Making Tax Digital for taxi, private hire and delivery drivers

Plenty of drivers switch between two or three ride-hailing or delivery apps in a single shift, then take private bookings or account work on top. For tax, that is normally one self-employed business, not several. The Making Tax Digital test adds the income from all of them together, before your costs.

That is how drivers who think of themselves as small end up over the line. £14,000 from one app, £11,000 from another and £6,000 of private airport runs is £31,000, which is over the £30,000 threshold from April 2027, even if the profit after fuel, car and insurance is much lower. The MTD checker shows where you stand, and the tax calculator shows what to set aside on the profit.

Under the reporting rules for digital platforms, ride-hailing and delivery apps collect details of what their drivers and riders earn and send them to HMRC each year. HMRC can compare those figures with what you report.

That makes the weekly statements from each app the most useful records you have. Download them, keep them, and record each week’s figures from them, including what passengers paid, any fees the platform kept, tips and bonuses. Your accountant can then make sure the way your income is recorded lines up with what the platforms send to HMRC, so there is no mismatch to explain later.

Many private hire drivers rent a licensed car by the week, which can be the single biggest cost of the year. Whether you can claim that rent depends on how you claim for the car. The flat mileage rate, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in 2026 to 2027 and 25p after, covers the whole cost of the vehicle, rental included. GOV.UK says black cabs and hackney carriages cannot use the flat rate, so taxi drivers in a hackney carriage claim actual costs. Claiming actual costs lets you claim the rent, fuel, insurance and repairs, as long as you split out any private use.

If you buy your own car and claim actual costs, the car itself is not an everyday expense. It is claimed through capital allowances, and the rate depends on the car’s CO2 emissions. Brand-new zero-emission cars bought by 5 April 2027 qualify for a 100% first-year allowance, which lets you claim the full cost in the year you buy it. Check whether it has been extended before you buy after that date.

Charging costs are part of the running costs on actual costs, so keep the receipts from public chargers and work out the business share of charging at home. On the flat mileage rate, charging is covered by the rate like fuel.

For each app: the week’s earnings, any fees, tips and bonuses, taken straight from that week’s statement. For private and account work: each fare, cash or card, with the date. For costs: fuel or charging, rental, parking and anything else, from receipts photographed on the day. And your business miles, from the app’s trip history or a mileage tracker.

Weekly is the natural rhythm, because that is how the apps pay and report. Four quarterly updates then come straight from the weeks already recorded. If you also take cash fares, our Preston page covers recording fares and cash in more depth, and the tax check you need when renewing a licence.

Ask whether they look after other drivers, how they reconcile app statements with what the platforms report, and whether they will work out for you whether the flat rate or actual costs is better for your car. If you rent your car, ask them to look at the rental agreement, because it affects what you can claim.

For the general rules, see Making Tax Digital for the self-employed, penalties and exemptions and GOV.UK’s guide to working for yourself.