The Free Rideshare Tax Spreadsheet Templates We Tested (and Where They Fall Short)

If you drive for Uber, Lyft, or both, you've already found the free spreadsheets. Search "rideshare tax spreadsheet" and you'll land on mileage-log templates from receipt-tracking and mileage-tracking companies, offered free because they'd like you to eventually subscribe to the app behind them. We downloaded and actually used the two most commonly recommended ones — Shoeboxed's free mileage log template and Driversnote's free mileage spreadsheet — to see what a rideshare driver gets, and what's still missing.

Short version: both are competent, genuinely useful mileage logs. Neither is built for what a rideshare driver specifically needs beyond mileage — separating Uber income from Lyft income, tracking the deductions that aren't mileage, or knowing how much to set aside for taxes before the 1099s land in your inbox. That's the gap we built Sheetfolk's Rideshare Driver Tax & Mileage Tracker to close.

TL;DR

Free templates from companies like Shoeboxed and Driversnote give you a workable mileage log — date, trip purpose, start/end points, and running miles — which is enough to satisfy the IRS's contemporaneous-record requirement for the mileage deduction on its own. What they don't give you: a per-platform income breakdown (Uber vs. Lyft vs. tips), a place to log and flag your non-mileage deductions, or a running quarterly tax set-aside tied to your actual net profit. If mileage is genuinely your only concern, a free log does the job. If you're trying to see your real take-home and stay ahead of the tax bill, that calls for a different spreadsheet. Sheetfolk's Rideshare Driver Tax & Mileage Tracker is $17 and built for exactly that gap.

What Do Free Rideshare Tax Spreadsheets Actually Offer?

A mileage log, and not much beyond it. The free templates that surface for "rideshare tax spreadsheet" searches are almost all lead magnets from mileage- or expense-tracking companies: one useful sheet handed out at tax season, with the real goal of getting you into their paid app the rest of the year. That's a completely reasonable business model, and to their credit, the sheets themselves are usually built competently — they solve the one problem they're designed to solve.

The catch is that "mileage log" and "rideshare tax spreadsheet" aren't actually the same thing, even though they show up in the same search results. Mileage is one deduction among several, and it's not even the number that tells you what you actually made.

We Tested Shoeboxed's Free Rideshare Mileage Template

It's a straightforward mileage log: date, starting location, ending location, business purpose, and miles driven, with a running total at the bottom. Some versions include a cell for the standard mileage rate so the sheet estimates your deduction as you go, which is a nice touch — you can watch the number build across the year instead of doing the multiplication once in April.

What it doesn't do: track your rideshare income at all. There's no place to log a fare, a tip, or a weekly payout. It's purely an expense-side tool, and specifically a vehicle-expense-side tool — it has nothing to say about your phone bill, tolls, car washes, or any of the other costs that come with driving for Uber or Lyft.

We Tested Driversnote's Free Rideshare Mileage Spreadsheet

Also a mileage log, structured similarly: date, trip purpose, start and end addresses or odometer readings, miles, and a total row. Driversnote's core app does automatic GPS mileage detection, and the free spreadsheet is essentially the manual version of what the app records for you — useful if you'd rather not run a tracking app in the background, or want a backup log in case the app misses a trip.

Same limitation as Shoeboxed's: it's a mileage tool, full stop. No income tracking, no platform breakdown, no non-mileage deductions, no tax math beyond the mileage line.

Where Free Templates Fall Short for Rideshare Drivers Specifically

They solve mileage and stop there — and mileage is only one line on a rideshare driver's actual tax picture. A few gaps that matter once you're driving as your main or secondary income:

• No per-platform income breakdown. If you drive for both Uber and Lyft, you get two separate 1099s (a 1099-K and/or 1099-NEC from each, depending on how you're paid). A mileage log tells you nothing about which platform is actually paying better once you weigh in the miles, the wait time, and the fees each one takes.
• No non-mileage expense tracking. Phone bill, car washes, tolls, parking, dashcam, roadside assistance, passenger supplies — none of that lives in a mileage-only sheet. See our full deduction checklist for what belongs on that list.
• No quarterly tax set-aside. Rideshare income is self-employment income, and nobody withholds anything from it. A mileage log doesn't tell you what to park for the IRS each quarter — for that mechanic, see our quarterly tax estimator guide.
• No net-per-platform view. Gross fares aren't what you keep. Once you back out the platform's take, mileage deduction, and other expenses, the number that's actually yours can look quite different from what the app's weekly summary shows you.

Free Templates vs. a Rideshare-Specific Tracker

Sheetfolk's tracker is built for the standard mileage method only — it doesn't compute or compare the actual-expense method (gas, maintenance, depreciation tracked separately at your business-use %). If you're running actual expenses instead of standard mileage, that comparison and those totals live outside this tracker.

If all you need is a mileage log, either free option is a fine choice — there's no reason to pay for something a free sheet already covers. The paid tracker earns its $17 on everything past the mileage line: seeing your real net per platform, not missing a deduction category, and having a quarterly number ready before the estimated-payment deadline instead of scrambling for it.

A Worked Example: Where the Gap Actually Shows Up

Say you drove for both Uber and Lyft last year. Your two 1099s show $31,000 and $14,000 in gross fares — $45,000 total. A mileage log alone tells you your business miles and your estimated mileage deduction (using the current IRS standard mileage rate — check IRS.gov for the current figure, since it changes annually) and stops there.

Here's what the fuller picture looks like once income and non-mileage expenses are broken out per platform:

That $34,700 net profit — not the $45,000 in gross fares — is what a quarterly tax set-aside should be calculated against. A mileage-only spreadsheet gets you the $9,000 line. It doesn't get you the rest of the table, and the rest of the table is what tells you whether Uber or Lyft is actually the better use of your driving hours, and what you actually need to park for taxes this quarter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the free mileage templates from Shoeboxed and Driversnote accurate? For what they're designed to do — logging trips and estimating a mileage deduction — yes, they're built competently. Accuracy still depends on you logging trips contemporaneously (at or near the time you drive them), not reconstructing months later.

Do I need a paid tracker if I only care about mileage? No. If mileage is genuinely your only concern, a free log covers it and there's no reason to pay for more than you need.

Can I combine a free mileage log with income tracking myself? Yes, plenty of drivers do — the tradeoff is building and maintaining the income, expense, and tax-set-aside tabs yourself instead of starting from a template that already has them wired together.

The Bottom Line

The free rideshare mileage templates from Shoeboxed and Driversnote do a genuinely good job at the one thing they're built for. Where they fall short is everything past mileage: income by platform, tracking the non-mileage deductions, and the quarterly tax math that turns your net profit into a number you actually set aside. If that's the gap you're trying to close, Sheetfolk's Rideshare Driver Tax & Mileage Tracker is built specifically for it — $17, one download, ready before your next quarterly deadline.

For the reminder that keeps quarterly transfers from slipping, TaskDrain works well as a standing recurring task tied to each estimated-payment date.

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Deduction eligibility, mileage rates, and estimated tax rules change year to year and vary by income, state, and filing status. Confirm current figures and your specific situation with a licensed tax professional or IRS.gov before filing.

See Also

• Uber and Lyft Tax Deductions: The Full Checklist for 2026
• How to Track Mileage for Uber/Lyft Without Losing Your Deduction at Tax Time
• Freelancer and Maker Quarterly Tax Estimator in Google Sheets
• Side Hustle Income Tracker Spreadsheet