Expenses for gig workers (2025-26)

Summary

Gig workers in 2025-26 can claim a lot of expenses, especially vehicle costs, phone, kit and platform-related costs, but you must separate business use from personal use and choose between mileage or actual vehicle costs, not both.

For most Uber / Amazon Flex drivers using their own car, HMRC's simplified mileage rates (45p/25p per mile in 2025-26) are often simpler and usually competitive, while many Deliveroo riders on bikes mainly claim kit, phone and small travel costs.

Forums and TikTok often get it wrong by double-claiming (mileage plus fuel/insurance), treating all food as deductible, or assuming Uber's 25% service fee is a separate expense when in practice it is already taken off the payout figure you see.

Key facts (UK 2025-26)

• The 2025-26 tax year runs from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.
• For 2025-26, HMRC's simplified expenses mileage rates for self-employed people are:
  • Cars and goods vehicles: 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles.
  • Cars and goods vehicles: 25p per mile for business miles over 10,000.
  • Motorcycles: 24p per mile.
• If you use the mileage rates, you cannot also claim actual running costs for that vehicle (fuel, repairs, insurance, MOT, tax, etc.), those are treated as covered by the mileage amount.
• If you choose actual vehicle costs, you can claim a business share of fuel, insurance, MOT, servicing, repairs, tyres, breakdown cover, road tax, and interest on vehicle finance, but you cannot then also claim mileage for that vehicle.
• HMRC says you can claim car, van and travel expenses such as vehicle insurance, repairs and servicing, fuel, parking, hire charges, vehicle tax, and breakdown cover, but not private use, fines, or travel between home and your regular base.
• Meals are only allowable as subsistence when linked to overnight travel or certain temporary business journeys; day-to-day food on a normal route is usually not deductible for gig workers.
• Protective clothing (for example a hi-vis vest or a cycling helmet) can be allowable, but everyday clothes (jeans, trainers, ordinary coat) are not.
• Cleaning costs for your vehicle (for example car wash, cleaning products used because you carry passengers or parcels) can be allowable if linked to the business.

Legislation, case law, regulation

• Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005: core law on how trading profits are calculated for self-employed gig workers.
• Income Tax Act 2007: general income tax framework, including relief for expenses incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade.
• HMRC Helpsheet HS222, How to calculate your taxable profits (2025): explains allowable and disallowable expenses, simplified expenses, and private-use adjustments.
• HMRC guidance, Simplified expenses if you're self-employed: sets the mileage rates and rules for vehicles and other flat-rate calculations.
• HMRC guidance, Expenses if you're self-employed: Car, van and travel: lists allowable and non-allowable travel costs.

How it actually works

1. The basic rule: "wholly and exclusively"

For self-employed gig workers, an expense is generally allowable if it is wholly and exclusively for the business. If something has both business and personal use (for example your car or phone), you can only claim the business proportion.

2. Vehicle costs, two methods

You must choose between:

• A. Simplified mileage (flat rate): claim a fixed amount per business mile for cars / vans / bikes.
• B. Actual costs: claim the business share of real costs (fuel, insurance, repairs etc.).

You cannot switch back and forth for the same vehicle from year to year. Once you use simplified mileage, you generally stick with it for that vehicle.

A. Simplified mileage rates (2025-26)

• Cars and vans: First 10,000 business miles at 45p per mile. Miles above 10,000 at 25p per mile.
• Motorcycles: 24p per mile for all business miles.

This rate is meant to cover:

• fuel or electricity;
• servicing and repairs;
• MOT;
• road tax;
• insurance;
• wear and tear and general running costs.

If you use mileage, you can still separately claim parking fees and tolls for business journeys, but not fuel or insurance.

B. Actual vehicle costs

If you go this route, you can claim the business proportion of:

• Fuel or electricity.
• Vehicle insurance (including hire-and-reward / courier insurance).
• Road tax.
• MOT, servicing, repairs, tyres.
• Breakdown cover (AA/RAC).
• Cleaning and valeting costs.
• Interest on vehicle loans or finance.
• Lease or hire charges (subject to limits for high-emission cars).

You must:

• keep receipts for these costs;
• keep a mileage log so you can work out what percentage of total miles is business;
• apply that percentage to your total annual vehicle costs.

You do not also claim mileage if you choose this method. That would be double-counting.

3. Category by category, is it deductible?

Below is a plain-English summary for a typical Uber / Amazon Flex driver and Deliveroo rider in 2025-26, assuming UK HMRC rules.

Vehicle costs

Fuel / electricity:

• If using mileage: not separately deductible (already covered by mileage rate).
• If using actual costs: partially deductible (business proportion).

