Do I need to register for VAT as a private hire driver?
Only if your driving income goes over £90,000 in any 12-month period. Most drivers never reach that.
The short answer
You must register for VAT if your turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period. You must also register if you expect it to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days alone.
Your turnover is the income you declare from driving, added up across every platform you drive for. It is your income before expenses. Profit doesn't come into it.
Most private hire drivers stay below £90,000.
What counts as your turnover
Your turnover is the same income figure that goes on your tax return: your income from driving before expenses, added up across every platform you drive for.
What that figure is depends on your agreement with each platform, and the platforms can change their agreements from time to time. Our guide to what counts as your income explains how to work it out.
How to check where you stand
The £90,000 is measured over any 12 months in a row, not the tax year. Check it at the end of each month:
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1Gather your weekly statements
Take your weekly statements from each platform for the last 12 months.
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2Work out each platform's figure
Work out your income figure for each platform from its weekly statements. Our income guide explains how.
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3Add them together
Add the figures for all your platforms together.
If the total is getting close to £90,000, get your position checked before you reach it.
If you go over £90,000
You must register with HMRC within 30 days of the end of the month in which you went over. From then on you charge VAT on your income from driving, and send HMRC a VAT return every three months.
If you register late, HMRC can backdate your registration to when it should have started and ask for VAT on your income from that date. You pay that yourself, because you never charged it. HMRC can also charge a penalty for registering late.
Common questions
Most don't, because their income stays under £90,000. Some platforms charge VAT on the fares they sell. Whatever the platform does, your own income from driving still counts towards your £90,000.
Yes. The £90,000 applies to your income from all platforms combined. No platform is counted on its own.
Your income, before expenses. A driver with a modest profit can still go over £90,000 of income.
For most drivers it doesn't help. You would charge VAT to passengers who can't claim it back. It's worth checking on your own figures before you decide.
Yes. If your income for the next 12 months is expected to fall below £88,000, you can apply to deregister.
This page is general guidance, not advice for your own circumstances. It was correct as at the date shown at the top, and tax rules and rates change over time. Please take advice on your own position before acting on anything here.
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