On 1 April 2024, changes came into effect to enable Uber to comply with the new laws introduced by the New Zealand Government. In light of these changes, Uber has started to collect and retain 15% GST on all your trips.1 Uber pays this amount to Inland Revenue (IR) directly.
To help offset the cost of the reduction in Service Fee for driver-partners who aren’t GST-registered, Uber introduced a Rider Service Fee. Note that this is a separate charge from Uber to riders, and does not affect your earnings or payout.
Regardless of whether you’re GST registered or not, your take-home earnings per-trip remain comparatively unchanged with an equivalent trip before 1 April 2024.
Fares and GST
GST is calculated against the net fare amount (i.e., excluding GST)
On a $23 trip for example, the net fare (i.e. excluding GST) is $20, making the 15% GST equal to $3.
This is illustrated in the table below.
| Fare breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Fare (excluding GST) | $20 |
| 15% GST | $3 |
| Fare (including GST) | $23 |
Below is an example of an earnings receipt.
In this example, the net fare amount is $7.65 (total fare amount minus GST).
The 15% GST on that fare (which is collected by Uber and paid to IR) is $1.15, making the total fare amount $8.80.
Note that this total is not shown in the earnings receipt.
The Service Fee is calculated based on the fare amount plus GST.
As seen in the example above, the Service Fee calculation is based on the fare amount including the 15% GST retained by Uber (in this case, $2.46 is 28% of $8.80).
Note that Service Fees for non GST-registered driver-partners have been reduced by 6%.
Calculating your earnings
If you’ve told Uber that you’re GST-registered:
Previously, GST-registered driver-partners received the whole fare including the 15% GST that they had to remit to Inland Revenue (IR).
Under the new laws, Uber collects the 15% GST and pays this to IR directly instead.
This means that your net earnings aren’t affected, as the GST that you were previously required to pay to IR is now remitted by Uber to IR.
| Before 1 April 2024 | After 1 April 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fare2 See table under “Fares and GST” for reference | $23.00 | $23.00 |
| Less 15% GST That you have to pay to IR (out of Fare) | -$3.00 | |
| Less 15% GST That Uber retains from fare and pays to IR in full | -$3.00 | |
| Less Uber Service Fee3 | -$6.44 | -$6.44 |
| Your net earnings | $16.56 | $16.56 |
If you’ve told Uber that you’re NOT GST-registered or haven’t confirmed your registration status
- The Government has introduced a new flat-rate credit scheme; of the 15% GST that Uber collects, 6.5% will be remitted to IR, and 8.5% will be paid back to you as a flat-rate credit via the usual payout cycle (e.g. weekly).
- The flat-rate credit is calculated against the GST-exclusive portion of the fare. See above table “Fares and GST” for an example. It will also be shown in your earnings after each trip and in your weekly earnings statement.
- This means trip earnings would decrease by 5.65% for drivers. To make up for this and ensure your earnings remain approximately on par with an equivalent trip before 1 April 2024, we’ve reduced your Service Fee by 6%.
| Before 1 April 2024 | After 1 April 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fare4 Inclusive of GST, as shown on your offer card, see table under “Fares and GST” for reference | $23.00 | $23.0 |
| Less 15% GST Uber retains this from fare and pays this to IR in full | -$3.00 | |
| Add 8.5% flat-rate credit paid to you Calculated on the GST-exclusive portion of the fare. In this example it is 8.5% of $20. See table “Fares and GST” for reference. | +$1.70 | |
| Less Uber Service Fee | -$6.445 | -$5.066 |
| Your net earnings | $16.56 | $16.647 |
Additional links: https://www.uber.com/en-NZ/blog/driver-understanding-your-tax-summary-terms-and-definitions/
Notes:
1 The 15% GST and 8.5% flat-rate credit (for non GST registered driver-partners) are calculated against the GST-exclusive portion of the fare.
2 This doesn’t include the new Rider Service Fee that is directly charged by Uber to the rider. On a $23 trip, for example, the new fee that riders pay directly to Uber would be $2.10, making it a $25.10 total charge to the rider.
3 28% Service Fee assumed for illustration purposes
4 This doesn’t include the new Rider Service Fee that is directly charged by Uber to the rider. On a $23 trip, for example, the new fee that riders pay directly to Uber would be $2.10, making it a $25.10 total charge to the rider.
5 28% Service Fee assumed for illustration purposes
6 From 1 April 2024, Uber reduced your Service Fee by 6% to ensure that your earnings remain on par with trips before 1 April 2024.
7 The payout may slightly differ due to the difference in the Service Fee reduction and the overall decrease in trip earnings as a result of the GST law changes.
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