Tax Deductions for Instacart Shoppers (2026)

If you shop and deliver for Instacart as a Full-Service Shopper, you're self-employed. Instacart doesn't withhold taxes from your pay. Instead, you get a 1099-NEC at year-end (if you earned $600 or more), file a Schedule C, and pay self-employment tax on your net profit.

The good news: every legitimate business expense you track reduces your taxable income. Most shoppers only think about gas, but there's a lot more you can deduct. Here's the full list, organized by Schedule C category, so you can see exactly where each deduction goes on your tax return.

Mileage & Car Expenses

Schedule C, Line 9. This is your biggest deduction by far. You have two methods. Pick one per vehicle per year.

What counts as a business mile for Instacart shoppers:

• •Driving from home to the store for your first batch (if the Instacart app is on and you're available for orders before you leave)
• •Driving from the store to the customer's address for delivery
• •Driving between stores when you have a multi-store batch or back-to-back orders
• •Driving between a delivery drop-off and the next store pickup
• •Driving home after your last delivery of the day (you're still logged in and available)

Regardless of which method you pick, these are always deductible on top:

• •Parking fees at stores or customer locations while shopping or delivering
• •Tolls charged while driving to a store or making a delivery
• •Interest on your car loan (actual expense method only): the business-use percentage of your monthly interest

Supplies & Equipment

Schedule C, Line 22. Items you buy and use up doing your work. This is where Instacart shoppers have more deductions than most people realize.

• •Insulated hot/cold bags: the ones you bought yourself, not the free starter bag from Instacart. Look for AMAZON, WALMART, or TARGET charges for thermal bags.
• •Cooler bags or rigid coolers for keeping frozen items separate during multi-order batches
• •Hand cart or collapsible wagon for heavy orders (cases of water, bulk items)
• •Reusable grocery bags if your area charges for bags and you provide your own
• •Phone mount and charging cables (you burn through these fast running GPS and the app all day)
• •Portable phone charger or car charger for long shopping days
• •Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes for yourself and your vehicle
• •Bungee cords or cargo organizers to keep grocery orders separated in your trunk

Phone & Data Plan

Schedule C, Line 25 (Utilities).

• •Cell phone plan: the business-use percentage. You cannot shop without your phone running the Instacart app, GPS navigation, and customer chat. If you shop 25-30 hours a week, 50-60% business use is reasonable.
• •Data overage charges from running navigation and the shopping app all day
• •A second phone or dedicated work phone: if you bought a phone specifically for Instacart, the full cost is deductible

Example: Your phone plan is $85/month. You estimate 55% business use. That's $46.75/month, or $561/year. Look for charges from VERIZON, T-MOBILE, or AT&T on your bank statements.

Insurance

Schedule C, Line 15.

• •Commercial or gig-delivery auto insurance rider: the extra premium you pay because you deliver for Instacart. This is 100% business.
• •Roadside assistance (AAA, etc.): the business-use percentage. You rely on your car for income, so a flat tire is a business problem.
• •The business-use portion of your personal auto insurance (actual expense method only)
• •Health insurance premiums: if you're self-employed, profitable, and don't have access to a spouse's employer plan, you can deduct health insurance premiums on Form 1040 (not Schedule C, but still reduces your taxable income).

Repairs & Maintenance

Schedule C, Line 21. Only applies if you use the actual expense method. Standard mileage already covers vehicle maintenance.

• •Oil changes: more frequently than a personal driver due to heavy mileage
• •Tire replacements and rotations from accelerated wear
• •Brake pads and rotors: constant stop-and-go driving at stores and neighborhoods wears them fast
• •Car washes: you keep your trunk clean for grocery deliveries. Even with the standard mileage method, car washes may be separately deductible if they serve the delivery function (keeping groceries in a clean space) rather than vehicle operation.

Other Expenses

Schedule C, Line 27a. The catch-all for legitimate business expenses that don't fit neatly elsewhere.

• •Tax preparation fees: the portion of your tax prep that relates to your Schedule C
• •Accounting or bookkeeping software (QuickBooks Self-Employed, Hurdlr, etc.)
• •Mileage tracking app subscriptions (Everlance, Stride, MileIQ)
• •Bank or credit card fees on accounts used for Instacart income
• •Background check fees charged by Instacart
• •Parking meter fees and parking garage charges while shopping at stores that don't have free parking
• •Dash cam: useful for documenting deliveries and protecting yourself in traffic incidents

Deductions Most Instacart Shoppers Miss

These are the write-offs I see shoppers overlook most often. They're all legitimate. They just don't feel “tax-deduction-worthy” to most people.

How Instacart 1099 Reporting Works

Understanding what Instacart reports to the IRS helps you file correctly.

Partial Deductions: How to Calculate Business-Use Percentage

Your car and phone are used for both work and personal life. You deduct only the business portion. Here's how to figure it out.

What You Can't Deduct

Mileage Tracking (This Is Not Optional)

Mileage is almost certainly your single largest deduction. At 70 cents per mile (2025 rate), the difference between tracking properly and guessing can easily be $2,000-5,000 in missed deductions.

Here's what you need to do:

• •Use a mileage tracking app (Everlance, Stride, or MileIQ) that runs in the background. Do not rely on the Instacart app. It barely tracks any of your driving.
• •Turn the Instacart app on before you leave home. This converts your first drive from a non-deductible commute into a deductible business mile.
• •Log your odometer reading on January 1 and December 31. The IRS wants total miles driven for the year, not just business miles.
• •If you forgot to track this year, reconstruct what you can from your Instacart batch history and add estimated miles for driving to stores and between orders. Something is better than nothing.

The IRS requires a “contemporaneous” mileage log, meaning you logged it at or near the time you drove, not reconstructed months later. A tracking app handles this automatically.

Quick Reference: Deductions at a Glance

* = business-use percentage only (partial deduction)

For a full walkthrough of every Schedule C line, see the Schedule C expense categories guide.