Paying taxes as a DoorDash or Uber Eats driver in Canada

You are self-employed, not an employee

Delivery apps pay you as an independent contractor. The CRA's guidance for gig workers is direct about what follows: residents of Canada must report and pay tax on all self-employment income, and business activity is reported on Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities. Your net business income from that form flows to your personal tax return.

That also means the usual employee safety nets work differently. No employer withholds income tax. No employer pays half of your CPP. Employment Insurance does not apply to self-employed people unless they opt in to the special benefits program, so there is no EI premium on your gig income. And income you earn is taxable whether or not any slip shows up in your mailbox.

Slips, summaries and what you actually report

Platforms handle year-end paperwork in different ways. Some issue a T4A (a slip used for fees for services), some provide a downloadable earnings summary, and some do both. The slip type matters much less than you might think: you report all of your gig income, including tips, whether or not you receive a slip, and whether or not the number on a slip matches your own records. If the two differ, trust your records and be ready to explain the gap, for example fees the platform deducted or tips that were paid separately.

Keep three things for each platform: the yearly earnings summary, your weekly or monthly payout statements, and the fee breakdown. The fee breakdown is important because platform fees and service charges are generally a business expense, not a reduction of income you can ignore.

Step 1: Work out your net business income (T2125)

On the T2125 you list gross income, then subtract business expenses. The expense that matters most for drivers is the vehicle. The CRA lets you deduct the business share of the costs of running the vehicle: fuel, insurance, maintenance and repairs, licence and registration, and loan interest or lease payments (both subject to limits for passenger vehicles). The business share is your business kilometres divided by your total kilometres, so a logbook is not optional. Our guide to car expenses and logbooks goes through the records the CRA expects.

Other common expenses include the business share of your phone plan, a phone mount, insulated delivery bags, parking, and accounting software. Keep receipts. The CRA asks you to keep records for six years.

Step 2: CPP on both halves

This is the part that surprises most new drivers. Employees pay 5.95% of earnings to the Canada Pension Plan and their employer pays another 5.95%. When you are self-employed you pay both halves: 11.9% on net business income between the C$3,500 basic exemption and the C$74,600 earnings ceiling (the YMPE) for 2026. Above that, a second contribution (CPP2) applies at 8% (4% + 4%) on earnings between C$74,600 and C$85,000.

The maximum for 2026 is C$8,460.90 for the main contribution plus C$832.00 for CPP2. Here is what the engine gives at different net business incomes (no other job):

CPP is not wasted money: it builds your own pension entitlement. But it is a cash cost now, and it is the reason a self-employed driver's bill is bigger than an employee's at the same income.

How CPP reduces your income tax. The CRA splits what you paid. The employer half and the enhanced part of the employee half, plus all of CPP2, are deductions from income (line 22200). The remaining base part of the employee half (4.95%) is a non-refundable credit (line 31000). The calculator models this split, which is why total tax is a little lower than a simple "income tax plus CPP" would suggest.

Step 3: Federal and British Columbia income tax

Federal tax is charged in layers. For 2026 the first C$58,523 of taxable income is taxed at 14%, the next slice up to C$117,045 at 20.5%, then 26%, 29% and 33%. Everyone gets a federal basic personal amount of C$16,452 (it phases down for very high incomes), applied as a credit at 14%. BC adds its own tax, from 5.6% on the first C$50,363 up to 20.5% at the top, with a BC basic personal amount of C$13,216 and a small BC tax reduction credit for lower incomes. The full tables are on the calculator page.

Other provinces use different brackets and credits. This guide and calculator model British Columbia only; Quebec is excluded because it has its own pension plan and a separate provincial return.

What a year looks like at different income levels

To show how the pieces fit, we ran four drivers through the engine. Assumptions (not facts about any individual): vehicle costs equal 22% of gross income, other expenses 2% of gross, and 32,000 business km out of 40,000 km driven (80% business use). No job, no RRSP.

Look at the C$50,000 row. After the vehicle claim, net business income is C$40,200. Tax and CPP together come to C$8,087, which is 16.2% of gross. If that driver had not set aside anything, that is the amount due at filing, with no withholding to soften it. The percentage rises with income because of CPP, then because higher brackets kick in. It also falls if your costs are higher than the assumptions here. Your own mix of costs and kilometres will move the number, which is why the calculator asks for them.

Deadlines for the 2026 tax year

The CRA's rule for self-employed people is that any balance owing is due on April 30 of the following year, while the filing deadline is June 15. Filing on June 15 does not give you until June 15 to pay: interest runs from April 30. The CRA lists these dates (April 30 and June 15, 2026) for the 2025 return, and the same pattern applies to the 2026 return filed in 2027.

If your tax owing is large enough, you may also have to pay CRA instalments during the year, on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. Many drivers only learn about them after the first big bill.

Don't forget GST/HST

Income tax is only half the story. Rideshare drivers must register for GST/HST from their first fare, and delivery drivers must register once they pass C$30,000 of taxable revenue over four consecutive calendar quarters. Read our GST/HST guide before assuming you are exempt.

A simple system that works

1. Open a separate savings account and name it for taxes.
2. Move your set-aside percentage on every payout day. Use the calculator for a number that fits your costs. A flat guess is better than nothing, but a calculated figure is better still.
3. Log kilometres every day from the first day of the year.
4. Re-run the calculator quarterly and adjust. Income changes during the year, and so does the percentage.
5. Pay when the CRA expects it. If instalments apply to you, pay them on time; if they do not, treat April 30 as your deadline.

Common mistakes

• Treating the app's earnings figure as your income after tax. It is revenue before every cost and before every tax.
• Counting only the employee half of CPP. Both halves are yours.
• Claiming a flat per-kilometre amount on a self-employed return. The vehicle claim is the business share of actual costs.
• Ignoring GST/HST until a letter arrives.
• Waiting until April to find out the number.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay tax if I earned less than C$30,000?

Yes. The C$30,000 figure is the GST/HST small-supplier threshold for delivery. It has nothing to do with income tax, which applies to all of your net business income above your basic personal amount, and CPP applies once your net business income passes C$3,500.

Can I deduct my phone?

The business share of your phone costs is a reasonable expense if you can support the percentage. Keep your plan statements and be able to explain how you arrived at the share.

What if I drive for two apps?

Gross income from every app counts toward the same total, and the calculator asks for one combined figure. Your vehicle logbook covers all of your delivery kilometres, whichever app you were online with.

Should I hire an accountant?

For most single-vehicle drivers the T2125 is manageable with good records. An accountant is worth it if you have a corporation, an employer income mix, a vehicle you own and claim CCA on, or a GST/HST registration you are unsure about. This site gives estimates and general information, not tax advice.

Sources

• CRA, Gig economy: report all self-employment income; Form T2125; GST/HST over C$30,000
• CRA, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions and CPP2 rates and maximums
• CRA, The Canada Pension Plan enhancement (credit and deduction split for self-employed people)
• CRA, Line 22200 and Line 31000
• CRA, 2026 tax rates and income brackets and indexation amounts
• Government of British Columbia, tax rates and basic personal credits
• CRA, Motor vehicle expenses
• CRA, Due dates and payment dates