Rideshare and Delivery Driver Tax Calculator NZ 2026/27

Quick answer: Your Uber, DiDi, Ola, Uber Eats or DoorDash income is taxable from the first dollar, added to any other income and taxed at your marginal rate, plus a 1.75% ACC earner's levy. Since 1 April 2024 the marketplace itself collects 15% GST on every fare or delivery, whether or not you are personally registered. If you are not registered (turnover under $60,000), it pays 6.5% to Inland Revenue and passes 8.5% back to you as a flat-rate credit. Once registered, your marketplace income is zero-rated and you claim GST back on your costs instead. Enter your numbers below to see what to set aside.

This calculator works out the real tax position for anyone driving or delivering through a New Zealand ride-share or delivery platform, whether that is Uber, Ola, Zoomy, DiDi, Uber Eats, DoorDash or Delivereasy. Enter your annual driving income, the kilometres you cover for the year and the share of that which is business use, and your phone or data costs, and it works out your kilometre-rate vehicle deduction, your taxable driving profit, the extra income tax that profit creates at your marginal rate, and the 1.75% ACC earner's levy on top. It also handles the GST side properly, which trips up a lot of drivers: since 1 April 2024 the marketplace collects 15% GST on every fare or delivery fee regardless of your own GST status, so if your turnover is under the $60,000 registration threshold you are not filing GST returns, you are simply keeping an 8.5% flat-rate credit that the platform pays you directly. Once your turnover crosses $60,000 and you register, that changes to zero-rated income with GST reclaimed on your genuine costs instead. The calculator updates instantly as you type, with no need to press a button. Figures use the 2026/27 income tax brackets, the 2026/27 ACC earner's levy, and the 2025-2026 IRD kilometre rate, and are indicative only, so confirm your own position with Inland Revenue or a tax agent before filing.

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Verification & Methodology
Income tax: 2026/27 brackets of 10.5% to $15,600, 17.5% to $53,500, 30% to $78,100, 33% to $180,000, and 39% above that, per the Income Tax Act 2007. Driving profit is taxed as the top slice of income, on top of any other income entered.
ACC earner's levy: 1.75% for the 2026/27 levy year, capped at maximum liable earnings of $156,641 (maximum levy $2,741.22) across all income sources combined, per the Accident Compensation Act 2001 and ACC's published levy rates.
GST on listed services: Since 1 April 2024, marketplaces collect 15% GST on ride-share and delivery fares, paying 6.5% to Inland Revenue and passing 8.5% back to unregistered sellers as a flat-rate credit, per Inland Revenue's platform economy (GST on listed services) rules. Registration remains compulsory once turnover passes $60,000 in a rolling 12-month period, under section 51 of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985.
Vehicle kilometre rate: Tier One $1.20/km (business share of the first 14,000 km of total vehicle travel), Tier Two 37 cents/km (business share beyond that), the standard petrol/diesel rate for the 2025-2026 income year, IRD's most recently published figures.
Last verified: 1 July 2026, against current Inland Revenue and ACC published guidance.
Source data: Inland Revenue: GST for the sharing and gig economy, ACC: how levies work, and our own Gig Driver Money Guide and Platform Economy GST guide.
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km
%
$
%
$
$1,781.64
to set aside for income tax and ACC on your driving profit
Vehicle claim (km-rate)$12,796.00
Phone/data claim$660.00
Taxable driving profit$14,544.00
Extra income tax$1,527.12
ACC earner's levy (1.75%)$254.52
Net from driving, after tax and ACC$12,762.36

Your driving income of $28,000.00 is under the $60,000 rolling 12-month GST registration threshold, so you don't need to register. The marketplace still collects 15% GST on your fares ($4,200.00), pays 6.5% ($1,820.00) to Inland Revenue, and passes 8.5% ($2,380.00) back to you as a flat-rate credit, which is yours to keep. You file no GST returns.

Estimate only, based on 2026/27 income tax brackets, the 2026/27 ACC earner's levy, and the 2025-2026 IRD kilometre rate. It does not include a self-employed ACC work levy, student loan repayments, KiwiSaver contributions, or provisional tax instalment timing, which may also apply. This is general information, not tax advice.

What to do next: Once you know roughly what to set aside, the easiest way to stop thinking about it is to automate it. A service like Hnry deducts your income tax and ACC levy from every fare or delivery payment as it lands, handles your GST once you're registered, and files your IR3 for you, so the figures above are already set aside before you can spend them.

