Tax Tips and Deductions for Uber Drivers
Author │ MAS Tax Accountants Springfield Central
September 2018 │ 5 minute read
Providing expert tax services for new and experienced Uber Drivers, our specialist team can help you to prepare and lodge your tax return. Taking the time to understand your tax situation, our accountants provide personalised tax for Uber Drivers Springfield Central advice and strive to achieve the best outcomes.
Locally based and offering flexible appointment options, we work with our Uber Driver clients to ensure that you are claiming your full and correct tax entitlements. Unlike a standard nine-to-five job, being a full-time or part-time Uber Driver can have a specific set of tax allowances. We can help you to determine your tax position and get back the best possible refund. We will also evaluate current small business concessions that may apply to you, such as the instant asset write-off deduction, which could potentially improve your tax for Uber Drivers Springfield Central position.
Here are our Top Tips in Tax for Uber Drivers Springfield Central
Income Tax
Depending on your employment situation, you may have earned money through both driving Uber and other work. Similar to your end-of-year group certificate from an employer, Uber issues annual tax summaries, which will include your income and tax information for that year. You can access your tax summary information through your Uber Partner log-in and summaries are available from mid-July.
Deductions
You may be able to claim certain work-related expenses, such as a proportion of your fuel and car expenses, a work-related percentage of your mobile phone bills and service fees charged by Uber.
To be able to successfully claim these tax deductions, you will need to keep a record of your expenses or a proof of purchase. Maintaining the correct documentation is vital in supporting your tax deductions claims. Misleading or false claims could lead to penalties or fines from the ATO.
Standard deductions you may be able to claim, include:
- A proportion of fuel for your car
- Car depreciation and running costs
- Work-related mobile phone bills
- Costs of cleaning, servicing or repairing your vehicle
- Any service fee or other fees you pay to Uber
- Accountant/tax agent fees
Claiming Car Expenses
There are two methods that can be used to claim work-related car expenses, (1) the cents per litre and (2) using a logbook.
Cents per litre method:
Under this method, you will be able to:
- There is a maximum of 5,000 business km per car
- You will not need written evidence, but you need to be able to show how you worked out your business km
Logbook method:
If you plan to claim your tax expenses using a Logbook, you will need to keep a detailed Logbook for at least 12 continuous weeks. This information will act as a representation for your car use for the next 5 years. You will need to note each travel time, travel distance and odometer readings, and fuel purchases; as well as the time, distance, odometer and fuel information for the logbook as a whole.
Start your logbook using a free Car Logbook template.
Notes to take into consideration:
- You can only claim the costs of work-related expenses. If you use your car for both business and private reasons, you will only be able to claim a proportion of the car expenses.
- Expenses include running costs and decline in value, but do not include capital costs.
- You can claim fuel and oil costs, using either your actual receipts or an expenses estimation based on odometer logbook records, that show readings from the start and the end of the period you had the car during the year.
- You will need written evidence for all other expenses for the car, such as receipts and invoices.
For personalised tax advice and to ensure that you are claiming the correct deductions, please speak with a professional Tax Accountant. Our Tax for Uber Drivers Springfield Central specialists can assist you to prepare and lodge your tax return, and get the best possible refund this tax season.
Learn more about our Springfield Central office, including our Tax, Business and SMSF services.
For more information or to make an appointment, please contact us below or call us on 0430 186 637
SOURCES:
Australian Taxation Office. (2016, 24 May). Car Expenses. Australian Taxation Office. Retrieved from: https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/income-and-deductions/deductions-you-can-claim/vehicle-and-travel-expenses/car-expenses/
UBER, Domenic. (2015, 22 June). Tax Tips for Uber Driver Partners. Uber Newsroom. Retrieved from: https://newsroom.uber.com/australia/oztaxtips/
UBER (2018). Australian rideshare tax requirements. Uber Resources. Retrieved from: https://www.uber.com/en-AU/drive/resources/tax-au/
