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Uber ABN’s Explained – How To Get An ABN for Uber & UberEats
Updated 3rd of June 2023
All Uber and UberEats drivers must have an ABN. But if it’s your first time being self-employed then you’ve probably never had an ABN before, so there’s a lot to learn.
In this article I’ll explain what an ABN is, the ATO’s ABN rules for Australian Uber drivers, and how to apply for an Uber ABN or UberEats ABN online for free.
What Is An ABN?
ABN stands for Australian Business Number, and every business in Australia must have one.
An ABN is the public identification number of Australian businesses. All sole-traders, business owners and companies also have a Tax File Number, but a TFN is private and confidential. So the ABN is an additional number that can be used publicly in advertising, and on invoices and other documents for customers and suppliers.
As an ABN holder, if you earn more than $1 on your ABN for the year you must declare it in your income tax return at the end of the financial year. You’ll complete a business schedule, list your ABN, and declare your business income and tax deductions.
Do You Need An ABN For Uber and UberEats?
Every Uber and UberEats driver in Australia must have an ABN. For Uber an ABN is required before you can start driving, and you must also register that ABN for GST, more on that in a moment. For UberEats an ABN is also required, but you generally do not have to register for GST. The ABN rules are the same if you drive for other rideshare or food delivery companies, such as Ola, Didi, Deliveroo or MenuLog, you must have an ABN.
The ATO only gives you one ABN for your whole lifetime, and you must use this one ABN for all of our business activities. So if you already have an ABN registration or you have had one in the past then you must use this same ABN for Uber or UberEats as well. If your past ABN is now cancelled or inactive, you will need to reactivate it to use as your Uber ABN. You can look up your current or past ABN on the Australian Business Register.
Do You Have To Register For GST for Uber?
If you do UberX or rideshare driving you must register for Goods & Services Tax (GST). This is thanks to specific ATO rules for taxi and rideshare drivers, whereby the usual GST registration threshold for small businesses of $75,000 does not apply, and instead the registration threshold is $1. If you’re interested in learning the reasons why, our blog post on GST for Uber drivers digs into the details.
If UberEats or food delivery driving is the only income you will earn on your ABN then you generally will not have to register for GST. The ATO’S GST registration threshold is $75,000 in sales (i.e. the gross delivery fees before deducting Uber’s commission). The vast majority of UberEats drivers don’t reach this level, even if driving full time. However if you have other income on your ABN such as subcontracting or business income, then when combined with your UberEats income it may push you over the threshold. This would mean you’d have to register for GST, and pay GST on all of your ABN income including UberEats.
If you drive for both Uber and UberEats, or do both ride sharing services and food delivery driving, then the rideshare rules apply and you must register for GST.
Once you are GST-registered, you must lodge a Business Activity Statement to the ATO each quarter to declare the GST on your income and expenses, and pay your net GST to the ATO. You can learn more about BAS lodgement, how to keep tax invoices and how to claim GST credits as an Uber partner in our blog post on BAS’s for Uber drivers.
How Do You Apply For An Uber ABN?
You can register for an ABN for Uber or UberEats on the ATO website yourself for free.
Alternatively, you can use DriveTax’s Free Uber ABN Application service, which is part of our Free Uber Tax Info Pack. Our online form only takes a few minutes to fill in, and then we apply for your ABN for you with the ATO. If you have had an ABN in the past that is now inactive, just enter it into the form and we will reactivate it for you. Our processing time is two business days, but you don’t have to wait for your ABN, you can start driving right away.
As part of the Free Uber Tax Info Pack you’ll also get a free Uber bookkeeping spreadsheet, free ATO logbook spreadsheet, and a free 5-day email course called ‘Uber Tax Essentials’ which will explain everything you need to know about taxes for Uber drivers. It’s perfect for all new Uber and UberEats drivers in Australia.
How Do You Register For GST for Uber?
If you don’t already have an ABN, you can apply for both an ABN and GST all in one transaction. If you do already have an active ABN you will add your GST registration on to it. If your ABN is inactive you will need to first need to reactivate it and then add on the GST registration.
Our Free Uber ATO Registration service can handle all of this for you, you just need your previous ABN handy.
What Next?
- Apply for your Uber or UberEats ABN, and register for GST if you need to, free with DriveTax Go >
- Download the DriveTax Uber Tax Info Pack to learn more about your tax obligations Go >
- Explore our blog to learn about managing your taxes as an Uber or UberEats driver Go >
- To have your BAS’s lodged by a registered tax agent and Uber tax expert, visit our BAS services page Go >
- To have your tax returns lodged by a registered tax agent and Uber tax expert, visit our tax services page Go >
- If you want a deeper understanding of your Uber taxes, learn more about our Understanding Uber Taxes online course Go >
Questions? Thoughts? Pop them in the comments below and I’ll get right back to you!
Safe driving! – Jess
About the Author – Jess Murray CPA – Uber Accountant
Jess Murray is a CPA Accountant and registered tax agent. She’s been working in personal and small business tax for 15 years, and has been specialising in tax for Australian Uber Drivers for the last 7 years as the Director of DriveTax. She also teaches an online course called Understanding Uber Taxes.
