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Menulog shut down in Australia on 26 November 2025 — but it operated inside FY2025-26, so that income still goes on the return you lodge now. Here's how to do it without the app.
Last updated: July 2026·Sources: Just Eat Takeaway.com closure announcement (12 Nov 2025), ATO (Sharing Economy Reporting Regime guidance 3 Jun 2026, cents-per-km determination)
Yes. Menulog ceased trading at midnight on 26 November 2025, which sits inside the 2025-26 financial year — so everything you earned from 1 July 2025 until closure belongs on the FY2025-26 return you lodge now, and so does the four-week voluntary closure payment eligible couriers received. The platform is gone, but the ATO still holds the earnings data Menulog reported under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime, so leaving it off creates a visible gap. Rebuild your figures from bank statements if you no longer have app records. You can still claim the normal deductions for those months — 88c/km for FY2025-26 (max 5,000 km) or a logbook, plus the service fee, phone %, and delivery bag. If you moved to Uber Eats or DoorDash, it all goes on one return as a single sole-trader business. Due 31 October 2026 if you self-lodge.
The Australian tax year runs 1 July 2025 → 30 June 2026. Menulog traded for the first five months of it. That is why a platform that no longer exists is still on the return you are lodging in this July-to-October window — and why plenty of ex-couriers are about to forget it.
Just Eat Takeaway.com announced on 12 November 2025 that it was exiting the Australian market, and Menulog ceased operations at midnight on 26 November 2025 after around 20 years. Roughly 120 employeeswere made redundant with packages above the legal minimum, and thousands of couriers lost a source of income with about two weeks' notice.
Menulog held close to a quarter of the Australian food-delivery market, behind Uber Eats at roughly 54% and ahead of DoorDash at about 15%. Most of that demand moved to the two remaining platforms — which is why so many ex-Menulog couriers have a FY2025-26 return that spans two or three different apps.
Menulog offered eligible couriers a voluntary payment worth about four weeks of average earnings, with eligibility based on criteria such as having worked for around six months and having completed a delivery in the final eight weeks. It was a genuine gesture — but it is assessable income, not a tax-free gift.
Because couriers were independent contractors rather than employees, this is not employment termination pay and none of the concessional redundancy tax treatment applies. Declare it as business income in the year you received it — FY2025-26 for almost everyone — together with your ordinary delivery earnings. If your payment was unusual in timing or structure, check the treatment with a registered tax agent before lodging.
Bank statements (best source)
Filter for Menulog deposits from 1 July 2025 through the final payment run after 26 November 2025, and total them. Note that these are net of the service fee.
Saved app statements
Weekly or monthly summaries you downloaded before closure show gross earnings and the fee — the cleanest evidence if you kept them.
Your ATO online account
Platform-reported data under SERR can surface in myGov during the lodgement period. Useful as a cross-check against your own total.
A short working note
Write down how you built the figure and keep it with the evidence for five years. Reasonable, documented estimates are defensible; guesses are not.
If your bank total is net of Menulog's service fee, remember the ATO expects gross income declared with the fee claimed as a deduction. The taxable result is the same, but the presentation matters if you are ever reviewed.
🚗 Vehicle — for the months you delivered
Cents per km: 88c × business km for FY2025-26, capped at 5,000 km ($4,400 max). The rate rises to 91c for FY2026-27 from 1 July 2026 (max $4,550) — relevant to whichever platform you moved to.
Logbook: business-use % × actual costs. One logbook can cover Menulog and whatever you switched to — it is your car, not the platform, that is being apportioned.
Menulog service fee
The commission taken from your fares is deductible even though the platform is gone.
Phone plan
Business use % for the period you were delivering — keep a diary or reasonable estimate.
Insulated bag & gear
Deductible if bought for delivery work. Still claimable even though Menulog closed.
Bike costs
If you delivered by bicycle: servicing, tyres, tubes, chain, lock, lights, helmet.
Accountant fees
Deductible in the year paid — worth it if your year spans several platforms.
Your gig work is one sole-trader business, so it is one return: Menulog income from July to November 2025 plus your new platform's income from November onward, added together. You do not lodge per platform, and you do not need separate ABNs.
