Deliveroo riders are self-employed contractors, not employees, so Deliveroo deducts nothing from your fees — you work out and pay your own tax through Self Assessment. You're taxed on profit (your fees, boosts and tips, minus your riding costs), not on the totals in the Rider app. For 2026/27 the first £12,570 of profit is tax-free, then Income Tax is 20% up to £50,270, and Class 4 National Insurance adds 6% on profit between £12,570 and £50,270. Most riders claim their vehicle as flat-rate mileage — 20p a mile by bicycle, 24p by scooter or moped, 55p/25p by car. Enter your figures above to see the bill and the working.
- Nothing is deducted at source — set tax aside yourself as you earn, because the whole fee lands in your account gross.
- You pay tax on rider profit = fees + boosts + tips − allowable costs (or the £1,000 trading allowance, whichever is better).
- Claim your vehicle as simplified mileage: 20p/mile (bicycle/e-bike), 24p (scooter/moped/motorcycle), or 55p first 10,000 miles then 25p (car) — or actual costs, but not both.
- Class 4 NI is 6% on profit £12,570–£50,270, then 2% above. Class 2 is £0 but profit over £7,105 still earns State Pension credit.
- File and pay your 2026/27 Self Assessment by 31 January 2028.
How Deliveroo rider tax is calculated
When you accept Deliveroo's supplier agreement you sign up as an independent contractor, so the fees, boosts and tips that hit your account are gross — Deliveroo withholds no Income Tax and no National Insurance. You declare the lot on a Self Assessment tax return and pay tax on the profit. The maths runs in three steps:
- Work out rider profit — add up everything Deliveroo paid you (delivery fees, distance fees, Boost promotions and any tips), then subtract your allowable riding costs. The biggest single cost for most riders is the vehicle, claimed either as flat-rate mileage or as a share of actual running costs (see below).
- Income Tax — your profit (stacked on top of any wages or other income) is taxed at 20%, then 40% above £50,270, after the £12,570 Personal Allowance. The calculator does this stacking for you.
- National Insurance — Class 4 NI is charged on the profit at 6% then 2%. Class 2 is £0 but still builds your State Pension once profit passes £7,105.
Because nothing is taken off at source, the single most useful habit is to park a slice of every payout — roughly 25–30% once you're above the Personal Allowance — in a separate account, so the January bill never catches you out.
Allowable expenses for a Deliveroo rider
What you can claim turns almost entirely on what you ride. The vehicle cost is the big one, and you pick one method for it and stick with it for that vehicle:
- Simplified mileage (most riders). A flat HMRC rate per business mile that already covers fuel/charging, servicing, repairs, insurance and wear — you just keep a log of the miles. The 2026/27 rates are 20p a mile by bicycle or e-bike, 24p by scooter, moped or motorcycle, and 55p for the first 10,000 car miles then 25p.
- Actual running costs. Instead of mileage you can claim the business-use share of real costs — petrol or charging, servicing, tyres, insurance, road tax and depreciation. This usually only beats mileage for a scooter or car with heavy repair bills, and it means keeping every receipt.
On top of your chosen vehicle method, these Deliveroo-specific costs are allowable:
- The Deliveroo kit and replacements — the thermal backpack, jacket and any replacement equipment you buy to stay on the road count as expenses (Deliveroo charges a deposit for the kit, and replacement gear is a running cost).
- Phone & mobile data — the business-use percentage of your bill; the Rider app and live GPS are unusable without it.
- Bike servicing, parts and accessories — tyres, brakes, chains, batteries, lights, a phone mount and power bank (claim these only if you use actual costs, not the 20p/24p mileage rate, which already bundles them in).
- Insurance — hire-and-reward / food-delivery cover for scooters and cars, and public liability cover, are allowable; the mileage rate already includes vehicle insurance, so don't double-claim it.
A quick rule: Deliveroo's own charges are not "tax" — they're income and expenses. Report your fees and Boost earnings as income, and where Deliveroo deducts an amount (such as the kit deposit), treat the relevant business cost as an expense. If you claim the per-mile rate you can not also claim fuel, repairs or vehicle insurance separately — but phone, the thermal bag and public liability stay claimable alongside mileage.
