True Hourly Wage Calculator

The app says $25/hour. But after gas, wear on your car, platform fees, and the taxes nobody withheld — what did you really make? Find out.

What the app or client paid you, before any costs.

Include all work time — waiting for orders, driving to pickups, unpaid admin.

Gas, tolls, parking, supplies, platform fees — everything you paid to do the work.

Your best guess at SE tax + income tax as a share of profit. Try our SE tax calculator for a precise figure.

Estimate only. Your actual tax rate depends on total annual income, deductions, and filing status. This is a planning tool, not tax advice.

How it works

The math is simple but the answer is usually sobering: (gross pay − work expenses) × (1 − tax rate) ÷ hours worked. Each of the three subtractions hides a trap. Expenses are obvious once you list them — gas alone can eat 10–15% of delivery earnings. Hours are where most people fool themselves: time spent waiting for pings, driving to hotspots, and doing paperwork counts, because it's time you can't spend elsewhere.

Taxes are the biggest blind spot. As a 1099 worker, roughly a fifth to a quarter of your profit typically goes to federal taxes (more in high-tax states) — money a W-2 worker never sees because it's withheld. If you don't know your rate, run your numbers through our self-employment tax calculator and use the effective rate it gives you.

Use the result to make decisions: compare gigs, decide whether that far-away delivery is worth it, or set a minimum rate for freelance clients. If your true wage is below your target, the levers are higher-paying work, lower expenses (fuel-efficient car, batching trips), or fewer unpaid hours.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as "hours worked"?

Everything the job requires: active deliveries or tasks, driving between them, waiting for assignments, refueling, cleaning, bookkeeping, and communicating with clients. If you wouldn't be doing it without the gig, count it.

Should I include car depreciation?

For a quick estimate, at least include gas, tolls, and parking. For the full picture, add a per-mile ownership cost — the IRS mileage rate (about $0.73–$0.76/mile in 2026) is a reasonable proxy for total driving cost. That often cuts the "headline" wage dramatically.

What tax rate should I use?

Use your combined marginal burden: 15.3% SE tax plus your income-tax bracket, roughly 20–30% for most gig workers. Our SE tax calculator gives you a personalized effective rate — that's the best input here.

My true wage is below minimum wage. Is that normal?

Unfortunately, yes, it's common — studies regularly find gig drivers netting near or below minimum wage after full costs. That's exactly why this calculation matters: it tells you whether a gig is actually worth your time.

Can I use this to compare two gigs?

Absolutely — that's its best use. Run the same week through both (same honest hours and expenses) and compare true wages. The higher headline rate doesn't always win.