Uber fees and GST (before 01 Dec 2017)

Treatment for GST on Uber fees changed on Dec 1st 2017. This means you need to report fees differently before and after Dec 1st 2017. This article covers the guidelines for Uber fees before December 1st only (for guidelines for after Dec 1st 2017, please see here).

When you connect with Airtax and Uber

Airtax imports your income and for expenses which occurred after Dec 2017, we will import them too.

The general tax treatment for Uber income and expenses

As an Uber driver partner, the general treatment for your BAS is as follows. 

The number in the Fare line item on your Uber Payment Statement is your gross income and that should go into the income section of your BAS.

Any negative numbers on your Payment Statement, treat as follows:

• If you have paid money in respect of the item, you can claim this as an expense (as long as the item contains GST). This includes tolls, surcharges and some fees.
• If you did not pay any money in respect of the item, you cannot claim this as an expense
• Your Uber fee is not an expense and you cannot claim it in your BAS (please note this changed after Dec 1st 2017.

The following items are not expenses and cannot be claimed in the expenses of your BAS

• Fees or fee deductions
• Fares (confirm what the rider fee is)
• Adjustments
• Surges
• Cancellations
• Uber fees (pre-Dec 2017 only)

If you are doing a BAS for the Oct - Dec 2017 lodgement period

• Uber fees for Oct and Nov cannot be claimed as an expense because they did not contain GST before Dec 1st 2017.
• Uber fees for Dec can be claimed as an expense because they contained GST after Dec 1st 2017

The following items are not expenses and cannot be claimed in the expenses of your BAS

• Fees or fee deductions
• Fares 
• Adjustments
• Surges
• Cancellations
• Uber fees

When you connect your Uber driver account with Airtax, we will automatically apply the correct tax treatment for any BAS for Oct - Dec 2017 and earlier.

Why is the income number in Airtax different to the Uber income I see in my bank account?

This is because your Uber income in Airtax includes everything that Uber pays to you in total before the deductions are made (this is called gross income). The number in your bank account reflects the number that you receive (net income) after Uber has made all of its deductions. The income number in Airtax will usually be higher than the income number in your bank account.