The £1,000 trading allowance
If your total Deliveroo earnings for the year are £1,000 or less, they're usually tax-free and you needn't tell HMRC — handy if you only ride the odd weekend. Earn more than £1,000 and you must register for Self Assessment, but you can still deduct the flat £1,000 trading allowance instead of your real costs. For a cyclist with low expenses, the £1,000 allowance can beat adding up mileage and bits of kit — switch the "deduct for expenses" option in the calculator to compare both and keep whichever leaves you better off.
When do I pay?
Self Assessment runs on the tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 is "2026/27"). The return and any tax for that year are due by 31 January 2028. If your bill tops £1,000 you'll usually also make payments on account — two advance instalments towards next year's tax, due 31 January and 31 July. Register with HMRC by 5 October following the end of your first tax year of riding, so leave plenty of time before that first 31 January deadline.
Making Tax Digital from April 2026
From 6 April 2026, the self-employed whose gross trading and property income is over £50,000 must keep digital records and send HMRC quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The test is on gross income — your full Deliveroo fees before any mileage or kit costs — so a full-time rider on a scooter or car can be caught even though their profit is much lower. Check where you stand with the qualifying-income checker.
Worked example — a scooter rider
Marek rides for Deliveroo on a moped in a busy city. Over 2026/27 he earns £24,000 in fees, Boost promotions and tips, and covers 7,000 business miles. He uses the simplified mileage method (24p for a scooter) plus a handful of rider extras.
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Mileage (scooter) | 7,000 miles × 24p | £1,680 |
| Thermal bag, kit, phone & data, hire-and-reward insurance | £90 + £80 + £180 + £450 | £800 |
| Total allowable expenses | £1,680 + £800 | £2,480 |
| Profit | £24,000 − £2,480 | £21,520 |
| Income Tax | (£21,520 − £12,570) × 20% | £1,790 |
| Class 4 NI | (£21,520 − £12,570) × 6% | £537 |
| Class 2 NI | profit above £7,105 → treated as paid | £0 |
| Total to set aside | Income Tax + NI | £2,327 |
Marek's £1,680 mileage claim alone is well above the £1,000 trading allowance, so itemising his costs wins here. A weekend rider earning far less would run the same comparison the other way before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
Does Deliveroo take tax off my earnings?
No. Deliveroo riders are self-employed contractors, so your fees, Boost earnings and tips arrive gross — nothing is deducted for Income Tax or National Insurance. You're responsible for declaring the income on a Self Assessment return and paying the tax yourself, which is exactly why setting money aside from each payout matters.
What can I claim as expenses as a Deliveroo rider?
Your vehicle is the main one: claim simplified mileage (20p/mile by bicycle, 24p by scooter/moped, or 55p/25p by car) or actual running costs — but not both. On top of mileage you can claim the thermal Deliveroo bag and replacement kit, the business share of your phone and data, and hire-and-reward or public liability insurance. Bike servicing and parts are claimable only if you use the actual-costs method rather than mileage.
Are Boost payments and tips taxable?
Yes. Boost promotions, distance and delivery fees, and tips are all part of your trading income, whether they come through the app or as cash. Include them in your earnings before working out profit — the calculator treats your "earnings before expenses" figure as the full total.
Mileage method or actual vehicle costs — which is better?
For bicycles and e-bikes the 20p mileage rate almost always wins because real costs are low. For a scooter or car, actual costs can beat 24p or 55p/25p if you have heavy servicing, fuel or insurance bills, but you must keep every receipt and stick with whichever method you pick for that vehicle. You cannot claim mileage and fuel/repairs for the same vehicle.
Do I have to register if I only ride for Deliveroo part-time?
If your total Deliveroo earnings for the year are £1,000 or less, the trading allowance usually covers them and you needn't report them. Once you go over £1,000 you must register for Self Assessment, though you can still deduct the £1,000 allowance instead of your actual expenses if that leaves you better off.
Sources: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, Self-employed National Insurance rates, simplified expenses for vehicles (gov.uk), verified 11 June 2026. Estimates for information only — not regulated tax advice.