Insurance (including hire-and-reward / courier cover):

• Mileage: not separately deductible.
• Actual costs: partially deductible (business proportion).

MOT, servicing, repairs, tyres, breakdown:

• Mileage: not separately deductible.
• Actual costs: partially deductible.

Car wash and cleaning products:

• Mileage: only claimable if you treat them separately as cleaning expenses and do not double-count general vehicle running; safer to treat as part of vehicle running if you're on actual costs.
• Actual costs: partially or fully deductible if cleaning is for business (for example cleaning car because you carry passengers or parcels).

Finance interest / loan interest for vehicle:

• Mileage: not separately deductible (mileage rate is meant to cover running costs, though some accountants say interest can be separate, you should take advice if large).
• Actual costs: partially deductible (business proportion).

Vehicle purchase cost: Usually not an immediate expense; handled via capital allowances or treated differently under cash basis (cars restricted). You do not just write off the whole car in one year for most people.

Phone and data

Phone contract and data: Partially deductible. Claim a reasonable business proportion (for example 70% business, 30% personal based on actual use).

Phone purchase: Can be treated as capital or revenue depending on method; again only the business proportion is deductible.

You cannot claim 100% unless you have a phone used purely for the business, which is rare.

Equipment

• Delivery bag / thermal bag: fully deductible if used for delivery work.
• Phone mount, charger, power bank: fully or partially deductible depending on business use; generally treated as business equipment for gig work.
• Hi-vis vest, reflective gear: fully deductible, as this is protective gear for the job.
• Cycling helmet, lights, lock: generally allowable as protective / security gear for a cycling courier.

Food and drink (subsistence)

• Day-to-day food and drink while working your normal patch is almost never allowable. HMRC treats this as private living cost.
• Meals on an overnight trip away from your normal area can be allowable subsistence.
• For most Uber / Deliveroo / Amazon Flex work, trips are same-day, so standard meals and snacks are not deductible.

Clothing

• Hi-vis / branded uniform items that are not everyday wear: usually allowable.
• Ordinary clothes (jeans, T-shirts, trainers, generic coat): not allowable, even if you only wear them for work.

Platform fees and commissions

For Uber, Deliveroo, Amazon Flex and Just Eat, what you see in your statements is usually net of their service fee / commission. They take their cut before paying you.

That means you normally do not claim a separate "Uber 25% fee" expense, because your self-employment income figure is the net amount.

If you ever receive gross figures and see platform fees separately, then the fee can be treated as a deductible cost, but you must not double-count.

Parking, tolls, congestion charge

• Parking: allowable when genuinely for business journeys (for example parking at a customer location or restaurant); not fines.
• Tolls and congestion charge: allowable for business journeys (for example London congestion charge while driving for Uber), but not for personal journeys.
• Fines and penalty charges: not allowable (parking fines, congestion penalties, speeding tickets).

Cleaning products

Cleaning products, wipes, hoovering etc. used to keep the car clean for passengers or food deliveries can be allowable as part of vehicle running or cleaning costs, either fully or as a business proportion if you also use the car as a family car.

4. Mileage vs actual vehicle costs, which is usually better?

For high-mileage gig drivers (Uber / Amazon Flex / private hire) in 2025-26, many accountants say the simplified mileage method is often as good or better than actual costs and much simpler.

For drivers with expensive financed vehicles, especially if mileage is not massively high, sometimes actual costs come out higher, but you must do the sums honestly.

For Deliveroo riders on bikes or e-bikes, vehicle costs may be small; there mileage (at 24p for motorcycles or actual costs for pedal cycles and kit) plus equipment and phone bills usually matter more than car-style costs.

The only way to be sure is to:

1. Estimate your annual business miles.
2. Work out 45p/25p mileage for your car or 24p for your motorbike.
3. Compare with a realistic business share of real fuel, insurance, MOT, repairs, tyres, tax, finance interest and cleaning.

Worked example

Example 1: Uber driver using personal car (2025-26)

42-year-old Uber driver in Manchester, 2025-26.

• 42,000 miles total on the clock for the year.
• Of those, 36,000 miles are business (logged via Uber plus a bit of Amazon Flex).

Option A: mileage

• Business miles: 36,000.
• First 10,000 miles at 45p = £4,500.
• Remaining 26,000 miles at 25p = £6,500.
• Total mileage deduction: £11,000.

Option B: actual costs (rough numbers)

• Fuel: £7,500
• Insurance (including hire and reward): £2,000
• MOT, servicing, repairs, tyres: £2,000
• Road tax: £250
• Breakdown: £150
• Cleaning: £300
• Finance interest: £800
• Total vehicle costs: £13,000.

