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Accountants for Taxi Drivers, Delivery Riders & Couriers
For licensed taxi and private hire drivers, Uber and Bolt drivers, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats riders, Amazon Flex and van couriers. Gross income worked out properly, the vehicle claimed the better way round. Self Assessment tax returns from £120.
What makes driving different
Your bank statement is not your income, and your car is not just a car
Two numbers matter on every job and only one of them reaches your bank. The passenger or the customer pays a fare or a delivery fee. The platform keeps a service fee and pays you the rest. For tax, your turnover is the gross amount before the platform took its cut, and the cut is an expense. Report the money that landed in your account and you understate your turnover, lose the deduction and produce a return that does not agree with what the platform told HMRC.
Then there is the vehicle, which is usually the largest cost in the business and the one with the most rules attached. You have a choice between a flat rate per mile and a share of the real running costs, the choice is made per vehicle, and it is close to irreversible for that vehicle. Choosing badly in year one can cost more than our fee for several years.
Add licensing, hire and reward insurance, platform fees that change, work across several apps at once and a fleet of small cash expenses, and the record keeping matters more than it does in most trades.
Who we help
Passengers and parcels, on four wheels, two wheels or a bike
Taxi and private hire drivers
Licensed hackney carriage and black cab drivers, private hire and minicab drivers, and drivers working through Uber, Bolt and local operators, whether you own the vehicle, rent it from the operator or run it on finance.
Delivery riders and couriers
Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat riders on a bike, a moped or a motorcycle, bicycle couriers and same day document couriers, including riders who switch between food delivery and other courier work through the week.
Parcel and van delivery drivers
Amazon Flex delivery partners, self employed van couriers on parcel rounds, and drivers subcontracting to a delivery company, where the van, the insurance and the fuel are all yours.
Multi platform drivers
Anyone running two, three or four apps at once, moving between passenger work in the evening and delivery work at lunchtime. One trade, one set of accounts, one return.
Self Assessment
The return, from the gross figure up
If your income from driving or delivering was more than £1,000 before expenses in a tax year, you need to be registered for Self Assessment and file a return. The 2025 to 2026 tax year ran to 5 April 2026 and that return is due online by 31 January 2027.
We build the return from your platform statements rather than from your bank. Gross fares and delivery fees go in as turnover, platform service fees come out as an expense, tips are included, incentives and promotions are included, and any adjustment or refund the platform made is traced. Then the vehicle, the licence, the insurance and the running costs come off, on whichever basis suits your figures.
You see the computation and the tax before anything is filed, together with the payment dates and whether payments on account have started. Our Self Assessment tax returns page sets out the wider process.
Platform earnings and statements
Each platform presents the same facts differently. Uber and Bolt weekly statements separate the fare, the service fee, tolls, airport charges, promotions and tips. Deliveroo and Just Eat show fees per order with tips listed separately. Uber Eats shows delivery fees, trip supplements and boosts. Amazon Flex pays by block rather than by drop, so the statement looks nothing like a fare summary. We know what to pull from each one, and where the gross figure is hiding.
Packages
- Self Assessment tax returns from £120
- Sole Trader Essentials £39 a month
- Sole Trader Plus £69 a month, we keep the books
- MTD Ready £29 a month, records only
- Fixed quote before any work begins
The vehicle
One method per vehicle, chosen once
This is the decision that moves your tax bill most, and the one it is hardest to undo. The figures below are HMRC's, and which column you belong in depends on your own circumstances.
MISimplified mileage
A flat rate per business mile, covering everything about running the vehicle.
| Cars and goods vehicles, first 10,000 business milesFrom the 2026 to 2027 tax year | 55p a mile |
| Cars and goods vehicles, above 10,000 miles | 25p a mile |
| Motorcycles, all business miles | 24p a mile |
| Fuel, insurance, servicing and repairs | Covered by the rate |
| Capital allowances on the vehicle | Not available |
| Parking and tolls on business journeys | Claimed separately |
For the 2025 to 2026 return the first band was 45p rather than 55p. The flat rate covers cars, goods vehicles and motorcycles, and HMRC excludes vehicles designed for commercial use, which means a licensed black cab does not qualify. You also cannot use the flat rate on a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on, and once you choose it for a vehicle you keep it for as long as that vehicle is in the business.
