Rideshare Driver Tax in Australia: GST, Deductions and the Logbook Method (2026–27)

Driving for Uber, DiDi or another app is running a small business in the ATO's eyes. That brings two taxes (GST and income tax) and one big decision about your car. This guide sticks to what the ATO's own pages say, checked in September 2026. It isn't tax advice: a registered tax agent can look at your situation.

GST starts with your first trip

The ATO calls rideshare "ride-sourcing". If you do it (and you're not an employee), you need:

• An ABN, and GST registration from the day you start, however little you earn.
• To report GST on your fares and lodge a business activity statement (BAS), monthly or quarterly.
• To give a tax invoice for fares over $82.50 (including GST) when a passenger asks for one.

You can claim GST credits on business purchases, such as the GST in fuel for your driving. Not on personal ones.

Income tax: all of it goes on your return

Everything you earn from rides is assessable income. You can claim deductions for expenses related to transporting passengers, and the ATO asks drivers to apportion expenses to the time spent providing ride-sourcing services. That wording matters for your car, and it's worth asking a tax agent how it applies to your driving between trips.

The car: two ways to claim, one big difference

For a car used by a sole trader, the ATO offers two methods.

Cents per kilometre

• A set rate for each business kilometre: 91 cents for 2026–27 (88 cents for 2024–25 and 2025–26).
• Capped at 5,000 business kilometres per car, per year. That's $4,550 at most for 2026–27.
• The rate covers all car running costs, including rego, fuel, servicing, insurance and depreciation, so you can't claim those on top.
• No written evidence of the exact kilometres is needed, but the ATO may ask how you worked them out.

Logbook method

• Keep a logbook for at least 12 continuous weeks that represent your usual driving.
• Work out your business-use percentage: business kilometres ÷ total kilometres × 100.
• Claim that percentage of all your car expenses for the year, including decline in value (depreciation).
• A logbook stays valid for five years, as long as you keep it and record odometer readings at the start and end of each later year.

What the logbook must record, per the ATO:

• when the logbook period starts and ends, and the odometer at both points
• total kilometres in the period, and the business-use percentage
• for each journey: start and end dates, odometer at start and end, kilometres, and the reason (business or private)
• the car's make, model, engine capacity and registration

Why it matters for full-time drivers

Cents per kilometre stops at 5,000 km. A full-time driver can do that in a few weeks. Here's a worked example, not a promise:

• 48,000 km in the year, 40,000 of them driving for the apps (83.3%)
• Car costs of $15,000: fuel, servicing, tyres, insurance, rego, CTP and decline in value
• Cents per km: 5,000 km × 91c = $4,550
• Logbook: 83.3% × $15,000 = about $12,500

The difference is a deduction, not cash: what you save depends on your tax rate. Your own numbers depend on your car, your costs and which kilometres count as business.

Other expenses drivers commonly claim

Only the part used for your driving, and only with records:

• Your phone and data (the business share)
• Tolls and parking while driving for the apps
• Items for passengers and the job, such as phone mounts and chargers
• Tax agent fees

If you use the logbook method, car costs such as cleaning, insurance and servicing are part of your car expenses. If you use cents per kilometre, they're already covered by the rate.

Records to keep

• Each platform's annual tax summary (fares and fees)
• Receipts for expenses, or bank records that show them
• Your logbook and odometer readings, if you use the logbook method
• Your BAS lodgements

How DriveWise AI helps

DriveWise AI's Tax Time page builds a 12-week logbook from the odometer readings on your shifts, turning them into the journey list and your business-use percentage. It also keeps receipts with photos, compares both car methods, reminds you before each quarterly BAS is due, and gives you one year-end file for your tax agent. Money & Tax estimates your GST and income tax as you go. These are estimates for your records, not tax advice.

Sources: ATO pages "Ride-sourcing", "Logbook method" and "Cents per kilometre method".