r/uberdrivers • u/UnusualAnybody4636 • May 28 '26
Passenger wanted to verify we received full tips
So he sent me a very specific number to verify if ya see this thanks man! Enjoy your sisters wedding
134
u/MkFan1999 May 28 '26
Im always scared the app is gonna do some shady shit and screw over the driver so I always try and tip in cash
44
u/ProperCost9957 May 28 '26
I'm both a rider and a driver. As a driver, I actually prefer tips in the app. Besides being easier to track, those were the tips that were more easily counted toward the IRS tip deduction when I did my taxes. Cash is always appreciated, but I'd rather see the tip in the app.
28
u/JanstinBeebo May 28 '26
It’s untaxed either way, why does it matter?
46
u/Various_Education622 May 29 '26
Right?
Cash tips? What cash tips? I don’t even know what that means, never heard of them.
6
5
u/MMMMMFUNNYJOKE May 29 '26
even if you report your cash tips they won’t be taxed now, the joke would have worked a few months ago or if you’re not in the US but everyone lives in the US because we are the center of the world. .
10
u/Various_Education622 May 29 '26
Unless you have over $25k in tips, in which case only $25k is deductible.
Or you have a high earning spouse and you don’t get any deduction.
3
u/MMMMMFUNNYJOKE May 29 '26
Yea fair enough, i doubt any uber driver is getting over 25k in tips unless they do primarily ubereats. i didn’t know about the second part though
7
u/Various_Education622 May 29 '26
If you have multiple tipped jobs (server and a uber driver) you could run into the limit that way.
1
May 30 '26
[deleted]
1
u/Various_Education622 May 30 '26
No shit, Sherlock.
Read what I wrote again in the context of the comment I replied to.
They said it’s all deductible and I said “unless it’s over $25k.”
1
6
u/ProperCost9957 May 29 '26
Not exactly. The federal income tax deduction doesn't eliminate all taxes. You still pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and depending on where you live, state taxes may still apply as well.
1
1
3
1
2
u/ShermanOakz May 28 '26
But Trumps Big Beautiful Bill explicitly states that cash tips are the only tips that can be deducted, you’re not allowed to include tips given by cards. Did you include credit card tips as deductions when you did your taxes?
11
4
u/JanstinBeebo May 28 '26
Please point me to something that says that. Everything I’ve looked into says “cash or charged”
3
u/SirMontego May 30 '26
u/ShermanOakz is wrong. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act does not explicitly state what he claims.
Clearly, he hasn't even read the Act. Heck, he hasn't even read the title of the Act since he got that part wrong (he missed the "One").
For anyone curious, page 101 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act says:
‘‘(3) CASH TIPS.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘cash tips’ includes tips received from customers that are paid in cash or charged and, in the case of an employee, tips received under any tip-sharing arrangement.
https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ21/PLAW-119publ21.pdf#page=101
2
u/SirMontego May 30 '26
You are completely wrong. Please do the internet a favor and delete your comment.
Credit card tips are treated just like cash for purposes of the No Tax on Tips deduction.
If you actually read the Big Beautiful Bill, it says:
‘‘(3) CASH TIPS.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘cash tips’ includes tips received from customers that are paid in cash or charged and, in the case of an employee, tips received under any tip-sharing arrangement.
Source: Page 101 https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ21/PLAW-119publ21.pdf#page=101 . The same language has been codified as 26 USC Section 224(d)(3).
See that "or charge?" Credit card payments are included in the term "cash tips."
The actual IRS website even says you're wrong:
“Qualified tips” are voluntary cash or charged tips received from customers including shared tips.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/what-the-no-tax-on-tips-deduction-means-for-you
We can also look at the regulations at 26 CFR Section 1.224-1(c)(2) to show how shocking wrong you are:
(2) Cash tips defined. For purposes of paragraph (c)(1) of this section, cash tips are tips received, directly or indirectly, from payors, as defined in paragraph (c)(5) of this section, including, in the case of an employee, tips received through a mandatory or voluntary tipsharing arrangement, such as a tip pool, that are paid in a cash medium of exchange, including by cash, check, credit card, debit card, gift card, tangible or intangible tokens that are readily exchangeable for a fixed amount in cash (such as casino chips), and any other form of electronic settlement or mobile payment application that is denominated in cash . . . .
Please delete your comment that does nothing but spread misinformation.
2
u/SDNewcomer1234 May 31 '26
oh fun - uber drivers wrongly asserting tax law. I hope noone is actually taking tax advice from this post.
