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Complete ATO guide for Australian DiDi rideshare drivers: why GST starts at your first fare, the quarterly BAS, every deduction you can claim, and what you'll actually owe at tax time.
Last updated: July 2026·Sources: ATO (ride-sourcing and GST, Sharing Economy Reporting Regime guidance 3 Jun 2026, cents-per-km determination FY2026-27), DiDi Australia driver requirements
Set aside 25–30% of every payout on top of the 1/11th of each fare you remit as GST — rideshare is GST-registered from the first fare, and this guide walks you through the ABN, the BAS and every deduction step by step.
DiDi income is business income taxed at your marginal rate — nothing is withheld, so you pay it after lodging or via quarterly PAYG instalments. Because rideshare is ride-sourcing, GST registration is compulsory from your very first fare — the $75,000 threshold that applies to food delivery does not apply, and DiDi requires a valid ABN plus proof of GST registration before you can drive. You remit 1/11th of every fare as GST and lodge a quarterly BAS. Claim car costs at 88c/km for your FY2025-26 return (rising to 91c/km for FY2026-27 from 1 July 2026) up to 5,000 km, or use a 12-week logbook — which is usually far better for full-time drivers. Set aside 25-30% for income tax on top of the GST you collect. Your FY2025-26 return is due 31 October 2026 if you self-lodge.
The ATO treats carrying passengers for a fare as taxi travel, and taxi travel is carved out of the normal $75,000 GST threshold. So a DiDi driver earning $2,000 a year is legally required to be GST-registered, while an Uber Eats courier earning $30,000 is not. Register for GST when you get your ABN — DiDi will ask for proof before activating your account.
The passenger pays a fare. DiDi takes its service fee, then pays you the rest. For tax, your gross income is the full fare — not just the amount that lands in your bank — and the DiDi service fee becomes a deduction. Because you're GST-registered, 1/11th of that gross fare is GSTthat you collect on the ATO's behalf and remit on your quarterly BAS. It was never your income, so don't spend it.
Example trip
$33.00
Gross fare
−$3.00
GST (1/11th) to ATO
−$6.00
DiDi fee (deductible)
$24.00
Yours (before other costs)
Declare $33 as income, remit $3 GST on your BAS, claim $6 as an expense — then apply your car and other deductions.
Download your DiDi tax summary each financial year. It sets out gross fares, service fees, and any incentives or bonuses paid. Keep it, along with your logbook and receipts, for five years.
Under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR), rideshare and delivery platforms — DiDi, Uber, Uber Eats, DoorDash and others — report every driver's transaction data directly to the ATO. In guidance updated 3 June 2026, the ATO confirmed this income does not pre-fill into your return: you must add it yourself when you lodge, as business income against your ABN.
The ATO then data-matches the platform's report against your lodged return and issues discrepancy notices where they don't line up. So declare 100% of your gross fares, then reduce the tax the legitimate way — by claiming the DiDi service fee, your car costs, and every other deduction you're entitled to.
🚗 Your car — pick one method
Logbook: 12-week logbook → business-use % × all car costs (fuel, insurance, rego, servicing, tyres, depreciation, loan interest). Almost always better for full-time drivers.
Cents per km: 88c × km for FY2025-26 (max 5,000 km = $4,400). Rises to 91c for FY2026-27 (max $4,550). No logbook, but you must justify the estimate.
DiDi service fee
The commission deducted from every fare — fully deductible.
CPV authority & checks
Commercial Passenger Vehicle authority, state levies, medical and police checks.
Phone plan
Business use % (keep a 4-week diary). 50–80% typical for active drivers.
Passenger amenities & cleaning
Water, tissues, chargers, car washes and detailing between shifts.
Parking & tolls
Incurred while working — not travel from home to your starting area.
Income protection insurance
Full premium if held outside super and covering driving income.
Accountant fees
Fully deductible in the year paid — including BAS preparation.
| Rule | DiDi (rideshare) | Uber Eats (delivery) |
|---|---|---|
| GST registration | Mandatory from $1 | $75K threshold |
| GST on earnings | 1/11th of each fare | None until registered |
| BAS required | Yes — quarterly | Only if GST-registered |
| ABN required | Yes | Yes |
| CPV authority | Yes — passenger transport | No |
| Super paid by platform | None | None |
| ATO data match (SERR) | Yes | Yes |
Doing both on one car? You must be GST-registered for everything, and you should keep records that let you split vehicle costs sensibly between rideshare and delivery.
Rideshare drivers get caught twice: once by the quarterly BAS, once by the annual tax bill. Put 1/11th of every fare aside for GST the moment it lands — that money is the ATO's, not yours — and another 25% for income tax. Your deductions (especially the logbook) will claw a lot of the second bucket back at year-end, but a driver who spends the GST is starting each quarter in a hole.
