mile.14IRS.gov. 2026 Standard Mileage Rates That single rate covers fuel, depreciation, insurance, and maintenance, so you can’t deduct those separately when using it. Keep a mileage log or use a tracking app; if you’re audited, you’ll need to substantiate the miles.
Other deductions drivers commonly claim:
- The business-use portion of your cell phone bill and data plan
- Insulated delivery bags, phone mounts, and charging cables bought for work
- Tolls and parking fees paid on active deliveries
Personal costs don’t count. Meals you eat during a shift are generally not deductible. Everything you claim goes on Schedule C alongside your gross income.
Penalties for Filing or Paying Late
If you owe tax and file late, the failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is overdue, capped at 25%.15Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty A separate failure-to-pay penalty applies to unpaid balances. File on time even if you can’t pay the full amount, because the filing penalty is much steeper than the payment penalty.
Skipping quarterly payments or paying too little triggers an underpayment penalty calculated on the shortfall for each quarter. It generally can’t be waived for reasonable cause, though narrow exceptions exist for recent retirees over 62, people affected by a federally declared disaster, and taxpayers who followed incorrect written IRS advice.13Internal Revenue Service. Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals Penalty Meeting the safe harbor thresholds is the cleanest way to stay clear of it.