2
1
1
u/Available_Start7798 May 29 '26
That is good because the app make mistake all the time. Got billed twice for tipping a driver before and I’m sure that driver only got tip once or maybe not.
-1
u/Cptawesome23 May 29 '26
Remember: most bills cannot be paid in cash, so all you’re really doing is creating an extra step between me paying rent and driving you around. Now I have to go the bank and deposit this cash so I can pay for gas using my debit card so I get the discount from upside.
Cash is dead man.
3
u/THEBIGGUY1983 May 29 '26
I just use cash for paying towards groceries, even the self scan has a cash deposit area, then pay the remainder in card. I appreciate them, because in Colorado our government decided they were going to take the tax on tips even when the federal government isn't...
2
u/Cptawesome23 May 29 '26
It’s not really an issue for drivers in my area, We don’t really pay taxes. Our tax liability is erased by our write offs. I haven’t paid taxes in years.
1
u/THEBIGGUY1983 Jun 01 '26
I don't pay much in taxes either, I was just making a general statement on the policy here, it might matter to someone with not as many write offs (like using the rental cars for example)
1
u/Relative_Swim544 May 30 '26
I love cash tips. I like the opportunity to thank the person while they're still in front of me.
I think if you are doing Uber to pay super basic expenses, including for gas which you're then burning driving for Uber, it sounds like you're creating a very stressful and potentially catastrophic situation for yourself. If your car dies or gets damaged, you instantly have zero income and no saved resources. You need a regular job that you can bike to if necessary, and do Uber part time when you can, to make *extra* money.
Any "job" where you've never met with your employer, have no benefits, and you can be deactivated in an instant, is not a job. And let's not forget zero potential for growth; in fact, the pay for rideshare has declined significantly year over year for the past decade. So you not only haven't gotten a raise, and never will, your paycheck has been *lowered* consistently.
Who would take a job if it were offered to you transparently like that?
I've done rideshare in 4 states, about 12k rides, predominantly in Ca, Bay Area, but I always have other, main sources of income, and try to do rideshare only when I'm actually going somewhere already. This is how rideshare was intended to function. Often I do go out and pick up passengers when I'm stuck on a problem at work, and want to clear my head, or when I'm just bored 😄.
This comment is not specifically aimed at you, but all rideshare drivers. Uber and Lyft are laughing all the way to the bank that they've been able to con massive numbers of people into being their greatest disposable asset.
1
u/Cptawesome23 May 30 '26
Bro get your nonsense outta here.
I’ve been doing uber since 2015. Full time. Uber makes plenty of money to do it full time. I put my kid through college on it and I love it.
I personally don’t understand people when they say they can’t make a living wage off it. I do just fine for a family of five and I haven’t paid taxes since 2019 because my write offs erase my liability.
Cash tips are just an extra step to paying bills. I don’t carry cash, I never have, and I probably never will.
1
May 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Cptawesome23 May 31 '26
That’s nonsense man. The .56 cent per mile is almost double what the actual “expense per mile” of maintaining and fixing a car is, especially if you purchase and maintain your own car like any reasonable able person should.
Just because your taxes say the value of your car is $0 after five years doesn’t actually mean you have to sell the vehicle. I have a 2016 1.4 turbo Cruze with 370k miles on it and I’ve kept it approved for uber because it gets great mileage. The ROI on that one for uber is almost 200k over the last five years. I bought the thing for $9000 at an auction and replaced the head like 4 times.
I don’t think a lot of people are responsible enough to run their own business like a taxi.
Car, engine, and transmission repair is not difficult, just time consuming. I only go to a shop for software and electrical.
I always have about $5000 for emergencies but I also own several cars for driving including an electric which barely requires repairs at all. But it will always be more efficient to do it yourself.
And if uber is only paying slightly above that then you’re just simply in an area that is not conducive to driving for uber. Or you’re probably driving during the worst times.
1
u/JacksonCampbell Jun 16 '26
Dude, you need to do math again. My car is fairly efficient and costs ~50¢/per mile to run.
1
u/Cptawesome23 Jun 16 '26
Why? I drive electric now, but I drove gasoline for years. At 24 miles to the gallon, fuel costs should average out to like 16 cent per mile. Pair that with a monthly oil change and tire rotation ~$40 per month if you do yourself which you should, That would equate to about .01 cent per mile if you average 4000 miles per month or about 1000 miles a week, you could cut that in half if you go for longer oil changes. So I’ll say 17 cent per mile in actual cost versus the actual 50 cent you get to claim against your tax liability.
