How Instacart shoppers are taxed
Full-service shoppers, who shop and deliver orders through the Shopper app, are independent contractors. Instacart pays you your batch earnings and tips in full and withholds no taxes. At tax time you report shopping as a small business on Schedule C and owe:
- Self-employment tax: 15.3% of 92.35% of your profit, for Social Security and Medicare.
- Federal income tax on your profit, and state income tax in most states.
If this is your first gig job, start with our beginner’s guide to 1099 taxes.
Your Instacart 1099
Instacart reports what it paid you on Form 1099-NEC when you reach the reporting threshold: $2,000 or more in 2026 (the threshold was $600 through 2025). According to Stripe, Instacart tax forms from 2023 onward are available in the Instacart Shopper app, not in Stripe Express; older forms are still in Stripe Express.
- Keep your tax information in the Shopper app up to date: your name and SSN or ITIN must match IRS records.
- Compare the 1099-NEC with the earnings history in the app.
- Didn’t get a form? You still report everything you earned. See our Form 1099-NEC guide.
How much to set aside
Here is a typical year for a single shopper with no other income:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Instacart earnings, including tips | $32,000 |
| Mileage deduction (9,000 miles) | −$6,684 |
| Phone, bags and supplies | −$500 |
| Net profit | $24,816 |
| Self-employment tax | $3,506 |
| Federal income tax | $557 |
| Total to set aside | $4,063 |
That is about 13% of every payout, or $78 a week. Tracking those miles saves this shopper about $1,441 in federal taxes. Your numbers depend on your miles, other income and state, so run them in our gig driver tax calculator.
Deductions for Instacart shoppers
- Mileage, the biggest one: 72.5¢ per mile January–June and 76¢ July–December 2026. Count the drive to the store, from the store to each customer and between batches. Keep your own mileage log or use a tracking app, rather than estimating at the end of the year.
- Insulated bags, coolers and carts used for orders.
- Your phone and data plan, business share.
- Parking and tolls while working.
- Car costs only if you use the actual expense method instead of the mileage rate.
What is not deductible: the groceries themselves (paid with the Instacart card), your own snacks and meals, and commuting from home if your home is not your principal place of business.
Pay during the year
Because nothing is withheld, the IRS expects quarterly estimated payments if you will owe $1,000 or more: April 15, 2026, June 15, 2026, September 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027 for the 2026 tax year. Our quarterly estimated tax calculator tells you how much to pay each time, and how to catch up if you missed one.
A simple habit: move 13% of each Instacart payout to a separate savings account the day it arrives.
Filing checklist for shoppers
- Download your 1099-NEC from the Shopper app, or use your earnings history if you did not get one.
- Total your business miles for January–June and July–December.
- Gather receipts for bags, phone, parking and tolls.
- Report everything on Schedule C, figure self-employment tax on Schedule SE and file Form 1040 by April 15, 2027.
- Subtract the estimated payments you made.
Shop and deliver for other apps too? Add everything to the same Schedule C. Our DoorDash taxes guide covers delivery apps in more detail.