If your looking for a flexible job where you are your own boss, this 7 step self-employed delivery driver guide will help you on your career journey.
What Is Self Employment?
Being self employed means that you work for yourself rather than a company. What this means is that working as self employed you are not guaranteed work, a consistent number of hours or salary.
However, this can be quite appealing to some people as being self employed means you can work flexibly, and choose whether or not you want to work on certain days or not.
A good example would be people who work for Amazon Flex as a self-employed delivery driver. Working for Amazon Flex means you have flexibility and control over when you work, and allows you to fit shifts in around family commitments or a second job.
Did you know that having a full time job were you are salaried each week or month, then work for Amazon Flex or Ubereats or Deliveroo is perfectly legal.
If you are somebody that has a full time job, but wanted to work for one of the previously mentioned companies you can do so by becoming self employed.
Self-Employed Delivery Driver Working For Amazon Flex
Do Self-Employed Delivery Drivers Pay Tax?
A self-employed delivery driver will have to pay income tax and and two types of National Insurance (Class 2 and Class 4) on money which they earn. Earnings can be defined as your self employed delivery pay, less expenses and any other allowances you are entitles to.
Class 2 National Insurance is paid as part of your Self Assessment and entitles you to benefits such as the state pension when you reach retirement.
Class 4 National insurance once again is paid via Self Assessment tax Return. The amount you pay may differ and depends on profits you make from your earnings.
There is a misunderstanding among self employed delivery drivers that the money they earn is tax free. This is not the case, and you must register as self employed with an accountant like Ugo Tax and declare your earnings. The good news is that the money you earn may be tax free however you still need to declare everything by completing a self assessment tax return to HMRC.
However, you only need to register and pay tax on your delivery income if you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year (6 April to 5 April).
If you make less than £1,000 from self employed delivery work then it’s tax free. This is great as it means that if your unsure of whether or not to take the plunge, you can trial it and earn a small amount on the side. This is called the HMRC Trading Allowance.
When you prepare a tax return a delivery driver expenses can go towards reducing any tax which they may have to pay on the income earned.
Expenses include things such as fuel, mobile phone usage or road tax.
When do I need to register as self-employed?
Typically you should Register with HMRC once you start work. However, the deadline you need to register by is the 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you became self-employed.
Here is an example to make things clearer on when you should register as self employed:
if you started self employed work in May 2021, you’d need to register with HMRC by 5 October 2022.
If that is still a little confusing why not contact Ugo Tax who can register you for self employment.
How do I register as self-employed?
Registering as self-employed is a relatively simple process, but here’s an overview of some of the information you’ll need to provide:
the date you started your business
basic personal details, including your National Insurance number and home address
information about the job you do
Step 1.
Create a ‘Government Gateway’ account.
Using the link below you need to create a government gateway account by entering your full name, email and password. A user ID will then arrive in your registered email account which needs to be kept safe.
Log in to your Government Gateway account and select ‘Add a tax’
Sign back in to your Government Gateway account using your user ID and password, and you will see an option to add a tax to your account. Follow each of the steps and that’s it.
Step 3.
Wait for your UTR number to arrive.
Once you have registered you will receive a letter in the post usually after 7-10 days from HMRC which will have your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference. This letter needs to be kept safe as it is required to file your tax return.
This 7 Step Self-Employed Delivery Driver Guide should hopefully have helped to provide more information on how to become a delivery driver. While you are here you may also like to read a page on Do Amazon Flex Drivers Pay Tax and how to get started.
What is the average delivery driver pay in the UK?
UK Delivery Driver
£7-14 per hour
Average UK Delivery Driver
£8.94 per hour
Amazon Flex
£13-17 per hour
Research by Nimblefins
If you are looking to become delivery driver you are probably keen to know what a delivery drivers pay is. The research as per the table above indicates that a delivery driver in the UK can expect to earn between £7-14 per hour, with an average income for the whole of the UK to be about £8.94 per hour.
As a delivery driver you may have costs to take into consideration such as the buying or renting a van, Insurance or servicing costs. If you are working for a company which is providing a vehicle for you, you may expect to earn in the lower range of the £7-14 per hour. This is because if is company is providing a van for you to use they will likely pass these costs onto the driver, so you may be paid less.
If however you have to use your own vehicle (such as a car or van) you would expect to earn closer to £14 per hour. This increased hourly rate would be to cover the cost of your expenses such as fuel, van hire or insurance.
Self-Employed Amazon Flex delivery drivers can earn between £13-17 per hour. The potential to earn this amount does depend on the area that you live, but is a great way of using your own vehicle to earn a bit of income of the side.
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If your looking for a flexible job where you are your own boss, this 7 step self-employed delivery driver guide will help you on your career journey.
What Is Self Employment?
