ATO Car Expenses for Food Delivery Drivers (2025-26)

Food delivery is not rideshare: different GST rules

Rideshare drivers (Uber, Ola, DiDi) must register for GST from the first dollar of income, regardless of total earnings, under section 144-5 of the GST Act. That mandatory rule does not apply to food delivery. Uber Eats, DoorDash, Menulog, and Deliveroo drivers are subject to the standard ATO small-supplier threshold: GST registration is required only once annual turnover from all sources reaches $75,000.

Most part-time delivery drivers earn well below $75,000 a year from the platforms and are not required to register, charge GST on their earnings, or file Business Activity Statements. The ATO confirms this distinction in its guidance on ride-sourcing versus courier services at ato.gov.au. If your delivery income is approaching $75,000, track the total across all sources before you cross the threshold.

Which ATO car expense method applies

Cents-per-km: 91 cents per business kilometre for 2026-27 (from 1 July 2026), capped at 5,000 km per car per financial year (1 July to 30 June). The maximum deduction under this method is $4,550 per car. No receipts are required for fuel, insurance, or maintenance - those costs are treated as covered by the rate.

Logbook: requires a 12-week representative log of all trips plus receipts for actual vehicle expenses over the full year. No kilometre cap. Drivers regularly exceeding 5,000 business km per year typically claim a much larger deduction under the logbook method.

Drivers completing 25 or more hours of deliveries per week will almost certainly exceed 5,000 km and should start a 12-week logbook as soon as practical. The 12-week period can be any representative stretch of your typical delivery schedule.

What counts as a deductible delivery trip

Driving from your previous delivery address (or your home if home is your base of operations) to a restaurant after accepting an order.

Driving from the restaurant to the customer's delivery address.

Repositioning between deliveries to a higher-demand zone.

Driving to your first pickup of the shift, if your home qualifies as your base of operations under ATO guidelines.

The first pickup drive is not automatically deductible. If your home is genuinely where you organise your delivery work and store your supplies, the ATO is more likely to accept it as a business base. Keep notes documenting this arrangement.

ABN and tax reporting

You need an Australian Business Number to work as a delivery contractor. Apply through the Australian Business Register at abr.gov.au. Report delivery income as business income on your myTax individual return, not as wages. Car expenses are deducted on the business schedule - not on the work-related car expenses section (D1), which applies only to employees.

Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Menulog each provide annual income summaries. Combine all platform earnings on the one business schedule for the financial year. Keep records for five years from the date of lodgement.