Find out exactly what you keep after gas, car wear, and taxes — per order or per week. The number DoorDash's app doesn't show you.
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The number DoorDash shows in your app is gross earnings — the total paid out before accounting for any of the real costs of doing the job. To find true profit, you need to subtract gas, car depreciation and wear, insurance costs, taxes, and any other business expenses.
For most Dashers, real take-home is 45–60% of gross app earnings. A $650 gross week typically becomes $290–$390 in actual profit after everything is accounted for. This isn't unique to DoorDash — it's the reality of gig work as a self-employed contractor.
Many experienced Dashers use a simple filter: never accept an order paying less than $1 per mile (some use $1.50/mile). At $0.70/mile IRS rate plus tax burden, an order paying under $1/mile is often unprofitable or barely breaks even after all real costs. Declining these orders and waiting for better ones is almost always the better financial decision.
DoorDash reports gross earnings — revenue before expenses. True profit subtracts gas, car wear (often 8–12 cents/mile), insurance costs attributable to delivery work, and taxes (SE tax + income tax = typically 25–32% of net). For most Dashers, these costs consume 40–55% of gross earnings, leaving 45–60% as true take-home. This isn't unique to DoorDash — it's how self-employment works.
Both have value. Per-order tracking helps you identify which types of orders are profitable (long-distance vs. short, base pay vs. tip-heavy). Weekly tracking gives you a clearer picture of your overall financial performance. Most experienced Dashers develop an intuitive per-mile/per-minute filter for real-time decisions, then do weekly accounting to track overall performance.
No — DoorDash's year-end mileage summary only counts "on-trip" miles (from restaurant pickup to customer delivery). It doesn't include deadhead miles between orders, driving to hotspot areas, or repositioning. Tracking your own miles typically results in 15–30% more deductible miles than using DoorDash's estimate.
In strong markets with good optimization, full-time Dashers can earn $30,000–$45,000/year in true take-home. That's viable as a primary income in lower-cost areas but challenging in high-cost cities. The more important question is your hourly rate — if you're consistently netting $13+/true-hour after all costs, it's competitive with many entry-level and part-time W-2 jobs with the added benefit of total schedule flexibility.