Uber and Lyft drivers live under a different GST/HST rule than UberEats and DoorDash couriers — and most drivers find out at filing time. Here are the verified rules, what your car actually earns you in deductions, and the instalment trap in year two.
The CRA treats passenger transportation differently from goods delivery (verified against the CRA's platform-economy guidance, July 5, 2026):
| Rideshare (Uber, Lyft) | Delivery (UberEats, DoorDash, Skip) | |
|---|---|---|
| GST/HST registration | Mandatory from the first dollar — no threshold. Apply within 30 days of your first trip. | Mandatory only once sales exceed $30,000 over four calendar quarters (voluntary before that). |
| Collecting tax | GST/HST applies to all fares. | Only once registered. |
| Input tax credits | Yes — GST/HST you paid on gas, repairs, phone plan (business share). | Yes, once registered. |
| Income tax | All income including tips is self-employment income on T2125, regardless of amount. | |
Doing both? You must register because of the rideshare work. Per the CRA, you may extend that registration to your delivery income voluntarily while your combined taxable sales stay under $30,000 — but once the combined total crosses the threshold, you must collect and remit on all of it.
For most drivers the vehicle is 80% of the tax story. Motor vehicle expenses go on line 9281 of the T2125, claimed by business-use share:
The full method — including the interest and leasing caps — is in our vehicle expenses guide, and the free expense tracker keeps the year's receipts sorted by T2125 line.
Your first filing usually lands a balance owing (nothing was withheld all year). If you owe more than the CRA's threshold two years running, the CRA starts expecting quarterly instalments — and interest applies if you skip amounts on the reminders. Thirty seconds here tells you where you stand:
Check my instalment status → Estimate my tax bill
Trip logs, a km logbook, platform statements, gas and repair receipts. The deadline calendar puts the filing dates and every instalment quarter on your phone with a heads-up before each one.
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Yes — commercial ride-sharing has no small-supplier threshold. Registration is effective from the day you start making trips, and you must apply within 30 days of that day.
Not until your taxable sales exceed $30,000 over four calendar quarters. You can register voluntarily earlier to claim input tax credits on your costs.
Yes — all income including tips goes on your T2125, whether the platform reports it or not.
The closest NAICS 2022 fits are 485310 (taxi service — passenger transportation not on fixed routes) for rideshare and 492110 (couriers) for delivery work. Pick the one matching your main activity.
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Estimates and general information only, for planning purposes — this does not constitute tax, legal or accounting advice, and your facts may change the answer. Consult a tax professional about your situation. The rideshare day-one registration rule, the delivery-driver $30,000 rule, and the combined-activity rules were verified against the CRA's published guidance on tax obligations for commercial ridesharing and delivery services on July 5, 2026; CCA classes verified against the CRA's classes of depreciable property page the same day; industry codes verified against Statistics Canada NAICS 2022 the same day. T2125 line names follow the CRA T4002 guide.