Jess is on a mission to make taxes straightforward and manageable for Uber drivers across Australia.
The information in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. If you’d like to know how this article applies to you, please contact us to arrange a consultation, or talk to your accountant.
Hi Jess,
I recently recieved a notification from uber driver app, to update ABN. The notification info says ” Your ABN got Cancelled”, I created the ABN for customer service representative job. Should i apply for new ABN or should i reactivate the existing ABN, please guide.
Hi Shadab, this had been happening alot lately and it’s very frustrating. You must reactivate the same ABN, you only get one ABN for your lifetime and you must use it for all your business activities, it’s not possible to get a different one. You can call the ATO on 13 28 66 and tell them you are using to for business and to please reactivate your ABN. Or if you are still doing Uber you can use our free ABN Application service. Please look up your ABN here and check the date that they cancelled it, and use that as the date to restart. – Jess
Dear Jess,
My name is Ryan, and I’m currently in the middle of applying for an ABN, to become a Uber Eats food delivery driver.
Can I ask you, in abr’s system, for the “Reason for Application” section, one question was asking “Why is the individual applying for an ABN”, do I choose “New Business in Australia” or “To receive payment for services”?
Also, in the beginning stage, Entitlement Questionnaire section, one question was “What is the nature of your activity?” I chose “In the form of a business”. Did I choose the right thing?
Thank you very much.
Hi Ryan, ‘Reason for Application’ should be ‘New Business in Australia’, and the ‘Nature of Activity’ should be ‘In the form of a business’. Or you can use our free ABN Application service! – Jess
I’ve just been reading a few of your articles, great info, thanks.
I’ve had an ABN before, but fairly sure we set it up for my ex and myself. I wouldn’t have to use that one again, would I? I would get a new personal one?
Hi Richard, it sounds like your previous ABN was a partnership, in which case you will need a new one just for yourself. Or if your previous one was just in your name then the same one will be reactivated. You can look up your past ABN’s on the Australian Business Register, search for your name/s and then switch to ‘All ABN’s to see old and cancelled ABN’s in the search results. – Jess
Hi, I am planning to do food deliveries. I already have a hobby business for photography registered with an ABN. Do I use that ABN for food delivery, or should I get a new ABN under my own name?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Mick, you only get one ABN for your whole life, and you must use that ABN for all of your sole-trader business activities. So if your existing ABN is for you as a sole trader, then that’s the one you’ll use for food delivery too. – Jess
OK, thanks Jess. It is a sole trader ABN so I’ll go with that.
Have a great Christmas break, I’m sure you’ve earned it answering all these questions.
Cheers.
Hi I was uber eat driver with ABN without GST, right now i have become employed, what should i do if i still want to work at uber driver during my spare time?
Hi Far, there is no change for you, since you’re a delivery driver you don’t have to register for GST (employee/TFN income doesn’t count towards the $75k GST-registration threshold). You just need to be mindful of your marginal tax rate, if you have a higher income now then you may need to put aside a higher percentage of your delivery earnings to cover the tax. You can read more about this here. – Jess
Hi, I don’t have abn so can I apply abn and start delivery straight away or I have to wait for abn?
Hi Neha, from the ATO’s perspective it’s no problem because you can backdate your ABN start date as needed. But I don’t know if your delivery company will allow you to start without an ABN? I would guess that each company has their own policy, so you would have to check with the company you’re planning to drive for. – Jess
Hey Jess, my wife and I are in the process of becoming Uber drivers. We both earn income with other jobs and we’ll both be using the same car, so we’re wondering how the issue of vehicle related expenses for purposes of gst reporting and income tax are worked out. Thanks.
Hi Scott, if you will both be driving the same car, then you must keep one joint 12-week logbook for the car. You’ll label each business-related trip with your names so that you can calculate two separate totals of kms at the end of the logbook period to work out your individual percentages of the use of the car. Then you’ll both declare ALL of the car’s total fuel and other expenses x your individual logbook percentage. Be sure to check our blog post on Keeping A Logbook For Uber for more detail. – Jess
Hi
At first i did not know how to register for uber eat ABN ,so I applied for $75000 threshold and I started working. Is there anything which i need to change to be considered as uber eat driver ? I did it in june.
Hi Mo, the only way to change your GST Registration in this case is to call the ATO. You should tell them that you registered for GST accidentally as a misunderstanding, and see if they can cancel the GST back from the date you registered. They may not allow it, but it is still worthwhile to ask. If it’s not possible then you should at least de-register ASAP, and then you must pay GST on all your income, including delivery income, during the time you were registered for GST. – Jess
Hi,
When filling in the ABN application , what do I put the main business location as? Do I need to add in additional business locations?