ACActual costs
The business share of what the vehicle really costs you.
| Fuel or charging | Business share |
| Insurance, including hire and reward | Business share |
| Servicing, repairs, tyres and MOT | Business share |
| Road tax and breakdown cover | Business share |
| Cleaning and valeting | Business share |
| The vehicle itself | Capital allowances |
Needs a mileage log anyway, to evidence the business proportion. Private use is taken out rather than ignored.
Buying, leasing and finance
How the vehicle itself is claimed
A car bought outright is claimed through capital allowances rather than as a running cost, and cars are specifically excluded from the annual investment allowance. Instead the cost goes into a pool and is written down each year: the main rate is 14% a year from April 2026, having been 18% before that, and the special rate for higher emitting cars is 6%. A new and unused car with zero emissions qualifies for a 100% first year allowance, so the whole cost can come off in the year of purchase.
A motorcycle or a van is not a car for this purpose, so both do qualify for the annual investment allowance, which normally means the full cost in year one. That is a real difference between a moped courier and a car driver.
On a lease or contract hire, the rental is a running cost and you claim the business share, with a restriction on higher emitting cars. On hire purchase the interest and charges are a running cost while the capital sits in capital allowances. And none of this is available at all if you claim the flat rate per mile for that vehicle, which is exactly why the choice has to be made with the figures in front of you.
Packages
- Sole Trader Plus £69 a month
- Sole Trader Essentials £39 a month
- Self Assessment tax returns from £120
- Catching up a missed year from £249 a year
- Both vehicle methods compared in your first year
The rest of the costs
Licences, insurance, platform fees and kit
Insurance and licensing
Hire and reward or courier insurance, public liability where you carry it, your hackney carriage or private hire driver licence, the vehicle licence and plate, council and airport permits, DBS checks and medicals, and the topographical or safeguarding courses a licensing authority requires.
Platform and booking fees
The service fee or commission each platform keeps, booking fees, card processing charges, circuit or radio rent paid to an operator, and any weekly vehicle rental if you rent from the operator rather than owning.
Phone, data and subscriptions
The business share of your phone and data, phone mounts and chargers, dash cameras, sat nav subscriptions and the apps you pay for to run the work.
Equipment and consumables
Thermal and insulated bags, a courier backpack, a helmet and protective gear, high visibility clothing, bike maintenance and spare parts for a rider, cleaning products, bottled water for passengers and card machine consumables.
VAT and Making Tax Digital
Two thresholds, both on the gross figure
VAT first. You must register once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling twelve month period, or when you expect to pass it in the next thirty days alone. Taxi and private hire fares are standard rated rather than zero rated, so a busy owner driver can reach the threshold. Where you work through an operator acting as your agent, HMRC expects you to add back what the operator deducts before paying you when you measure your turnover, which catches drivers out. Not every driver needs to register and we will not tell you that you do until we have looked.
Then Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which turns on qualifying income rather than profit. Qualifying income is gross self employment turnover plus any gross property income, before expenses. Over £50,000 on the 2024 to 2025 return meant starting on 6 April 2026, over £30,000 on the 2025 to 2026 return means 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 on the 2026 to 2027 return means 6 April 2028. Because the test is on gross income, plenty of drivers will be in well before their profit looks like it.
Once you are in, records have to be kept digitally in compatible software and a summary goes to HMRC on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, with the final declaration after the year end. The MTD checker will give you your own start date, and MTD for Income Tax explains the service.
Packages
- MTD Ready £29 a month
- Sole Trader Essentials £39 a month, return included
- Sole Trader Plus £69 a month, books kept for you
- VAT registration and scheme advice £150
- Software and receipt capture included
What we need
Everything comes off a statement or a receipt
Platform statements
Weekly or monthly statements from every platform you worked for in the tax year, plus the annual summary where one is issued and the copy of what the platform reported to HMRC. If an app only shows the last few weeks, tell us early so we can request the rest while there is time.
Vehicle papers
The purchase invoice, finance or lease agreement, your mileage log or tracker export, fuel and charging receipts, servicing and repair invoices, insurance schedule and road tax.
Licences and checks
Driver and vehicle licence fees, plate and permit receipts, DBS and medical costs and any licensing course you paid for.
Everything else
Bank statements for the year, phone bills, equipment and kit receipts, and your Unique Taxpayer Reference and National Insurance number so we can be appointed as your tax agent.