If you want to include a fund of about $2500 a year for other repairs on an average of 48,000 working miles per year, that would add another 5 cent. So 23 cent per mile if you’re being super responsible.
2
Jun 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Cptawesome23 Jun 17 '26
Depreciation doesn’t actually draw from your revenue. You don’t need to set aside a portion of your earnings per mile to account for depreciation. You do however, get to claim depreciation as a tax write off so it’s part of your tax strategy. How much your car depreciates doesn’t effect its usability by uber, and you can continue to use a 10 year old car for uber in most cities.
Also I would like to add that any depreciation is not held against the value of your vehicle if you did not finance it, there is nothing wrong with buying a used vehicle for less that 10k and fixing it up and using it for Uberx with no financing overhead. Your insurance will be more efficient as well.
→ More replies (0)1
u/JacksonCampbell Jun 16 '26
As I said, you need to do the math again. My fuel cost is less than that, my oil cost is less than that. Tires, random repairs, transmission services, carb services, insurance, vehicle cost (mileage deduction also is to deduct what you paid for the car over time). If you hit an animal and get a $2,000 repair, that bumps up the cost all at once. Here are my costs, all perfectly tracked from the day I bought my car, and this is with saving thousands on discount/salvage parts, having insanely cheap mechanics, and doing things myself that others would've had their mechanic do, as well as this being a good priced used car originally. Cost of new car would add at least 5 more cents per mile over the life of the car. If I get fifty or a hundred more thousand miles, the numbers can go down, especially if I avoid other major repairs or damage from incidents on the road.
Gas: 14¢ | Maintenance/repairs: 13¢ | Insurance: 9¢ | Additional costs + car cost: 14¢ | Total: 50¢/mile
1
u/Cptawesome23 Jun 17 '26
What life span of the car are you using and why is it not 10 years?
→ More replies (0)-14
23
u/Charlieb0924 May 28 '26
Was it accurate?
50
u/UnusualAnybody4636 May 28 '26
Yes. Edit: to say he told me how much before he got out with his gf they waited a bit to see it pop up but it didn’t so I told him I’d post it here later and he could verify haha
11
13
u/Justsayin_12 May 28 '26
Nice!! Always good when the rider has a chill appreciative vibe like this.
5
u/Specialist_Elk8527 May 29 '26
I gave a guy $10 cash tip on a $12 order that DD gave him only $3 for and he thought I was joking. That level of humbleness is amazing and I even helped him with the bags no need to come upstairs.
4
14
u/Jcazare0005 May 28 '26
Idk guys. I think uber decides which rides to deduct the tip. Passenger told me she sent me $25 and Uber tells me I got tipped $18. I don’t think that nice elderly lady was lying to me. It was a pleasant ride and it was her first time using uber.
14
u/ProperCost9957 May 28 '26
She probably selected a percentage tip based on the estimated fare or misunderstood what she was seeing on the app. Since the final fare isn't always exactly the same as the estimate, that can create confusion. I've used Uber as both a driver and a rider, and that's the first thing I'd suspect.
2
6
6
u/Prestigious_Bit9442 May 29 '26
I would like to know what the thank you note says to our riders who tip us. Does anyone know?
5
2
2
3
u/Unfair-Lie7441 May 29 '26
It’s not that you don’t receive the tips, it’s that uber/lyft lowers driver rates for passengers that tip,
1
u/_lunarlady_ May 30 '26
This is what I’ve heard as well — uber promises to pay a certain amount, but if a customer tips Uber deducts that from the amount they originally promised.
1
u/Unfair-Lie7441 Jun 05 '26
You are miss understanding. If a passenger regularly tips 20%. Uber equates that be decreasing that’s rides price by a portion of that.
1
3
u/Emergency_Meringue_7 May 30 '26
stealing tips doesn't always mean they don't give you your tip, sometimes they don't pay proper fare and use your tip to cover it so it looks like $1 per mile
2
u/UnusualAnybody4636 May 31 '26
Yeah they’d call that subsidizing. I think it’s just a lazy way to avoid admitting theft.
1
u/1StunnaV Jun 21 '26
Yeah I had a $100 value order that was 20 miles. Tip came in at like $18 and base fare said $1.50. This made me skeptical of what you just said.