Enter your DiDi fares, estimated km, and other income for an ATO-aligned 2025-26 tax estimate.
DiDi tax calculator →Yes — from your very first fare. The ATO classifies rideshare (ride-sourcing) as taxi travel, and taxi travel is excluded from the normal $75,000 GST registration threshold.
That means a DiDi driver who earns $500 in a year must still be GST-registered, while an Uber Eats courier earning $30,000 from food delivery does not have to be. DiDi enforces this: you must supply a valid ABN and proof of GST registration before your driver account is activated.
Once registered you charge GST on fares (1/11th of the gross fare), claim GST credits on business expenses, and lodge a Business Activity Statement each quarter.
Yes. Under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR), rideshare and delivery platforms report driver transaction data directly to the ATO.
The ATO's guidance updated 3 June 2026 confirms this income is not pre-filled into your return — you must add it yourself when you lodge, as business income against your ABN. The ATO then data-matches the platform's report against what you declared and follows up on discrepancies.
Practically, every dollar you earn on DiDi is already visible to the ATO, so the way to legitimately reduce your tax is to claim every deduction you're entitled to, not to leave income off the return.
Two ATO-approved methods. (1) Cents per km — 88c per kilometre for the FY2025-26 return you lodge now, capped at 5,000 business km ($4,400 maximum). The rate rises to 91c per kilometre for FY2026-27 from 1 July 2026 (max $4,550).
No logbook needed, but you must be able to show how you estimated the kilometres. (2) Logbook method — keep a 12-week logbook of every trip, work out your business-use percentage, then apply it to all actual car costs: fuel, insurance, registration, servicing, tyres, depreciation and loan interest. Most full-time DiDi drivers travel far more than 5,000 km a year, so the logbook method usually produces a much larger deduction — often two to three times bigger.
Deductible DiDi expenses include: the DiDi service fee or commission taken from each fare, your Commercial Passenger Vehicle (CPV) authority and any state licensing levies, medical and police background checks required to drive, the business percentage of your phone plan (keep a four-week diary), phone mount and charger, car cleaning and detailing between shifts, passenger amenities you provide (water, tissues, phone chargers), parking and tolls incurred while working, income protection insurance held outside super, and accountant or tax agent fees. You cannot claim the cost of travelling from home to the area where you start accepting trips, ordinary clothing, or fines and infringements.
DiDi income is business income taxed at your marginal rate, combined with any other income you earn — there is no separate rideshare tax rate. Your taxable income is gross fares minus the DiDi service fee minus your other deductions.
Because no tax is withheld from your payments, you either pay it as a lump sum after lodging or via quarterly PAYG instalments once the ATO puts you into that system. A practical rule: set aside 25-30% of every payment into a separate account for tax, plus the GST you collect (1/11th of fares), which is never really your money.
Remember the tax-free threshold ($18,200) applies across all your income, not per job.
The single biggest difference is GST. DiDi rideshare carries passengers, so it is ride-sourcing and GST registration is compulsory from the first dollar, with a quarterly BAS.
Uber Eats is food delivery, which is not taxi travel, so GST is only required once total gig turnover passes $75,000 a year — most couriers never reach it. Everything else is broadly the same: both need an ABN, both are contractor income with no super paid by the platform, both are reported to the ATO under SERR, and both use the same car deduction methods.
If you do rideshare and delivery on the same car, you must be GST-registered for everything and should keep records that let you split vehicle costs sensibly between the two activities.
No. DiDi drivers are independent contractors, not employees, so no employer superannuation guarantee is paid on your behalf. If you want super, you have to contribute yourself — personal contributions to your own fund, which you may be able to claim as a tax deduction by lodging a notice of intent to claim with your super fund.
This is one of the most commonly overlooked parts of gig work: a full-time driver who never contributes can finish a decade of driving with no retirement savings from that work at all. Even modest regular contributions, made deductible, reduce your tax bill while building super.
The Australian tax year runs 1 July to 30 June. For FY2025-26 (the year ended 30 June 2026), if you lodge yourself through myTax the return is due 31 October 2026, with any tax owing payable by 21 November 2026.
If you use a registered tax agent, lodgement is generally extended — but you must be on the agent's books before 31 October to get the extension. Separately, once you are GST-registered you must lodge a quarterly BAS throughout the year, typically due 28 days after each quarter ends.
Missing BAS deadlines attracts penalties independently of your income tax return.
Log every fare, set GST aside automatically, track deductible km, and chat with Felix — your AI CFO — about rideshare tax questions. Free on iOS and Android.
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