Tip tracker for delivery drivers: what to log each shift

A good tip tracker for delivery drivers gets one line per shift: the date, which app or job, base pay, app tips, cash tips, deliveries, miles and hours. Write it before you go to bed. App tips are in the app's earnings history. Cash tips aren't anywhere unless you write them down.

Below is that routine, a worked example, and what the record does for you at tax time in the US, Canada and the UK.

The longer answer

Delivery pay comes in pieces. There's base pay per order, maybe a promotion, the tip the customer added in the app, and sometimes cash at the door. If you drive for two apps, or for an app and a pizza place, the pieces come from different places on different days.

Each app shows its own share. None of them knows about the other app or your cash. A tip tracker puts it all in one list, so you can see what a night actually paid per hour and per delivery.

It also matters for taxes. The IRS lists driving for deliveries as gig work, and gig income has to be reported whether or not a form shows up. Your notes are how you know the total.

Step 1: Know which kind of driver you are

How you track is the same either way. What you do with the totals isn't.

• You're on a restaurant's payroll (a pizza place, a local restaurant). In the US, Publication 531 says to report your tips to that employer for any month they reach $20 or more from that job.
• You deliver for an app as an independent contractor. Nobody else is keeping the full record for you, so your own notes matter more.
• Both. Track each one as its own job, so the totals don't get mixed up.

If you're not sure which you are, ask the company that pays you or a tax professional.

Step 2: Write one line per shift

Each shift gets these fields:

• Date, and which app or job
• Base pay (what the app or restaurant paid before tips)
• App tips (from the earnings screen)
• Cash tips (counted when you get home)
• Number of deliveries
• Miles driven
• Hours, from when you went online to when you went offline

Keep cash tips in one pocket or envelope during the shift, away from your own money. Then the count at the end is quick.

A worked example

Say you did a Friday dinner shift on one app: 4.5 hours online, 11 deliveries, $46 base pay, $58 in app tips, $12 cash and 38 miles.

That's before gas and wear on the car, so what you keep is less. Still, a few weeks of lines like this tell you which nights and which apps are worth your time.

Step 3: Check your log against the app once a week

Pick one day a week. Open each app's earnings history and compare it with your lines.

• Does your app tip total match theirs? If not, find the order that's off and fix your line.
• Is there a day in the app with no line in your log? Fill it in while you still remember.
• Is there cash in your log for every shift you got some? The app can't check that for you.

Screenshot or download the weekly summary if your app offers one. It's a handy backup to your own notes.

Step 4: Total it each month

On the first of the month, add up each app or job on its own: base pay, app tips, cash tips, deliveries, miles and hours. Now you can see your hourly rate by app, spot a week you missed, and you've got the numbers ready if your employer or tax preparer asks.

What your tip log is for at tax time

The rules depend on your country and on whether you're an employee or a contractor.

US: if a restaurant employs you

Per IRS Publication 531, if your tips from one job reach $20 or more in a month, you report them to that employer by the 10th of the next month. That means cash, check, and debit and credit card tips. The daily record it describes covers cash tips, card tips your employer pays you, and tips you paid out to coworkers.

US: if you deliver for apps

The IRS says to report all income, even if you don't receive a Form 1099, and to keep records and receipts during the year. Contractors may also have to pay quarterly estimated taxes.

Per the IRS's filing tips for gig workers, you'll get a Form 1099-K if you received more than $20,000 and had over 200 transactions in a year, and you report all income whether or not one arrives. Either way, your own totals are how you know what to report.

US: the tip deduction

From 2025 through 2028, eligible gig workers can deduct up to $25,000 a year in tips. The IRS's list of tipped occupations includes goods delivery people, with pizza delivery drivers and app-based delivery people as examples.

The IRS's gig worker page also says that if you're self-employed, the deduction can't be more than your net income from the work where you got the tips, and the tips must be reported on a Form 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC or 1099-K to qualify. The deduction phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 if filing jointly).

