Self Assessment for gig workers (2025-26)

Summary

If you earn gig income from Uber, Deliveroo, Amazon Flex, Just Eat or similar in the UK in 2025-26, you probably need to register for Self Assessment¹, work out your profit (not just income), and file online by 31 January 2027.

The core steps are: register with HMRC, gather all your platform income for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, subtract either actual expenses or the £1,000 trading allowance², then complete the SA100 plus the self-employment pages (SA103S or SA103F³) online.

Your second year often feels like "double tax" because of payments on account, but that can be managed with planning and, if needed, a Time to Pay arrangement rather than just ignoring the bill and racking up penalties.

Key facts (UK 2025-26)

• The 2025-26 tax year runs from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.
• If you need a tax return for 2025-26 and have never filed before, you should register for Self Assessment¹ by 5 October 2026.
• The online filing deadline for the 2025-26 return is 31 January 2027; that is also when the tax and Class 4 National Insurance are due.
• The trading allowance for 2025-26 is £1,000 of gross trading income; you can use it instead of claiming expenses, but not as well as.
• If your total gross trading income for 2025-26 is £1,000 or less, and you have no other reason to do a return, you usually do not need to register or file, but platform reporting to HMRC means you should be sure of the numbers.
• If your gross gig income is over £1,000, you will usually need to register, file, and choose between using the £1,000 trading allowance² or your actual expenses.
• For 2025-26, the personal allowance is £12,570.
• For 2025-26, income tax bands (England) are: 20% basic rate from £12,571 to £50,270, 40% higher rate from £50,271 to £125,140, 45% additional rate above £125,140.
• For 2025-26, Class 4 National Insurance is 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that; Class 2 is voluntary at around £3.50 per week for low profits, mainly to protect your state pension record.
• HMRC Self Assessment self-employment pages for 2025-26 are SA103S (short, for turnover under the VAT threshold) and SA103F³ (full); the 2025-26 notes for SA103S and SA103F³ were updated in April 2025 and April 2026.
• Late filing penalties for 2025-26 are: £100 fixed if you miss 31 January 2027, then daily penalties if you are more than 3 months late, plus extra penalties at 6 and 12 months.
• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will start for some self-employed people from 6 April 2026 if their qualifying income in 2024-25 was over £50,000, then from 6 April 2027 if it was over £30,000, and from 6 April 2028 if it was over £20,000.

Legislation, case law, regulation

• Taxes Management Act 1970: sets up Self Assessment, deadlines, interest and penalties for late filing and late payment.
• Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005: covers how trading profits are taxed, including gig work profits treated as self-employment.
• Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003): mainly employment income, relevant if you also have PAYE wages alongside gig work.
• Income Tax Act 2007: general income tax framework used alongside the Acts above.
• Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and subsequent regulations: define National Insurance contributions including Class 2 and Class 4 for self-employed people.
• Self Assessment forms SA100, SA103S and SA103F³: HMRC's official forms and notes for 2025-26; while not legislation, they are the main practical reference for what HMRC expects you to report.
• Trading allowance guidance from HMRC and Low Incomes Tax Reform Group: explains the £1,000 trading allowance² and how it interacts with Self Assessment.

How it actually works

1. Work out if you need to register

From a gig worker point of view, you must look at your gross gig income for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026:

• Add up all income from Uber, Bolt, private hire apps, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Stuart, Gophr, Amazon Flex and any other gig work before expenses.
• If the total is over £1,000, you usually need to register for Self Assessment¹ and report it.
• If it is £1,000 or less, and you do not already have to do a tax return for other reasons (like rental income, high PAYE income or capital gains), you may be able to rely on the trading allowance, but remember platforms now report income to HMRC.

2. Register for Self Assessment

• Use the GOV.UK service "Check how to register for Self Assessment¹" and then register online as self-employed.
• You must tell HMRC by 5 October 2026 that you need a return for the 2025-26 tax year if you have not done one before.
• HMRC will send you a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR); keep this safe, you need it to file.

3. Understand the forms in plain English

You file online, but it is helpful to know what HMRC is talking about:

• SA100: the main tax return. It covers personal details, PAYE employment income, benefits, interest, dividends, student loans, and so on.
• SA103S or SA103F³: the self-employment pages.
  • Use SA103S (short) if your turnover is under the VAT threshold and your affairs are simple.
  • Use SA103F³ (full) if your turnover is higher or your self-employment is more complex.
• For most gig workers, SA100 + SA103S is enough.

On SA103S you will:

• Put your total income from all gig platforms (box for turnover).
• Choose either the trading allowance (up to £1,000 off your income) or your actual expenses.
• Show your profit after those deductions.

4. Gather your platform income data

You need the total for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, not calendar year and not what hit your bank after fees.

