Working for Uber, DoorDash, or rideshare on a working holiday visa: ABN and tax rules

This is one of the most common areas where working holiday makers run into ATO trouble, because the rules are not what most people expect.

Why is rideshare and delivery treated as contracting?

Uber, DoorDash, Menulog, and similar platforms classify their drivers and riders as independent contractors, not employees. The platform pays you for completed jobs, but it does not withhold tax, pay superannuation, or take responsibility for your work conditions. This means:

• You need an ABN before you can work for the platform
• You are responsible for setting aside money for tax
• You can claim work-related deductions like vehicle costs, phone use, and equipment
• You will not receive a PAYG payment summary at the end of the year (you receive an annual statement from the platform instead)

See our article on the difference between an employee and a contractor for more on how the classification works.

What is the GST rule that catches most rideshare drivers?

For ordinary ABN work, GST registration is only required once your turnover passes $75,000 in a financial year. For rideshare driving (Uber, Ola, Didi, and similar passenger transport services), the rule is different: GST registration is required from the first dollar of income, no matter how little you earn.

Food delivery (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Menulog) is treated under the standard $75,000 GST threshold, not the rideshare rule. The distinction is important because it changes what you owe to the ATO and what records you need to keep.

If you are registered for GST and forget to lodge your Business Activity Statements, the ATO can backdate penalties and demand the GST component of every fare you have ever taken. For a driver working full-time for six months, this can be a debt of several thousand dollars.

What deductions can rideshare and delivery workers claim?

Income earned through a rideshare or delivery platform is reduced by legitimate business expenses, which include:

• Vehicle running costs (fuel, servicing, registration, insurance, depreciation)
• Vehicle finance interest on loans
• Mobile phone and data for the work app
• Tolls and parking incurred during work
• Cleaning of the vehicle
• Delivery equipment (bag, helmet, bike maintenance for couriers)
• Commissions and service fees charged by the platform

Vehicle expenses can be claimed either on a per-kilometre basis or by tracking actual costs with a logbook. The logbook method usually gives a larger deduction for drivers working significant hours. See our article on vehicle expenses and logbooks for the detail.

What income does the ATO see automatically?

Rideshare and delivery platforms report your annual earnings directly to the ATO under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime. This means the ATO already knows how much you earned through Uber, DoorDash, or similar before you lodge your tax return. Trying to under-report income from these platforms is one of the easiest ways to trigger an ATO audit, because the platform data is matched against your return automatically.

How does our service handle rideshare and delivery income?

When you lodge through our service, our team handles the full picture for rideshare and delivery work:

• ABN registration with the correct business activity codes
• GST registration if you are driving rideshare (or if your delivery income approaches the $75,000 threshold)
• Quarterly BAS lodgements if you are GST-registered
• End-of-year tax return that reconciles platform statements with the ATO record
• Vehicle and equipment deductions calculated and substantiated for review

The penalties for getting rideshare tax wrong are significant, and the rules change regularly. Get in touch with our team before you start working for a platform so the registrations and records are in place from day one.