How it works
Statements in, both methods compared, return filed
Get appointed
A short call to agree the scope and a fixed fee, an engagement letter, then an HMRC authorisation so we can act for you. We send one checklist, built around the platforms you actually drive for.
Build it both ways
We rebuild the year from your platform statements, reconcile it to your bank and then work the vehicle on the flat rate and on actual costs so you can see the difference before you are locked into one of them.
Filed and diarised
You approve the computation, we file online and send you the receipt, the amounts due and the dates. We diarise the payments and tell you whether payments on account have started.
Fees
Self Assessment tax returns from £120
Self Assessment tax returns start from £120 for a straightforward return. Final fees depend on the complexity of your tax affairs and a fixed quote is provided before any work begins. A driver with one platform, a mileage log and a single vehicle sits at the bottom of that range. Several platforms, a vehicle bought on finance part way through the year and a VAT question sits higher, and we will tell you where you are before you commit to anything.
If you would rather not keep the records yourself, Sole Trader Essentials is £39 a month and includes the software, a quarterly review, Making Tax Digital updates and the return. Sole Trader Plus is £69 a month and we do the bookkeeping for you.
If you have one or more years outstanding, catching up is from £249 a year. The deductions and the records are still there, and the sooner the returns go in the better the penalty position.
Packages
- Self Assessment tax returns from £120
- Sole Trader Essentials £39 a month
- Sole Trader Plus £69 a month
- MTD Ready £29 a month
- Catching up a missed year from £249 a year
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I report what the platform paid into my bank?
No. Your turnover is the gross fare or the gross delivery fee before the platform took its service fee, and the service fee is then claimed as an expense. The amount that reaches your bank is net of commission, so reporting the bank figure understates turnover and loses you the deduction. Your platform statements show both numbers.
Can I claim mileage and my fuel and repairs as well?
No, and this is the most common error we see. For any one vehicle you either claim the flat rate per mile or you claim a business proportion of the actual running costs with capital allowances on the vehicle. You cannot claim both for the same vehicle. Once you use the flat rate for a vehicle you have to keep using it for as long as that vehicle is in your business, and you cannot use the flat rate at all on a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on.
Which method is better for me?
It depends on your mileage, what the vehicle cost and how it was bought. A high mileage driver in a cheap economical car is often better on the flat rate. A driver who has just bought an electric vehicle, or who runs a van with heavy costs, is often better on actual costs. Some drivers have no choice at all: the flat rate covers cars, goods vehicles and motorcycles, and HMRC excludes vehicles designed for commercial use, so a licensed black cab is claimed on actual costs and capital allowances. A bicycle is not on the list either, so a bicycle courier claims the real costs. We work it both ways in your first year and tell you which way round your numbers fall.
Do I have to register for VAT?
Not necessarily. You must register once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling twelve months, or if you expect to pass it in the next thirty days. Taxi and private hire fares are standard rated, and where you work through an operator as its agent you have to add back what the operator deducts before paying you when you test the threshold. Many drivers never reach it. Your own position depends on how you are engaged, so it is worth checking rather than assuming either way.
I drive for two platforms and deliver for a third. Is that three businesses?
No. It is one trade with several customers, so it goes in one set of accounts and on one Self Assessment return. All of the gross income is added together, and that combined figure is what counts for the VAT threshold and for Making Tax Digital.
The platform says it reports me to HMRC. What does that mean?
Since January 2024 digital platforms have had to collect seller details and report income to HMRC each year, and give you a copy of what they reported. It does not create a new tax and it does not replace your own records, which run to 5 April rather than to 31 December. It does mean HMRC can see the platform figure, so your return needs to reconcile to it.
Related
You may also need
Taxi and private hire driver tax returns
Uber, Bolt, black cabs and minicabs, with the expenses and the mileage decision explained.
Read moreGuideDelivery rider and courier tax returns
Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Amazon Flex, including working across several apps.
Read moreServiceSelf Assessment tax returns
The return prepared, checked with you and filed, from £120.
Read moreFind out which way round your vehicle should be claimed
Book a free 30 minute call. Tell us what you drive, what you drive for and how many miles, and we will tell you what the return involves and what it will cost.
Or just pick up the phone
+44 7456 385980info@taxmesh.co.uk