For tax year 2025, the 1099s contractors received didn't list tips separately. IRS Notice 2025-69 lets them work out qualified tips from earnings statements or other documents, and it names daily tip logs as one of them. It also says you must keep adequate records to back up the deduction.

Canada

The CRA says drivers who work independently for delivery apps are self-employed, must report all income including tips, and should keep organized books and records. If you only do delivery, you generally register for GST/HST once you go over the $30,000 small supplier threshold over four calendar quarters. Ridesharing has a different rule.

United Kingdom

HMRC's guide for delivery drivers and other side hustles describes one £1,000 tax-free allowance a year for all your side-hustle income together. Over that, you'll generally need to register for Self Assessment by 5 October. It also says keeping full and accurate records of income and expenses is your job.

The guide doesn't talk about tips on their own, so ask HMRC or an accountant how yours fit in.

A tip log isn't a mileage log

Writing down miles each shift helps you see what a night really cost you. If you plan to deduct car costs, check what records your tax agency asks for, or ask a tax professional, before relying on a tip tracker's mileage numbers.

Notebook, spreadsheet or app?

• The app's own earnings screen is accurate for that app's pay and tips. It knows nothing about cash, other apps, or your hours offline.
• A notebook or spreadsheet is free and works fine if you fill it in every shift. A spreadsheet does the adding up for you.
• A tip tracker app saves the math and keeps everything on your phone. Driver Dollars, for example, says on its App Store listing that it tracks tips, commission, mileage and hourly earnings, separates cash and card tips, and exports data for Excel. It's an iPhone app.

Tracking delivery tips in Tipling

Full disclosure: Tipling is our app, built for logging right after a shift.

A shift in Tipling has fields for cash tips, card tips, hours, miles and number of deliveries. If you're paid per mile or per order, those count toward your take-home, and you see your hourly rate while you type. Each app can be its own job (two jobs free, unlimited with Pro), so stats show which one pays better.

With Pro, you can log by voice instead: say the shift, then check what it filled in. Anything it can't make out is left empty rather than guessed. Voice is English only.

Pro also adds a PDF income report and CSV export for tax time, schedules with calendar sync, and comparisons. The free Android version shows a banner ad.

The honest limit: Tipling doesn't connect to delivery apps, your bank or GPS. You type in miles and tips yourself, and it doesn't calculate or file taxes. See the Tipling home page for the whole app.

FAQ

Do delivery drivers have to report cash tips?

In the US, yes. IRS gig worker guidance says all income must be reported even without a Form 1099, and US restaurant employees report cash and card tips to their employer under Publication 531's $20 rule.

Canada too: the CRA says app delivery drivers report all income including tips. HMRC's UK side-hustle guide doesn't mention tips, so check with HMRC if you're in the UK.

Do delivery apps report my tips for me?

Don't count on it. In the US, the IRS says you'll get a Form 1099-K if you received more than $20,000 and had over 200 transactions in a year, and that you must report all income whether or not you get a form. Cash tips never show up in the app, so your own log is the only record of them.

Should I track tips per delivery or per hour?

Both, and they come from the same line. Write down tips, deliveries and hours each shift, then divide. Per hour tells you if a shift was worth it. Per delivery tells you how generous the area or app is.

Can delivery drivers claim the no tax on tips deduction?

The deduction runs for tax years 2025 through 2028, and the IRS's tipped occupations list includes goods delivery people, with pizza and app-based delivery drivers as examples.

Limits apply, including the $25,000 cap, an income phase-out, and for the self-employed a net income limit and a 1099 reporting requirement. You also need a valid Social Security number, and married couples must file jointly. Check the IRS pages or a tax professional for your situation.

Is a tip tracker enough for my mileage deduction?

Don't assume so. A tip tracker's mileage is a number you type in to see your costs. Your tax agency decides what a deductible mileage record needs, so check its rules or ask a tax professional.