Being self employed means that you work for yourself rather than a company. What this means is that working as self employed you are not guaranteed work, a consistent number of hours or salary.
However, this can be quite appealing to some people as being self employed means you can work flexibly, and choose whether or not you want to work on certain days or not.
A good example would be people who work for Amazon Flex as a self-employed delivery driver. Working for Amazon Flex means you have flexibility and control over when you work, and allows you to fit shifts in around family commitments or a second job.
Did you know that having a full time job were you are salaried each week or month, then work for Amazon Flex or Ubereats or Deliveroo is perfectly legal.
If you are somebody that has a full time job, but wanted to work for one of the previously mentioned companies you can do so by becoming self employed.
When you become self employed you are responsible for registering as self employed with an accountant, as well as working out your own taxes, and sending a tax return to HMRC.
Do Self-Employed Delivery Drivers Pay Tax?
A self-employed delivery driver will have to pay income tax and and two types of National Insurance (Class 2 and Class 4) on money which they earn. Earnings can be defined as your self employed delivery pay, less expenses and any other allowances you are entitles to.
There is a misunderstanding among self employed delivery drivers that the money they earn is tax free. This is not the case, and you must register as self employed with an accountant like Ugo Tax and declare your earnings. The good news is that the money you earn may be tax free however you still need to declare everything by completing a self assessment tax return to HMRC.
However, you only need to register and pay tax on your delivery income if you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year (6 April to 5 April).
If you make less than £1,000 from self employed delivery work then it’s tax free. This is great as it means that if your unsure of whether or not to take the plunge, you can trial it and earn a small amount on the side. This is called the HMRC Trading Allowance.
Can I claim expenses as a delivery driver?
One of the benefits of being a self-employed delivery driver is that you can claim back tax from HMRC by preparing a tax return with Ugo Tax.
When you prepare a tax return a delivery driver expenses can go towards reducing any tax which they may have to pay on the income earned.
Expenses include things such as fuel, mobile phone usage or road tax.
When do I need to register as self-employed?
Typically you should Register with HMRC once you start work. However, the deadline you need to register by is the 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you became self-employed.
Here is an example to make things clearer on when you should register as self employed:
if you started self employed work in May 2021, you’d need to register with HMRC by 5 October 2022.
If that is still a little confusing why not contact Ugo Tax who can register you for self employment.
How do I register as self-employed?
Registering as self-employed is a relatively simple process, but here’s an overview of some of the information you’ll need to provide:
Step 1.
Create a ‘Government Gateway’ account.
Using the link below you need to create a government gateway account by entering your full name, email and password. A user ID will then arrive in your registered email account which needs to be kept safe.
Link: https://www.access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds
Step 2.
Log in to your Government Gateway account and select ‘Add a tax’
Sign back in to your Government Gateway account using your user ID and password, and you will see an option to add a tax to your account. Follow each of the steps and that’s it.
Step 3.
Wait for your UTR number to arrive.
Once you have registered you will receive a letter in the post usually after 7-10 days from HMRC which will have your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference. This letter needs to be kept safe as it is required to file your tax return.
Step 4.
Get in contact with an accountant.
The final step is to get in contact with an accountant and discuss your options. I would recommend Ugo Tax who specialise in tax returns for fast food delivery drivers.
This 7 Step Self-Employed Delivery Driver Guide should hopefully have helped to provide more information on how to become a delivery driver. While you are here you may also like to read a page on Do Amazon Flex Drivers Pay Tax and how to get started.
What is the average delivery driver pay in the UK?
If you are looking to become delivery driver you are probably keen to know what a delivery drivers pay is. The research as per the table above indicates that a delivery driver in the UK can expect to earn between £7-14 per hour, with an average income for the whole of the UK to be about £8.94 per hour.
As a delivery driver you may have costs to take into consideration such as the buying or renting a van, Insurance or servicing costs. If you are working for a company which is providing a vehicle for you, you may expect to earn in the lower range of the £7-14 per hour. This is because if is company is providing a van for you to use they will likely pass these costs onto the driver, so you may be paid less.
If however you have to use your own vehicle (such as a car or van) you would expect to earn closer to £14 per hour. This increased hourly rate would be to cover the cost of your expenses such as fuel, van hire or insurance.
Self-Employed Amazon Flex delivery drivers can earn between £13-17 per hour. The potential to earn this amount does depend on the area that you live, but is a great way of using your own vehicle to earn a bit of income of the side.
Do take into consideration once again that if you work for Amazon Flex you are self employed so you will need to have an accountant to help with preparing a tax return. For more information about working for Amazon Flex you might like to read the following post about Do Amazon Flex Drivers Pay Tax.
I hope this 7 Step Self-Employed Delivery Driver Guide has given you a bit more information about how to become a delivery driver in the UK.
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