Your tax questions, answered
We know tax season can be stressful. There are tools available to help make filing your taxes simpler and more affordable.
Tax preparation tips
Looking to learn more about tax requirements for drivers? Check out the handbook below prepared by Intuit, creator of TurboTax.
Income tax
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires that you file income tax each year.
When you drive with Uber, income tax is not deducted from the earnings you made throughout the year. This means it’s your responsibility to pay your income tax at tax time.
You can find all of your tax information on your Driver dashboard.
Note that business licence exemption documents are not acceptable for this requirement.
Potential eligible business expenses or deductions
Here are some business costs you may be able to claim full or partial tax deductions for. A tax professional can review your unique tax situation and ensure that you’ve included the correct expenses.
Mileage
Maintenance expenses
Vehicle insurance
Tolls or parking costs
Cell phone expenses
Freebies for customers
Sales Tax on the fees charged to you
Your tax timeline
Knowing when and what you have to file can help you avoid paying late penalties.
You can check the CRA website for important tax dates.
Sales tax in Canada
As a rideshare driver, you’re responsible to collect, remit, and file your sales tax—HST in Ontario and Nova Scotia, GST in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia—to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). If you're a rideshare driver in Quebec, Uber will collect and remit GST/QST sales tax on your behalf with Revenue Quebec, but you must still submit an annual filing.
Register for GST/HST
The Canada Revenue Agency requires every ridesharing driver to create a GST/HST account number, which must be shared with Uber within 30 days of a first trip.
It only takes a few minutes to register online, and you’ll have your GST/HST number instantly. Follow the step-by-step instructions to register. Make sure you update your tax profile within this time to avoid having your account temporarily put on hold.
Already have a GST/HST account number? Skip the registration step, and update your tax profile directly:
- Go to drivers.uber.com
- Go to the Invoice Settings section
- Add your information in the field for GST/HST registration number
- Click the checkbox under Disclaimer
- Hit Save at the bottom of the page
Collect GST/HST
Each week, you’ll receive the GST/HST that was collected from your trips.
These amounts will be shown on your weekly earnings statement as well as your monthly and annual Tax Summary.
If you set that money aside, you’ll have it ready for the CRA when you file your GST/HST return.
Remit your GST/HST to the CRA
GST/HST can be remitted quarterly or annually to the CRA—choose which works best for you.
You can make your GST/HST payment electronically, by mail, or at your bank.
Wondering how much you need to remit? You can find this amount on your monthly and annual Tax Summary.
File your GST/HST return
You can file your GST/HST return online with CRA. To file it, you’ll need to know your net tax.
Your net tax is the difference between the amount of GST/HST you’ve collected and the amount of GST/HST you’ve paid on expenses related to your ridesharing activities.
A tax professional can help you understand how to remit and file your taxes correctly and claim your potential input tax credits.
Your Uber Tax Summary
What you need to know
Your Tax Summary is not an official tax document but helps you or your preferred tax professional prepare your tax return.
Your Tax Summary document includes:
- Your total earnings (gross fares)
- Sales tax you have collected on each trip
- Sales tax paid on Uber fees
- Potential business expenses (service fee, booking fee, mileage, etc.)
We’ll provide you with a monthly and annual Tax Summary. If you drive in Quebec, you will only receive an annual Tax Summary in February for the previous year.
Terms and definitions
Read below for terms and definitions of what can be found on your Tax Summary.
- Gross Uber rides fares
The gross fare equals the time and distance travelled plus the service fee.
- Gross Uber Eats fares
The gross fare includes base fare (pickup, dropoff, time, and distance), trip supplement and promotions (boost, surge).
- Tolls
Tolls are charged to riders on your behalf. The amounts are paid to you by riders as reimbursement of tolls you paid out of pocket.
- Tips
Tips are paid to you by riders.
- On trip mileage
- The number of kilometres driven during your trips
- We’re only able to provide your mileage from pickup to dropoff
- Other mileage may also be deductible as a business expense (example: from request to pickup)
- Service fee
The service fee is the percentage-based fee for accessing the Uber platform.
- Airport fee
- Airport fees are charged to riders on your behalf for trips from (and often to) the airport.
- Airport fees are paid to you by the rider. An equal amount is then charged to you by Uber (example: a rider is charged $4.25 by you to be picked up at Ottawa Airport; Uber then charges you $4.25).
- Booking fee
The booking fee is charged to riders on your behalf and is paid to you by the rider. An equal amount is then charged to you by Uber as a fee.
- Split Fare fee
This fee is charged to customers on your behalf when they split their fare using the Uber app.
- Quebec operation fee (Quebec only)
- The Quebec operation fee is charged to riders on your behalf and is paid to you by the rider
- An equal amount is then charged to you by Uber as a fee
- This definition only applies to drivers in the Quebec province
- City fee (excluding Quebec)
- City fees are charged to riders on your behalf and are paid to you by the rider
- An equal amount is then charged to you by Uber as a fee
- This definition does not apply to drivers in Quebec
- GST/HST on rides (excluding Quebec)
- On each trip, GST/HST is charged to riders on your behalf. If you drive with Uber in Ontario or Alberta, this GST/HST is deposited in your bank account each week.
- You'll need to keep track of these amounts because you’re required to remit part of it to the CRA.
- Depending on how you’ve chosen to file, you’ll need to remit monthly, quarterly, or annually.
- Sales Tax
- Sales tax on the fees charged to you, like the Service Fee.
- Referrals/incentives
- These amounts are paid to you by Uber. They’re part of your total income.
- Examples of these payments include referrals, Boosts, or other promotions.
- Miscellaneous (in the Other Income Breakdown section)
These amounts are paid to you by Uber for miscellaneous one-time payments. They’re part of your total income.
- Miscellaneous in the Fare Breakdown section (excluding Quebec)
- These amounts are paid to you for miscellaneous reasons, like cleaning fees or lost item fees
They’re charged to the rider on your behalf and then paid to you
This definition does not apply to drivers in the Quebec province
- 6.085% with the quick accounting method (Quebec only)
This amount is refund of GST/QST calculated based on the rates provided in the agreement between Revenu Québec and Uber.
Online support
Check out help.uber.com or tap Help in your app to see the most commonly asked questions on tax.
Limited-time offers for Intuit (TurboTax and QuickBooks). Subject to applicable terms and conditions. Terms, conditions, features, availability, pricing, fees, service, and support options are subject to change without notice.
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