How this calculator works

The calculator works out your kilometre-rate vehicle deduction, applying the IRD Tier One rate of $1.20/km to the business share of the first 14,000 km of your vehicle's total travel for the year (business and private combined), then the lower Tier Two rate of 37 cents/km to the business share beyond that. It deducts the business-use share of your phone cost too. Fares minus both deductions gives your taxable driving profit. It then finds the extra income tax that profit creates by comparing tax on your combined income with tax on any other income alone, adds the 1.75% ACC earner's levy, and separately checks your GST position: the 8.5% flat-rate credit if you're unregistered, or zero-rated income with input GST claims once you register.

Worked example

Priya drives for Uber part time. Her fares for the year total $28,000, the GST-exclusive value Uber calculates GST from, well under the $60,000 threshold, so she isn't GST-registered. Her car covers 18,000 km for the year and her logbook shows 70% is driving work. The first 14,000 km of total travel falls in Tier One: 14,000 × 70% = 9,800 business km at $1.20, worth $11,760.00. The remaining 4,000 km falls in Tier Two: 4,000 × 70% = 2,800 business km at 37 cents, worth $1,036.00, for a total vehicle claim of $12,796.00. Her $1,320 annual phone plan is 50% business use, a further $660.00 deduction. Subtracting both from $28,000 leaves a taxable driving profit of $14,544.00.

With no other income, all of that sits in the 10.5% bracket: $14,544 × 10.5% = $1,527.12 of income tax, plus the 1.75% ACC earner's levy of $254.52. She should set aside $1,781.64, leaving $12,762.36 from driving after tax and ACC. Separately, because she's unregistered, Uber's 15% GST on her fares ($4,200.00) splits into $1,820.00 paid to Inland Revenue and a $2,380.00 flat-rate credit paid straight to Priya, hers to keep.

GST on your driving income: the flat-rate credit

Ride-sharing and food or beverage delivery are "listed services" under Inland Revenue's platform economy rules. Since 1 April 2024, the marketplace you drive or deliver for must collect 15% GST on these services whether or not you're personally registered. If you're unregistered, which covers most part-time and casual drivers, the marketplace pays 6.5% of that to Inland Revenue and passes the remaining 8.5% back to you as a flat-rate credit, recognising the GST built into costs like fuel that you can't otherwise claim. You file no GST returns while unregistered, and can choose whether to include the credit as income in your IR3.

If you're GST-registered

Registration becomes compulsory once your turnover passes, or is expected to pass, $60,000 in any rolling 12-month period (21 days to register once you know you'll cross it); voluntary registration below that is allowed. Once registered and you've told the marketplace, your fares become zero-rated, so no GST is charged on them, and you lose the 8.5% credit but regain the ability to claim GST on genuine costs other than the vehicle, which the kilometre-rate method already covers. For example, Tama's fares reach $82,000, so he registers; his fares are zero-rated, and if his GST-inclusive phone and incidental costs (excluding the vehicle) total $2,300, he claims back $2,300 × 3 ÷ 23 = $300.00 through his GST return, a refund since there's no output GST to offset it against.

Income tax on your driving profit

Your driving profit is added to any other income and taxed at New Zealand's ordinary 2026/27 rates: 10.5% up to $15,600, 17.5% to $53,500, 30% to $78,100, 33% to $180,000, and 39% above that. There's no special lower rate for gig income; if you already have a salary, your driving profit stacks on top and is taxed at your marginal rate. You declare it each year in an IR3 after 31 March.

Claiming your vehicle costs: the kilometre-rate method

Most drivers use the IRD kilometre-rate method rather than tracking actual running costs. For the 2025-2026 income year, the standard petrol/diesel Tier One rate is $1.20/km, applied to the business share of the first 14,000 km of the vehicle's total travel (business and private combined), and the Tier Two rate of 37 cents/km applies to the business share beyond that. The rate bundles in fuel, depreciation, insurance and servicing, so none are claimed separately, and no GST adjustment is needed regardless of your GST status. The alternative is the actual-cost method with a logbook-based business-use percentage; pick one method and use it consistently.

Claiming your phone and other costs

Your phone and data plan is usually mixed-use, so only the business-use share is deductible, based on a reasonable estimate of how much is genuinely for driving or delivery work. If you're GST-registered, claim the GST-exclusive cost as your income tax deduction and recover the GST separately through your GST return, which is what this calculator does; if unregistered, the full GST-inclusive cost is your real expense, since you can't claim the GST back at all.

ACC levies for self-employed drivers

Self-employed drivers pay ACC through an annual invoice rather than PAYE: a flat 1.75% earner's levy on liable income for 2026/27, up to $156,641 across all income sources ($2,741.22 maximum), plus a work levy set by your industry classification unit (not included here, since it varies by driving or delivery type) and a small Working Safer levy.