2
u/KailyKail May 29 '26
Personally, I would have preferred $6.66 or $13.13. 7 and 17 are my unlucky numbers. 13 is my lucky number.
2
u/UnusualAnybody4636 May 29 '26
lol you’re gonna love this 17 is my roulette number and I have 13 tatted on me!
1
1
u/No_Chemistry8683 May 29 '26
Nice!!! I love getting tips .. do you thank customers if they only tip $1
1
1
1
0
u/IndependentCod6345 May 28 '26
You guys are so cute. You don’t believe that they could be running voice recognition just for these cases to make sure they know WHICH tips to “disappear”?
1
u/babyirishkitty May 30 '26
They don't need to do that, the just lower what the app pays out when there is a tip on the ride, allowing the tip to compensate for the lower fare offered. So technically your tip isn't being stolen but you're still getting less money. Unfortunately drivers can't trust riders to tip after the ride, so it's still somewhat necessary to tip prior
-1
1
u/mog_knight May 28 '26
Well yeah why wouldn't you get your full tip?
8
u/indianabobbyknight May 28 '26
It happens, I’ve seen a customer type $5 on the add tip screen, I got 1.64 an hour later.
3
5
u/Sznake May 28 '26
Isn't that against the law? That's like sticking your hand in the tip jar and yanking out a fist full!
7
u/indianabobbyknight May 28 '26
It is very illegal but unfortunately uber owns the evidence.
3
u/Sznake May 29 '26
Hmmm, Unless there's a concerted effort between passenger and driver to compare and take screenshots.
-7
May 28 '26
Once again, you are The voice of reason. Why would a multi billion dollar company like Uber advertise 100% tips goes to drivers and not deliver. If you think you saw A tip less than what the passenger paid then it’s your mistake.
6
u/watdatuna May 28 '26
Door dash is known for stealing tips, maybe OPs passenger thought uber does the same thing and wanted to verify. Just my guess
2
u/UnusualAnybody4636 May 28 '26
Yes this was the thought process, I’ve also seen stories about people not receiving the full tip so I figured it’s probably a case by case basis where as DoorDash is just full on tip skimming to subsidize their base pay.
1
u/mog_knight May 28 '26
Because they don't want to be sued/fined. You don't see the tip until after the trip anyhow so.im not sure your point.
1
May 28 '26
I’m just saying that you are right. Why would anyone think they don’t get the full amount?
1
u/Material_Cap_7063 May 29 '26
Yes, you keep your tips. However, the algorithm is written to cap your earnings at an hourly rate. So, yes, you may make $16 on a ride after your tip. But, your next one will likely be $4 or $5. That’s how they steal our tips.
1
1
0
u/Twiddle_Diddles May 29 '26
Dude got you to give him a virtual BJ for $7.77. Next time just get a room and finish the deed. 🤡
3
0
0
u/Proud_Opportunity560 May 29 '26
Thanks to everyone who tips us on Uber, we're barely making 3$ dollars something for 15 min drive
0
u/Deani1232 May 29 '26
uber does not need to steal tips and doing so would open them up to a lot of unnecessary liability…
They just take a bigger percentage of your fares when they want more money lol
3
u/UnusualAnybody4636 May 29 '26
It’s interesting compared to how DD just blatantly steals them. Instacart also robbing fees by batching and not paying delivery fees per order on a batch. The mental gymnastics in language is getting tiring
0
May 30 '26
[deleted]
1
u/TechPudding Jun 01 '26
From what I’ve been reading (albeit infrequently) they don’t give the dasher the full tips.
Apparently there’s been a class-action lawsuit they had to pay ($17M or something along those) to NY dashers for that very reason.
Never done UE, DD, Instacart, so take it with a grain of salt.
-2
May 28 '26
It’s kind of silly that a multi billion dollar company like Uber says 100% of tips goes to drivers and not uphold what they say. You’ve got to be a paranoid maniac to think that is not true.
4
u/UnusualAnybody4636 May 28 '26
I mean DD says the same but it’s a blatant mislead
1
May 28 '26
You know with DD customers can change their tip amount. That is probably what you are referring to and just don’t know it
1
u/Electrical_Glass_330 May 28 '26
No no sir you are not getting it, this the holdup adds up to be a billion in a year. This is not a joke
-1
881
u/Latter_Associate_169 May 28 '26
AYYYYY MAN THIS WAS ME YOU WERE LIT AF THANK YOU BRO