Most platforms offer an annual or monthly summary somewhere in the app or online:

• Uber (including Uber Eats): check "Tax summary" or "Earnings" in the driver app; on the web, Uber sometimes provides a downloadable annual tax summary for HMRC that shows total fares, fees and other payments.
• Deliveroo: riders can usually download weekly or monthly statements from the rider portal; you may need to add them up to cover the full tax year if there is no one-click annual PDF.
• Amazon Flex: use the Flex app or Amazon's payment history to export weekly or monthly statements; community guides suggest keeping your own spreadsheet because Amazon's interface is not designed for tax.
• Just Eat, Stuart, Gophr: similar pattern. Look for "payouts", "statements" or "invoices"; export everything that covers 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

If the app will not give you an easy annual total, you still must total it yourself. HMRC cares about the numbers, not the app's convenience.

5. Keep records properly

HMRC expects you to keep business records, including:

• Income records: all statements from platforms, your own spreadsheets, invoices if you issue them.
• Expense records: fuel, repairs, tyres, insurance, phone bills, bike maintenance, parking, work gear, plus any receipts.
• Mileage log: trips and miles for work if you use your own car or motorcycle.

For 2025-26 you should keep records for at least 5 years after the 31 January 2027 deadline, because HMRC can ask questions years later.

6. Work out profit: expenses vs trading allowance

You must choose how you knock down your income:

Option A: trading allowance. Knock £1,000 off your gross gig income instead of claiming any actual expenses. Simple, but usually bad value if you have heavy vehicle or bike costs.

Option B: actual expenses. Add up your legitimate business expenses (fuel, repairs, insurance, etc.) and subtract those from your income. For cars and bikes you can choose HMRC simplified expenses (fixed mileage rate) or actual running costs; HMRC self-employment notes explain this.

You cannot use the £1,000 trading allowance² and then also claim all your expenses on top for the same income. Forums and TikTok often get this wrong.

7. Fill in the online return

Once you have your numbers:

1. Log into your HMRC online account or the HMRC app.
2. Start the 2025-26 Self Assessment return.
3. On SA100 sections, add any PAYE employment, benefits, interest, student loans etc.
4. Add a self-employment section; HMRC will present you with the SA103S questions if you qualify.
5. Enter:
   • Business name (for example "Private hire driver" or "Courier").
   • Business start date if this is your first year.
   • Turnover (your total gig income).
   • Either your trading allowance or your total expenses.
   • The resulting profit.

The system will automatically calculate income tax and National Insurance due for 2025-26.

8. Understand payments on account

If your bill is large enough, HMRC may ask for payments on account:

• Roughly, if your income tax and Class 4 NI bill is more than £1,000 and less than 80% of your tax is already deducted at source (for example via PAYE), HMRC will ask you to pay half again as a payment towards next year.
• On 31 January 2027 you pay: your full 2025-26 bill, plus first payment on account for 2026-27 (half of that bill).
• On 31 July 2027 you pay the second payment on account.

That is why the second year feels like double tax. It is horrible, but it is not a mistake, and you can apply to reduce payments on account if you honestly expect lower profits.

9. Paying and what if you cannot pay

• Pay by 31 January 2027 by bank transfer, debit card or other HMRC-listed methods.
• If you cannot pay in full, ask HMRC for a Time to Pay arrangement before they start chasing hard. You can often agree a payment plan if you are honest about your income and expenses.
• If you bury your head in the sand, interest and penalties add up quickly.

10. Penalties if you miss deadlines

For 2025-26:

• File late (after 31 January 2027): £100 fixed penalty, even if you owe no tax.
• More than 3 months late: daily penalties and then further penalties at 6 and 12 months.
• Pay tax late: interest plus penalties as a percentage of the unpaid tax.

HMRC can cancel penalties in some very limited circumstances, but "I forgot" or "the app was confusing" usually does not work.

Worked example

A driver in Birmingham in 2025-26:

• £18,000 gross from Uber driving.
• £4,000 gross from Deliveroo riding.
• £3,500 in genuine business expenses (fuel, insurance, tyres, repairs, phone, depreciation or bike costs etc.).

1. Total gig income

• Uber: £18,000
• Deliveroo: £4,000
• Total: £22,000

2. Decide: trading allowance or expenses?

• Trading allowance would give a flat £1,000 reduction.
• Actual expenses are £3,500, which is better.
• So the driver uses actual expenses, not the trading allowance.

3. Profit for 2025-26

• Income: £22,000
• Minus expenses: £3,500
• Profit: £18,500

This £18,500 is what goes in the profit box on SA103S/SA103F³.

4. Work out the tax (simplified illustration)

Assume the driver has no other income for simplicity.

