Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart Driver Taxes in Canada
This spoke hangs off the tax-aware income guide. The $30,000 tests, in full, are side-hustle taxes. If the platform calls you a contractor and sets your hours like an employer, read employee versus contractor before you file a T2125. Benefit clawbacks from the extra income are side income and clawbacks.
- Since July 1, 2017, self-employed commercial rideshare drivers register, charge, report, and remit GST/HST regardless of the small-supplier threshold.
- Delivery services stay on the $30,000 test. Combined rideshare-plus-delivery sales under $30,000: collect on the rides, and you may choose to extend registration to delivery.
- GST/HST on a taxi or rideshare fare is usually included in the fare. You back the tax out. You do not add it on top of a fare that already contains it.
- Place of supply sets the rate: 13% HST in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, and 5% GST in the other provinces and territories.
- Self-employed CPP in 2026 maxes at $8,460.90, plus up to $832 of the second additional contribution. EI is not withheld for you.
Do you register before you have earned $30,000?
CRA's registration page treats a self-employed driver who supplies taxable commercial ride-sharing as a taxi business. You register even if you are a small supplier. The effective date is the day you start supplying taxable passenger transportation. CRA's information sheet GI-196 says that rule has applied since July 1, 2017. If you own the car, lease it for a flat fee, or lease it for a percentage of fares, CRA's page says you are usually self-employed. An employee of a taxi company is a different relationship. If you are unsure, ask for a ruling on Form CPT1.
Delivery is not that deeming rule. CRA's revised tax tip on ridesharing and delivery says a delivery driver registers when sales exceed the small-supplier threshold. Input tax credits are available to registrants on GST/HST paid for the delivery business. The ordinary tests, including the 29-day registration window, are the side-hustle article.
| Work | GST/HST registration | Income tax |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial rideshare only | Mandatory from the first fare, even under $30,000 | Form T2125 |
| Delivery only | When taxable supplies cross $30,000, on the usual small-supplier tests | Form T2125 |
| Both, and combined taxable sales are still under $30,000 | Collect on rideshare. You may extend registration to the other activity. | Form T2125 for the business income |
| Both, and combined taxable sales exceed $30,000 | Collect on rideshare and on the other taxable sales | Form T2125 |
Table as of October 2026. Source: CRA tax tip on ridesharing and delivery services, and CRA's taxi and ride-sharing page. "Combined" means your taxable sales, not one app's dashboard.
Which rate is inside the fare?
For a passenger transportation service supplied by a taxi operator or a commercial rideshare driver, CRA says the GST/HST is usually already included in the fare. You calculate the tax included in the amount you received. You do not add 13% on top of a fare the rider already paid as an all-in price. Delivery charges follow the place-of-supply rules once you are registered. The rate is the province where the supply is made.
| Place of supply | GST/HST |
|---|---|
| Ontario | 13% HST |
| Nova Scotia | 14% HST (from April 1, 2025) |
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island | 15% HST |
| Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon | 5% GST |
Table as of October 2026. Source: CRA, GST/HST calculator and rates, and the place-of-supply overview. Quebec charges QST on top of the 5% GST under its own rules. British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan have provincial sales taxes that are not HST. If you drive across a border, the place of supply is not "wherever I started the car."
A rider pays $33.90 all-in for a trip in Ontario, and that amount includes 13% HST. The tax-included fraction is 13/113. Tax in the fare is $33.90 × 13/113 = $3.90. The revenue before tax is $30.00. You remit the $3.90, minus allowable input tax credits, on the GST/HST return. You report the $30, not the $33.90, as the fare on the income side, and you still deal with the platform's fee as an expense or as a reduction, using the statement the app actually gives you. This is arithmetic, not your weekly deposit.
What can you deduct, and what must you track?
CRA expects a log if you use a vehicle for business. Kilometres for paid trips, kilometres for the whole year, and the costs that belong to the car: fuel, insurance, maintenance, and the business portion of parking. A per-kilometre allowance rate is published for employees and for certain automobile allowances. This article does not quote that rate, because a self-employed driver usually claims actual expenses times the business portion, and the allowance rate is the wrong shortcut unless you have confirmed it applies to you. Keep the log during the year. Reconstructing it in April is how claims get reduced.
Phone plans, hot bags, and a portion of data can be expenses to the extent they earn the income. A meal you eat because you were in the car is not automatically a business meal. The platform's commission is a cost. GST/HST you are required to remit is not a cost you get to keep.
Platform operators report seller activity to CRA. You still report gross fares, fees, and expenses. If two apps each send a statement, your books are the sum, minus anything counted twice. The reporting rules are summarized in the side-hustle article.
Frequently asked questions
I only drove on weekends. Do I still register?
If the weekend work was taxable commercial rideshare and you were self-employed, yes. CRA's threshold exception is about the kind of supply, not the number of hours. Delivery-only weekend work stays on the $30,000 test.
The app already added tax. Do I add it again?
No. If the fare includes GST/HST, you extract the included tax. Adding the rate on top would tax the rider twice and overstate your revenue. Use the app's tax summary if it shows included tax, and reconcile it to the fares. You remain responsible for what is remitted.
Can I use a quick method?
CRA says a taxi or rideshare driver calculates net tax by the regular method or the quick method. The quick method uses a set remittance rate and limits input tax credits. This page does not quote those rates. Read the current quick-method page for your reporting period before you elect it. An election is not the default.
Do I pay EI?
Not as an employee deduction. A self-employed driver is not in the regular EI program. You can apply for special benefits coverage. This page does not quote that premium. CPP is not optional: both the worker share and the employer share are yours, up to the 2026 maximums above.
What if I am actually an employee?
Then you should have a T4, and the company withholds. A contract that says "independent contractor" does not settle it. The factors are the employee-versus-contractor article. Either party can request a CPP/EI ruling on Form CPT1.
Sources
- CRA: when to register, including taxi and ride-sharing
- CRA: GI-196, commercial ride-sharing
- CRA: tax tip, ridesharing and delivery
- CRA: taxi operators and commercial ride-sharing drivers
- CRA: GST/HST rates by province
The fare includes tax you may not get to keep.
T2125 expenses and GST returns are the unglamorous half of app income. The 2026 tax guide is that half.
Get the 2026 Tax Guide — $49 CAD
