Are you in? It’s your takings, not your profit
Add up what every platform paid you for the 2025/26 tax year – delivery fees, block payments, bonuses and tips – plus any courier work for local firms, before taking off costs. If that total (plus any rent from property you let) is over £30,000, MTD applies from 6 April 2027. Over £50,000 and you have been in since April 2026.
Over £50,000
Over £30,000
Over £20,000
planned
Your work in accountant language
What actually happens in your working life, what your accountant and HMRC call it, and what to do about it.
| What happens | Accountant calls it | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| You finish a Flex block or a run of food orders | Turnover | Record the gross amount from the app statement, every app. |
| A customer tips you in the app | Turnover (tips are taxable) | Include tips – the app statement lists them. |
| The app pays a peak-time bonus | Turnover | Bonuses and incentives are income too. |
| You fill up, charge your e-bike or top up your scooter | Vehicle costs – or mileage instead | Keep receipts, or use the mileage rate for that vehicle, not both. |
| You buy an insulated delivery bag or phone mount | Allowable expense – equipment | Keep the receipt; photo it into your app. |
| You pay for courier or hire-and-reward insurance | Allowable expense – insurance | Keep the policy schedule. |
| You take money out for rent and food | Drawings – not an expense | It doesn’t reduce your tax. |
| Every three months | Quarterly update | Your software sends HMRC your income and expense totals. |
| After 5 April | Final declaration | Confirm the year; tax is due by 31 January. |
What can a delivery driver claim?
✓ Usually allowable
- Car or van: fuel, insurance, servicing, repairs (business share) – or 45p a mile
- Motorbike or scooter: running costs – or 24p a mile
- Bicycle or e-bike: repairs, tyres, charging – or 20p a mile
- Courier, hire-and-reward or delivery insurance
- Delivery bags, phone mounts, power banks and lights
- Phone and mobile data – business share
- Helmet, waterproofs and protective gear for riding
- Vehicle hire if you rent a van or e-bike to work
- Parking, tolls and clean-air zone charges while working
✗ Not allowable
- Parking tickets and traffic fines
- Mileage and fuel claimed for the same vehicle
- Private use of your car, bike or phone
- Food and drink while on shift
- Money you take out for yourself (drawings)
Rules that matter for couriers and delivery drivers
Pick a method per vehicle
For each vehicle you choose either actual running costs or the flat mileage rate – 45p a mile for cars and vans (25p after 10,000 miles), 24p for motorbikes and scooters, 20p for bicycles. Mileage is simpler; actual costs can be higher if you have an expensive vehicle. You can’t claim both for the same vehicle.
Platforms report to HMRC
Since 1 January 2024, platforms such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats send HMRC details of what couriers earn. If you work several apps, HMRC can see each one – keep your records matching their statements.
Several apps, one business
Delivering for different apps is usually treated as one self-employed delivery business. Add them together for turnover and claim your costs once.
Employed parcel drivers
If you are on a payroll and get payslips, that work is employment and doesn’t count towards MTD. Self-employed rounds paid per parcel or per drop do.
Worked example
Kasia delivers for Amazon Flex and Uber Eats in Nottingham (illustrative example)
| Takings (turnover) | £33,200 |
| less Business mileage (car, 22,000 miles) | −£7,000 |
| less Courier insurance top-up | −£650 |
| less Phone and data (business share) | −£420 |
| less Bags, mounts and power banks | −£150 |
| less Parking and tolls | −£230 |
| Profit | £24,750 |
| Income tax (estimate) | £2,436 |
| Class 4 National Insurance (estimate) | £731 |
| Total tax for the year | £3,167 |
| Put aside each month | £264 |
Estimate for 2026/27 using England, Wales & NI rates, assuming no other income. Scotland has different income tax bands.
What a quarterly update looks like
A typical quarter for a courier: download the earnings statements from every app you used, add tips and bonuses, export your mileage from a tracking app (or total fuel receipts), add insurance and phone – then submit through your software, or let your accountant do it. Exporting statements monthly avoids apps that only show recent weeks.
| Quarter | Period | Submit by |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 6 Apr – 5 Jul | 7 Aug |
| Q2 | 6 Jul – 5 Oct | 7 Nov |
| Q3 | 6 Oct – 5 Jan | 7 Feb |
| Q4 | 6 Jan – 5 Apr | 7 May |
| Final declaration | The whole tax year | 31 Jan following |
Quarterly updates are summaries – they don’t change when you pay. Tax is still due by 31 January (plus payments on account on 31 January and 31 July if they apply to you).
What will an accountant cost?
Typical monthly fees under MTD for Income Tax for: Sole trader, one business.
| Option | What you get | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| You do it yourself | MTD-compatible software. You keep the records and send the updates. | £0–£15up to £180 a year |
| Accountant files for you | You keep records in an app; they check them, send the 4 quarterly updates and the final declaration. | £30–£60about £360–£720 a year |
| Full service | They do the bookkeeping too – you share receipts and bank feeds, they handle the rest. | £60–£120about £720–£1,440 a year |
What pushes the price up: lots of transactions every month, or more than one income stream; records kept on paper rather than in an app; being VAT-registered; catching up on missed updates or late returns.
What a fixed-fee quote should include
- All 4 quarterly updates and the final declaration (your tax return)
- The MTD software licence – or whether you pay for it separately
- Whether they do the bookkeeping or only check what you’ve recorded
- A reminder before each deadline and an estimate of the tax to put aside
- Whether VAT (20%) is added on top – not every practice charges it
Accountancy fees for your business are an allowable expense, so they reduce your tax bill.
Indicative ranges from published UK price lists, checked October 2026. Not a quote – your fee depends on how many transactions you have, how tidy your records are and where you live.
Questions couriers and delivery drivers ask
I only use Deliveroo part-time. Do I need to register?
If your self-employed income is over £1,000 a year, you need to register for Self Assessment. MTD applies only if your total (plus any rental income) is over the threshold.
How do I prove my mileage?
Keep a log of business trips – date, start, finish and miles. Mileage-tracking apps do this automatically, and the app’s trip history helps back it up.
Are tips really taxable?
Yes. Tips paid through the app or in cash are part of your self-employed income.
Can I claim my e-bike?
Yes. Under the cash basis, a bike you buy for deliveries is usually deducted when you pay for it – unless you use the 20p mileage rate for it instead.
Sources
- Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Send quarterly updates using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
This guide is general information about HMRC’s Making Tax Digital rules as of 26 October 2026, not tax advice. MTD Match is an independent introduction service and is not affiliated with HMRC. Check gov.uk or speak to an accountant about your own situation.