One trap worth knowing: if you moved to rideshare (Uber X, DiDi, Ola) rather than food delivery, GST registration became compulsory from your first fare — the $75,000 threshold that covered your Menulog work does not apply to carrying passengers. Once registered, all your gig income goes on a quarterly BAS. Couriers who switched to Uber Eats or DoorDash stay under the $75,000 delivery threshold and generally have no GST obligation.
Add up your Menulog months plus whatever you switched to, enter your km, and get an ATO-aligned 2025-26 estimate.
Gig tax calculator →Yes. Menulog operated until midnight on 26 November 2025, which falls inside the 2025-26 financial year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026). That means every dollar you earned delivering for Menulog between 1 July and 26 November 2025 belongs on the FY2025-26 tax return you lodge now. A platform shutting down does not cancel the obligation, and it does not withdraw the data already reported to the ATO under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime. If you leave it off, the ATO's data-matching will show a gap between what Menulog reported and what you declared.
Work from your own records. The most reliable source is your bank statements: filter for Menulog payments between 1 July 2025 and the final payment run after 26 November 2025, and total them. If you downloaded weekly or monthly statements from the courier app before it closed, use those, as they show gross earnings before the service fee. You can also check your ATO online account via myGov later in the lodgement period, since platform-reported data sometimes appears there. Keep whatever you rely on — bank exports, screenshots, emails — as your substantiation for five years, along with a short note explaining how you built the figure.
Yes. Eligible couriers received a voluntary payment based on roughly four weeks of average earnings when Menulog wound up. Because it was paid to you in connection with your work as a contractor, it is assessable income in the year you received it — for most couriers that is FY2025-26, alongside your ordinary delivery earnings. It is not a tax-free windfall and it is not redundancy pay in the employment sense, because couriers were contractors rather than employees. Declare it as business income with the rest of your Menulog earnings. If you are unsure how a specific payment you received should be treated, confirm it with a registered tax agent.
You lodge one tax return that includes all of it. Your gig work is a single sole-trader business, so Menulog income from July to November 2025 and Uber Eats or DoorDash income from November 2025 onward are simply added together as business income for FY2025-26. You do not file separately per platform. The same applies to deductions: your car, phone and equipment costs run across the whole year regardless of which app you were using, so keep one set of records. This is also why a single logbook covering the year works — it captures business use across every platform you drove for.
Only if you have genuinely stopped all business activity. If you moved to Uber Eats, DoorDash or any other gig platform, keep the ABN — you still need it. If you have stopped gig work entirely and do not intend to return, you can cancel your ABN through the Australian Business Register, and cancel GST registration if you had registered. Do not cancel before you lodge, and if you were GST-registered you must finalise any outstanding BAS first. A dormant ABN is not penalised, so if you might pick up gig work again it is usually simpler to leave it active than to cancel and reapply.
All the normal food-delivery deductions, apportioned to the period you were actually working. Vehicle costs are the big one: either the cents-per-km method at 88c per kilometre for FY2025-26 (capped at 5,000 business km, so $4,400 maximum), or a logbook giving your business-use percentage of real running costs. You can also claim the Menulog service fee deducted from your fares, the business percentage of your phone plan, your insulated delivery bag, bike maintenance if you delivered by bicycle, parking and tolls incurred while delivering, and accountant fees. The platform closing does not affect deductibility — what matters is that the expense was incurred earning that income.
Usually not. Food delivery is not classified as taxi travel by the ATO, so the ordinary $75,000 turnover threshold applied — unlike rideshare, where GST registration is compulsory from the first fare. Most Menulog couriers never approached $75,000 in total gig turnover and so had no GST obligation. The exception is if you also did rideshare (Uber X, DiDi, Ola): that forces GST registration from your first rideshare fare, and once registered, all your gig income including Menulog delivery goes onto your quarterly BAS. If that was your situation, make sure your final BAS for the period is lodged.
If you lodge yourself through myTax, the FY2025-26 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 into 2027 — but you need to be on the agent's client list before 31 October 2026 to get that extension. Late lodgement attracts penalties that accrue per 28-day period, so lodge on time even if you cannot pay immediately; the ATO treats a late lodgement and a payment difficulty as separate problems, and payment plans are available once the return is in.
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