Tax Returns for Taxi, Uber and Skip Drivers

Driving for a living, or on the side

Whether you drive a taxi full time, pick up Uber trips on weekends or deliver food with Skip between shifts, the money you earn is business income. It's reported on your personal tax return with a statement of business activities, and the costs of earning it – especially your vehicle – may be deductible.

Drivers face a few rules that don't apply to most other small businesses, particularly around GST. That's why our brochure price list includes specific prices for taxi, Uber and Skip work, so you know the cost before you book.

Many drivers also have a T4 job, a spouse's return to coordinate, or more than one platform in the same year. We bring it all together so your personal and driving income are filed as one complete return.

Which price applies to you?

The right line depends on what you earned during the year. If you only have a taxi business to report, that's our Taxi Business price. If your return combines your personal income with taxi, Uber or Skip income, the combined prices apply, and if you drove for both Uber and Skip and also have a personal return, the Personal + Uber + Skip price covers it.

Not sure which fits? Tell us what you did during the year when you book or call, and we'll confirm the fee before we start. Please note our policy: “Once we have started working on your file, the charges will apply even if you don't want us to complete your tax return and want the file back.”

GST rules for drivers

GST is where drivers most often get caught out. Taxi drivers and commercial ride-sharing drivers, such as Uber drivers, must register for GST regardless of how much they earn. The usual $30,000 small supplier threshold doesn't help here – even part-time ride-share driving requires registration.

Food delivery is different. If you only deliver food, for example with Skip, you follow the regular small-supplier rule: registration is required once your taxable revenues exceed $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters. If you do both, you'll need to be registered because of the ride-sharing work, and we'll explain how your delivery income fits in.

In Alberta, GST is 5% and there's no provincial sales tax. Registered drivers file GST returns monthly, quarterly or annually depending on revenue and any elections, and can generally claim input tax credits for GST paid on business expenses such as fuel and repairs. Our GST return service can take care of those filings.

Your kilometre logbook

Vehicle expenses are claimed based on your business-use percentage – the share of your total driving that was for business. To support that percentage, keep a kilometre logbook with your odometer reading at the start and end of the year and the business kilometres you drove. App trip records help, but they may not show everything, so keep your own log as well.

If you also use the vehicle personally, those kilometres aren't business use. A clear logbook protects your claim if the CRA asks questions, and it makes sure you don't under-claim either. Self-employed drivers also pay both the employee and employer portions of CPP on their net earnings, so accurate expenses matter twice over.