Provisional tax

Provisional tax simply pays next year's income tax in instalments rather than one lump sum, and applies once your residual income tax exceeds $5,000 in a year. For a standard 31 March balance date the instalments fall on 28 August, 15 January and 7 May, with terminal tax generally due 7 February (7 April through a tax agent). This typically catches up with drivers moving from casual to full-time income.

What this calculator assumes

  • 2026/27 income tax brackets and the 1.75% ACC earner's levy, capped at $156,641 of combined liable earnings.
  • The standard petrol/diesel IRD kilometre rate for 2025-2026: $1.20 Tier One, 37 cents Tier Two, split at 14,000 km of total travel. Diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles have slightly different published rates.
  • The 15% GST, 6.5%/8.5% marketplace split (since 1 April 2024), and the $60,000 rolling 12-month GST registration threshold.
  • No self-employed ACC work levy, student loan repayments, or KiwiSaver contributions, which may also apply to you.
  • Results are indicative and rounded for display; confirm your actual position with Inland Revenue or a tax agent.

Who this calculator is for

Built for anyone driving or delivering through a New Zealand platform: Uber, Ola, Zoomy and DiDi drivers, and Uber Eats, DoorDash and Delivereasy couriers, whether platform income is your only income or sits alongside a main job. It suits someone starting out who wants to know what to set aside from their first payment, and an established driver checking their position against the $60,000 GST threshold or the $5,000 provisional tax trigger.

Related calculators

Official NZ sources

This calculator is built from primary New Zealand sources. Always confirm current figures against the official source for your situation:

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to register for GST as an Uber, DiDi or delivery driver?

Not automatically. GST registration is only compulsory once your turnover from driving or delivering is, or is expected to be, more than $60,000 in any rolling 12-month period, the same threshold that applies to any other business, under section 51 of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985. Below that you can register voluntarily, but most part-time and casual drivers are not registered and do not need to be.

Do I still pay GST if I'm not registered myself?

Yes, but you don't do anything about it. Since 1 April 2024, the online marketplace you drive or deliver for, such as Uber, Ola, DiDi, Uber Eats or DoorDash, must collect 15% GST on every listed service regardless of your own registration status. It pays 6.5% of that to Inland Revenue and passes the remaining 8.5% back to you as a flat-rate credit, which is yours to keep.

What is the 8.5% flat-rate credit?

It is the portion of the 15% GST collected on your fares or delivery fees that the marketplace passes back to you if you are not GST-registered. It is designed to recognise the GST built into your business costs, such as fuel and vehicle expenses, that you cannot otherwise claim back because you are not registered. You can choose whether or not to include the flat-rate credit as income in your IR3.

How much income tax will I pay on my driving profit?

Your driving profit, which is your fares or delivery fees minus your deductible vehicle, phone and other business costs, is added to any other income you have and taxed at New Zealand's 2026/27 marginal rates: 10.5% up to $15,600, 17.5% up to $53,500, 30% up to $78,100, 33% up to $180,000, and 39% above that. There is no separate flat rate just because it is platform or gig income.

Can I claim my vehicle running costs?

Yes, using either the IRD kilometre-rate method or the actual-cost method with a logbook, but you must pick one and use it consistently. Under the kilometre-rate method for the 2025-2026 income year, the business share of the first 14,000 km of the vehicle's total travel is claimed at the Tier One rate of $1.20 per km, and the business share of any travel beyond 14,000 km is claimed at the lower Tier Two rate of 37 cents per km. The rate already includes fuel, depreciation, insurance and servicing, so you do not separately claim those costs or adjust for GST on the vehicle.

Can I claim my phone bill?

Yes, to the extent it is used for driving or delivery work. If your phone and data plan is genuinely part business and part personal, you can only claim the business-use share, based on a reasonable estimate of how much you use it for the platform app compared with personal use. If you are GST-registered, you claim the GST-exclusive cost as your expense and recover the GST component separately through your GST return.

Do rideshare and delivery drivers pay ACC levies?

Yes. As a self-employed driver you pay your own ACC levies through an annual CoverPlus invoice rather than through PAYE. This includes the earner's levy, a flat 1.75% of your liable income for 2026/27 up to maximum liable earnings of $156,641, plus a work levy that depends on your classification unit, and a small Working Safer levy.

What happens once my tax bill passes $5,000 (provisional tax)?

If your residual income tax for a year, meaning the tax left owing after any tax already paid or deducted, is more than $5,000, you must pay provisional tax for the following year in instalments rather than as one lump sum. For a standard 31 March balance date the instalment dates are 28 August, 15 January and 7 May. This commonly happens once full-time driving income builds up, so it pays to plan for it early.