Delivery Rider and Courier Tax Returns: Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Amazon Flex

Delivery work is one trade however many apps you run, and the vehicle you use changes the tax answer more than the platform does. This guide covers both, with the record keeping that makes a return straightforward rather than a reconstruction.

Several apps, one business

If you ride for Deliveroo at lunchtime, Uber Eats in the evening and take an Amazon Flex block at the weekend, that is one self employed trade with three customers. One set of accounts, one Self Assessment return, one self employment page. The income from all of them is added together, and that combined gross figure is what counts for the VAT threshold and for Making Tax Digital.

It also means expenses are claimed once across the whole trade rather than split by app, which is simpler but makes the records matter more. You need to be able to show the total.

Every statement looks different

The principle is the same whatever the format. Your turnover is the gross amount earned before the platform's fee, and the fee is an expense. Tips are taxable. Incentives and bonuses are income. Download the statements as you go, because apps commonly show only recent weeks.

The vehicle decides the answer

This is where delivery differs from passenger work, and where riders often leave money on the table.

A motorcycle or moped. You can use the flat rate of 24p a business mile, with no 10,000 mile step. Or claim actual running costs and capital allowances, and here is the important part: a motorcycle is not a car for capital allowances, so it qualifies for the annual investment allowance, which normally means the full purchase cost comes off your profit in the year you buy it. For a rider who has just bought a bike that is usually worth far more than the flat rate.

A car. The flat rate is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles from the 2026 to 2027 tax year and 25p after that, having been 45p and 25p for 2025 to 2026. On actual costs, cars are excluded from the annual investment allowance and are written down instead, at a main rate of 14% a year from April 2026 or 6% for higher emitting cars, with a 100% first year allowance for a new and unused zero emission car.

A van. A goods vehicle qualifies for the flat rate of 55p and 25p a mile, and if you claim actual costs instead it also qualifies for the annual investment allowance like a motorcycle. For a van courier with a recently purchased van, actual costs plus the allowance is usually the stronger claim.

A bicycle. HMRC's simplified mileage rates cover cars, goods vehicles and motorcycles. A bicycle is not on that list, so a cycle courier claims the real costs instead: the bike itself through capital allowances, plus maintenance, parts, tyres, locks and repairs. That is usually a better outcome anyway for someone riding a serious cargo or electric bike.

Whichever route you take, the rule holds: one method per vehicle, you cannot claim the flat rate and the running costs for the same vehicle, and once you choose the flat rate for a vehicle you keep it for as long as that vehicle is in the business.

Equipment and the other costs

• Kit. Thermal and insulated delivery bags, a courier backpack, a helmet, protective and waterproof gear, high visibility clothing, lights and locks.
• Phone and data. The business share of your phone bill, a phone mount, a power bank and chargers. The apps will not run without them.
• Vehicle running costs on whichever basis you have chosen, plus parking on business journeys.
• Insurance. Courier or hire and reward cover for a moped or van, and public liability where you carry it.
• Platform fees and any equipment rental or deposit charged by the platform.
• Accountancy fees and bank charges on a business account.

Not claimable: parking fines, your own food while out on a shift, ordinary clothing, and the private share of anything used both ways.

What HMRC already has

Since January 2024 digital platforms have had to collect seller details and report income to HMRC annually, and to give you a copy of what they reported. Food delivery and courier work are specifically within that. It creates no new tax, but it does mean HMRC can see a figure for your platform income, so your return needs to reconcile to it.

Two mismatches are normal and expected. The platform reports a calendar year while your tax year runs to 5 April. And the figure you are given is net of fees and commission, so it is not your turnover. Keep it alongside your own records rather than filing from it.

Registering, dates and thresholds

If your gross income from delivery was more than £1,000 in a tax year, you need to be registered for Self Assessment and to file a return, including when you also have a job. The deadline to tell HMRC is 5 October following the end of the tax year you started in.

The 2025 to 2026 return was due online by 31 January 2027, with the tax due the same day. If your tax reaches £1,000 and little of it was collected at source, payments on account begin, which means half of last year's tax on 31 January and again on 31 July.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is measured on gross turnover, not profit, so riders reach it earlier than they expect: over £30,000 on the 2025 to 2026 return means starting on 6 April 2027 and over £20,000 on the 2026 to 2027 return means 6 April 2028. A full time rider across two or three apps will usually be in.

VAT is a long way off for most riders, at £90,000 of taxable turnover in any rolling twelve months, but it is measured on the gross figure rather than the payouts, so it is worth knowing where the line is. If you also drive passengers, our taxi and private hire guide covers the different VAT position on fares.