Total miles (business + private): 42,000. Business proportion: 36,000 / 42,000 = about 86%.

Business vehicle costs = about 86% of £13,000 = about £11,180.

So:

• Mileage method: £11,000.
• Actual cost method: about £11,180.

The actual-cost result is slightly higher, but it took a lot more tracking and receipts. For many drivers, mileage is "good enough" and simpler; for others, especially with big finance interest or heavy repairs, actual costs might win.

Example 2: Deliveroo rider on an e-bike (2025-26)

19-year-old Deliveroo rider in Leeds.

• Income: £180 a week for 48 weeks = £8,640.

E-bike maintenance and kit:

• Replacement battery and servicing: £300
• Tyres and tubes: £120
• Helmet and hi-vis vest: £80
• Lights and lock: £70
• Phone mount and power bank: £50
• Phone bill (business share): £20 a month = £240 a year

Total expenses: £860.

No car, so no mileage vs actual issue. He claims:

• equipment and bike maintenance;
• business share of phone.

Net profit: £8,640 minus £860 = £7,780.

If he also tried to claim all his meals while out delivering, HMRC would likely knock those out as private living expenses.

What Reddit, TikTok and forums get wrong

1. "You can claim 45p per mile and also claim your fuel, insurance and repairs on top." Wrong. HMRC's simplified expenses rules say mileage replaces those costs, you do not stack them.

2. "All food while you're working is an expense, you're on the road, so it's subsistence." Wrong. HMRC only allows meals on certain business trips, usually involving overnight stays or travel away from your normal base; everyday lunches and snacks on your standard route are still private.

3. "Uber takes 25% so you put that as an expense line on your tax return." Misleading. For most drivers, Uber's fee is already taken off the payout figure. Your "income" for Self Assessment is what Uber pays you, not the gross fare. Claiming a separate "25% fee" can double-count and over-claim.

4. "You can claim 100% of your phone bill because you need a phone for work." Wrong. You can only claim a reasonable business share; most gig workers have private calls and apps too, so a split (for example 70/30) is much safer.

5. "Buying a car for Uber is a full expense, just knock £15k off your profit." Wrong. The cost of buying a car is capital and is usually handled via capital allowances; HS222 explains that the purchase cost of cars is not an immediate expense under cash basis.

Action steps for the reader

1. Decide whether you will claim mileage or actual vehicle costs for each vehicle, then stick with that method and don't double-count.
2. Start a mileage log (app or notebook) today for every gig shift, including start and end odometer readings and which platform you were on.
3. List your regular costs: fuel/electricity, insurance, MOT, servicing, tyres, breakdown, cleaning, phone, bike or kit, and work out the business percentage.
4. Keep every receipt or PDF invoice for work-related kit (bags, helmet, phone mount, power bank, hi-vis, bike parts).
5. Stop putting everyday food and normal clothes in your "business expenses" list; focus on proper business costs, not wish-list items.
6. Once a month, update a simple spreadsheet with your income and each expense category so Self Assessment is just copying totals across.

Related tools GigKiln should build

• Mileage vs actual-costs calculator: asks for miles and key costs, shows which method saves more tax for Uber / Amazon Flex drivers.
• Gig-worker expense checklist: interactive tick-list of common deductible costs for drivers, riders and walkers.
• Business-use percentage helper: quick tool to work out phone and vehicle business-use splits from simple questions.
• Record-keeping template: spreadsheet pre-loaded with categories for gig expenses and HMRC mileage rates.

Related guides

• "Self Assessment for gig workers filing for the first time (SA100 and SA103)"
• "Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: what Uber and Deliveroo workers need to know"
• "How to keep mileage and expense records that HMRC will accept"
• "Trading allowance vs expenses for gig workers"

Sources

Primary

• GOV.UK, Simplified expenses if you're self-employed: Vehicles, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Simplified expenses if you're self-employed: Overview, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, HS222 How to calculate your taxable profits (2025), accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Expenses if you're self-employed: Car, van and travel, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Self-employment (full) notes (2026) (SA103F notes, section on allowable expenses), accessed 18 April 2026.

Secondary

• Pie Tax, How to Claim Mileage for Self Employed in 2025/26, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Driversnote, Claiming simplified expenses on your tax return, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GoSimpleTax, Allowable expenses for self-employed couriers and delivery drivers, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Taxd, Self Employed Delivery Driver Tax: A Comprehensive UK Guide, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Addison Lee, What Expenses Can I Claim as a Self-employed Taxi Driver?, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Trueman Brown, Simplified-Expenses Guide for Sole Traders, accessed 18 April 2026.
• M&G LLP / other mileage-rate explainers, accessed 18 April 2026.