Hi Chloe, you just need to enter your home address (not a PO Box). – Jess
Hi
Please let me know if a Partnership can do Uber eats
Hi Sam, UberEats driving must be declared in the name of the person who did the work, which is the name appearing on the UberEats account. My understanding is that it is not possible to put a partnership or company name as the name on your UberEats account, it must be your personal name. Therefore this is the name that you must declare the income to the ATO in your personal tax return. – Jess
Hi im applying for ABN for Uber eats and the declaration part asks for position held what would that be?
Hi Rajab, that isn’t normally a question that is asked, so it sounds like maybe you have answered an earlier question incorrectly. Make sure you are registering as a sole trader and not as a company, and mention that you are running a business and not a contractor. If you are having trouble you can always use our free service, you’ll find the link in the article above. – Jess
Hi, I am applying for ABN to do Menulog and Doordash.
When applying for ABN am I considered a sub-contractor/contractor OR ABN for self employment
Hi Tavita, it’s important that you choose the option for running a business, not a contractor. – Jess
Hi I am registers my abn for taxis and others road sharing . Also my abn registered for gst . I wouldn’t drive taxi very often but will do Uber eats . So can I use my gst registered abn for Uber eats and do I have to pay gst for Uber eats Income . Please note my Uber eats income would be far low compare to 75000 threshold .
I know as registered gst I must declare gst and pay if I make money from taxi . But if not make any money from taxi but from Uber eats still I have to submitted gst 3 month basis without declaring Uber eats income . Please let me know many thanks
Hi Rahman, if you are registered for GST then you must pay GST on ALL of your income, including taxi and UberEats. I recommend checking out our article Uber GST Explained for more information. – Jess
Hi jess,
I am start doing uber since August last year and just had abn on February this year. Do I need lodge income before I had abn?
Hi Shiraz, you must call the ATO and ask them to change your ABN start date back to when you started doing Uber, and you must pay tax on all of your Uber income. – Jess
Hey Jess,
If I have already applied for an abn and it has been deemed unsuccessful will this effect my chances of succefully achieving an abn through this company?
Hi Skye, if you got rejected it probably just means you answered one of the questions wrong, because ABN’s for rideshare and food delivery are always approved. But don’t worry, it won’t affect your next application at all. – Jess
Can i driver uber on my company name?
Hi Abbas, for drivers who do not already have a company, it is my VERY strong recommendation NOT to set up a company for driving Uber, as it almost always costs more in both tax and administration costs.
If you already have a company then you should seek advice from your company accountant. The decision will depend on your personal marginal tax rates, whether or not your company is registered for GST, what other income you have in the company, what bookkeeping you have in place, and a multitude of other factors that only your company accountant can advise on.
Please note that at DriveTax we focus only on sole-trader drivers, so we don’t look after drivers who operate in companies. I recommend that any drivers who operate in a company should seek out an accountant in their local area for face-to-face service and advice. – Jess
How can I upload my abn number on uber eats app thanks
Hi Samer, I’m sorry I don’t know the answer to that as I’ve never used the app myself. You may need to reach out to customer support, or perhaps try the UberPeople forum and perhaps someone there can help. – Jess
Hi Jess, I have been using my company abn which is in a company name ( pty Ltd)not my personal name for ubereats for 2 years. Why is it now they ask me to verify my abn and can only enter an abn with my full name, also can not be a company abn, only sole trader abn. My company abn was I had a retail business but closed down a year ago, I kept my company abn but de-registered the trading name. Thank you in advance.
Hi Terry, I’m sorry I’m not sure what Uber’s rules are about trading in a company, you would need to follow that up with Uber. I can say that the ATO have stated that rideshare drivers should be sole traders. I’m not sure whether this is actually a rule in tax law, but it certainly would make sense as a company itself cannot drive a car, you would either need to be an employee of a company or be a sole-trader. My advice to my clients is that rideshare and food delivery drivers should always trade as sole traders and not through a company. – Jess
Just had my car inspected for Uber driving and I haven’t got my abn number yet..they cannot complete my form until they receive it..is that right..?
Hi Pam, I’m sorry I don’t know the answer to this, it sounds like an Uber rule not a Tax Office rule! – Jess
Hi Jess,
Thank you for helping people with such important information. I am undertaking this journey and I have to say, it can get quite overwhelming.
Can I please ask you, at the time to get an ABN, does it make a difference to get it to trade under the owners’ name or make new a company name? I am not sure if that makes a difference.
Thank you in advance for your advice.
Kind regards,
Tania
Hi Tania, setting up a company is complex and expensive, so if you’re considering this you should first speak to an accountant to get personalised advice. But generally speaking I would say that rideshare and food delivery drivers should not use a company. It will cost many hundreds of dollars to set up whereas being a sole trader is free, there is an annual ASIC fee of $280-ish for companies that doesn’t apply to sole traders, then at end of financial year you must prepare formal financial statements as well as a company tax return which will cost many hundreds or even over a thousand dollars in accounting fees whereas a sole trader tax return costs $180. As you can see, it’s quite expensive, which is why I suggest that a company is total overkill for an Uber driver. If you already have a company for some other purpose you should speak to your accountant, but my general advice would be to still keep your rideshare driving as a sole trader to keep things simple. – Jess