Income tax:

• Personal allowance 2025-26: £12,570.
• Taxable income: £18,500 minus £12,570 = £5,930.
• All of this is in the basic rate band, taxed at 20%.
• Income tax = 20% of £5,930 = about £1,186.

Class 4 NI (2025-26):

• Profit: £18,500.
• Lower profits limit: £12,570.
• Class 4 at 6% on £18,500 minus £12,570 = £5,930.
• 6% of £5,930 = about £356.

So:

• Income tax: about £1,186.
• Class 4 NI: about £356.
• Total: about £1,542.

If the driver has no PAYE income and this is his first year, HMRC will probably ask for payments on account too, so the 31 January 2027 bill might be around £1,542 + £771 = about £2,313, plus another £771 on 31 July 2027 if his profits look similar.

5. How this plays with cash flow

On gig income of £22,000 and profit of £18,500, that tax/NIC total of about £1,542 is roughly £30 a week over 52 weeks. If he has never put money aside and the first bill arrives in January 2027, it will feel like a huge hit. If he saves £30 to £35 a week into a separate account during 2025-26, that bill becomes manageable.

What Reddit, TikTok and forums get wrong

1. "You only need to worry about tax if you earn more than £12,570." Wrong. The key trigger for gig workers is often £1,000 gross income, not the personal allowance; above £1,000 you normally need to register and file even if the final tax bill is small.

2. "If you use the trading allowance, you can still claim your expenses as well." Wrong. You either use the £1,000 trading allowance² or claim actual expenses for that income, not both stacked together.

3. "Self Assessment is optional if your platform doesn't send you a P60 or P45." Wrong. Gig platforms treat you as self-employed for tax, so you are responsible for registering and filing if your income is above the threshold.

4. "HMRC won't know about your Uber/Deliveroo/Amazon Flex money unless you tell them." Wrong. Digital platform reporting is expanding and HMRC already receives data from many platforms; LITRG and others warn that HMRC is using this data for compliance checks.

5. "The second year's 'double tax' means HMRC made a mistake, just don't pay the payments on account." Misleading. Payments on account are built into the rules; ignoring them racks up interest and penalties. If your income is genuinely dropping, you should apply to reduce them, not pretend they don't exist.

Action steps for the reader

1. Add up your total gross gig income for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026 across Uber, Deliveroo, Amazon Flex, Just Eat, Stuart, Gophr and any others.
2. If it is over £1,000, go to GOV.UK and register for Self Assessment¹ as self-employed before 5 October 2026.
3. Start a simple spreadsheet now listing every week's income from each app and your main expenses (fuel, repairs, insurance, phone, kit).
4. Download or export annual / monthly statements from each platform and store them safely, do not rely on the app keeping old data forever.
5. Decide whether your expenses are more than £1,000; if they are, plan to claim expenses rather than use the trading allowance.
6. Aim to move a fixed amount (for example £30 to £40 a week in the example above) into a separate "tax pot" account during the year.
7. If you are unsure or nervous, talk to a union that knows gig work (IWGB, ADCU, GMB) or a tax adviser before you file, not after you get a penalty.

Related tools GigKiln should build

• Gig income combiner: pulls in and totals earnings from Uber, Deliveroo, Amazon Flex, Just Eat, Stuart and Gophr for the tax year.
• Trading allowance vs expenses calculator: shows which choice (allowance or actual expenses) leaves you better off.
• First-time Self Assessment checklist: step-by-step interactive list from registration to payment for gig workers.
• Payments on account forecaster: estimates your first and second payment on account so you are not surprised in year two.
• Record-keeping template: downloadable spreadsheet or app view tailored to drivers and riders.

Related guides

• "Do I need to register as self-employed if I work for Uber, Deliveroo or Amazon Flex?"
• "What expenses can Uber drivers and couriers claim in 2025-26?"
• "Trading allowance versus actual expenses: which should gig workers use?"
• "Making Tax Digital from April 2026, April 2027 and April 2028: what gig workers need to know"
• "Payments on account: why your second Self Assessment year feels like double tax"

Sources

Primary

• GOV.UK, Check how to register for Self Assessment¹, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Self Assessment tax returns: Registering for Self Assessment, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Self Assessment: self-employment (short) (SA103S), accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Self-employment (short) notes (2025-26): SA103S notes, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Self Assessment: Self-employment (full) (SA103F³) and Self-employment (full) notes (2025-26), accessed 18 April 2026.
• Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, Trading allowance, accessed 18 April 2026.

Secondary

• Company Formation and tax blogs summarising the 2025-26 trading allowance and examples, accessed 18 April 2026.
• LITRG, Registering for self assessment, accessed 18 April 2026.
• DMO Accountants, Considering self-employment 2024-25 (for deadlines and general Self Assessment context), accessed 18 April 2026.