Five Gig Net Floor Mistakes
Common errors that make gig work look more profitable than it actually is.
Every mistake below pushes real hourly up artificially. Fix them and you will see the actual wage.
Gig apps show the best-case number. Drivers compound that with honest arithmetic errors, and the real hourly disappears under layers of optimism. Here are five errors that consistently overstate what you are making.
Quick answer
Every mistake below pushes real hourly up artificially. Fix them and you will see the actual wage.
Key points
- ▸ Subtracting only gas. Gas is $0.10-0.15/mi. Tires, oil, brakes, insurance, and depreciation add another $0.50+/mi. Use the full $0.67 IRS rate.
- ▸ Ignoring dead miles. Miles to the pickup, between deliveries, and home at end of shift all count. Not just the "paid" miles on the in-app meter.
- ▸ Starting the hours clock when you accept a batch. Shift hours = from the moment you log on to the moment you log off, including dead time in hot zones.
- ▸ Using book depreciation on an old car. If the vehicle is already near salvage value, book depreciation is low — but maintenance and repair costs are higher, so the $0.67 still holds.
- ▸ Forgetting commercial-use insurance. Personal auto insurance often voids coverage during gig work. The rideshare add-on or commercial policy is $40-100/mo extra that most drivers ignore until a claim gets denied.
Examples
- The "just gas" errorShift: $140 / 95mi / 6hr. Driver subtracts only gas ($15). Thinks they made $125/6 = $20.83/hr. Real hourly at full cost: $12.73. The gap is 40%.
- The dead-miles gapApp shows 62 paid miles. Odometer actually rolled 95. 33 miles = $22 of unlogged cost. If you track only paid miles, you overstate net by $22 per shift.
- The log-on / log-off gapDriver logs "drove for 5 hours" but the app shows 7 hours online. That extra 2 hours of dead time is real. Real hourly: take total gross, divide by total online hours, not just order-active hours.
When to use which tool
Related
- Gig Net FloorWhat DoorDash or Uber actually pays after IRS mileage depreciation — real hourly vs the minimum wage floor.
- What Gig Net Floor CalculatesThe real hourly rate a gig app pays you after vehicle depreciation — not just gas.
- When to Run Gig Net FloorFive specific moments where the real hourly tells you whether to keep driving.
Frequently asked questions
› What if my car is paid off and low-mileage?
Depreciation is lower, but maintenance is higher — older cars break more. The IRS $0.67 still holds as a decent blended estimate. Keep detailed receipts and compute your own rate after a year if you want precision.
› Should I deduct parking and tolls? Trust & accuracy
Yes. Add them to the operating cost side. The tool uses miles as a proxy for total car cost; parking/tolls are on top of that.
› How should I use a decision framework in real life? How-to
Use a decision framework to expose the tradeoff, not to outsource the decision. Write down the inputs, compare the output with your constraints, then ask what would change the answer. The strongest use is scenario testing: base case, conservative case, and failure case.
› Is this financial, legal, or tax advice? Trust & accuracy
No, this is not legal, financial, tax, medical, or professional advice unless the page explicitly says that use case is supported. It organizes assumptions so you can inspect them. Verify high-stakes choices with qualified people who can review facts, contracts, regulations, and downside risk.
› What assumption matters most in a decision model? Edge case
The most important assumption is usually the one you are least certain about and most emotionally attached to. Change that input first. If the recommendation flips after a small change, the decision is fragile and needs more evidence before you treat the model as useful.