Do Veezu Drivers Need an Accountant? Tax, Expenses and Making Tax Digital Explained

Driving with Veezu gives you the flexibility to choose when you work, but it can also mean taking responsibility for your own tax records and HMRC deadlines. Veezu describes its drivers as self-employed driver-partners and provides access to cash and card fares, daily payments and earnings information through its Driver Partner Portal.

If you operate as a self-employed sole trader, you are responsible for recording your full driving income, checking which business expenses are allowable and submitting the required information to HM Revenue & Customs. An accountant is not compulsory, but professional help can be particularly valuable when you have vehicle costs, cash fares, income from several driving platforms or Making Tax Digital obligations.

This guide explains how an accountant can help and what Veezu drivers should consider before preparing their accounts or Self Assessment tax return.

Do Veezu drivers legally need an accountant?

No. A self-employed Veezu driver is not legally required to appoint an accountant. You can keep your own records and prepare your own tax return if you understand the rules and have complete, accurate information.

However, completing a tax return involves more than entering the amount paid into your bank. You may need to reconcile card payments, cash fares, tips, Veezu fees, mileage and vehicle costs. You must also avoid claiming the same expense twice or leaving taxable income out by mistake.

An accountant can organise the figures, explain the available expense methods, prepare the return and help you meet the relevant deadlines. You remain responsible for providing complete information and approving the return before it is submitted.

When does a Veezu driver need to register for Self Assessment?

If you work as a sole trader, HMRC generally requires a Self Assessment tax return where your gross self-employment income was more than £1,000 during the tax year. The £1,000 test is applied before deducting expenses.

If you need to submit a return and have not registered before, you normally need to tell HMRC by 5 October following the end of the relevant tax year. For example, the 2025/26 tax year ended on 5 April 2026, so a newly self-employed person who needs to file for that year would normally register by 5 October 2026.

Different requirements apply if you operate through a limited company. In that situation, the company may need bookkeeping, annual accounts and a Corporation Tax return, while the director may also have personal filing responsibilities.

Check HMRC's current Self Assessment requirements.

How can an accountant help a Veezu driver?

1. Reconcile your complete driving income

The amount arriving in your bank account may not always represent your gross business income. Depending on how a statement is presented, platform fees or commission may have been deducted before a payment reaches you.

An accountant can compare your Veezu statements and portal reports with your bank transactions and records of cash fares. The review should consider:

• card and account-booking income;

• cash fares;

• tips and gratuities;

• platform fees or commission;

• cancellations or other adjustments;

• income from Uber, Bolt or another platform; and

• any direct private-hire income that is part of the same business.

This reconciliation helps establish whether the accounts show gross income with the related fees recorded separately, or a different presentation supported by the statements. It also reduces the risk of declaring only the net amount received while overlooking cash or other income.

2. Identify relevant business expenses

Tax is generally calculated on taxable business profit rather than total turnover. This makes the accurate treatment of expenses important, but a cost is not automatically allowable simply because it was paid while you were working.

Depending on your circumstances and the method used for your vehicle, relevant costs may include:

• Veezu platform fees or commission;

• private-hire vehicle insurance;

• fuel;

• repairs, servicing and MOT costs;

• vehicle hire charges;

• vehicle tax and breakdown cover;

• business parking and tolls;

• private-hire driver and vehicle licensing costs;

• cleaning required for the vehicle;

• the business proportion of telephone and data costs; and

• bookkeeping or other business administration costs.

Private use must be excluded where a cost has both business and personal purposes. Fines and penalty charges are not allowable business expenses. Your accountant should check the evidence and the tax treatment rather than automatically claiming every payment.

Read HMRC's guidance on vehicle and travel expenses.

3. Compare mileage with actual vehicle costs

For an eligible vehicle, a sole trader may be able to use simplified mileage expenses instead of calculating the relevant business proportion of actual running costs.

For the 2026/27 tax year, HMRC's simplified rates for eligible cars and goods vehicles are:

• 55p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles; and

• 25p per business mile after 10,000 miles.

These rates changed on 6 April 2026; the rate for the first 10,000 miles was previously 45p. Simplified expenses are not available for every vehicle. HMRC specifically excludes vehicles designed for commercial use such as black cabs and hackney carriages. They also cannot be used for a vehicle where capital allowances have already been claimed or the vehicle has already been included as an expense when working out business profits.

Once the flat-rate method is used for a vehicle, it must normally continue for as long as that vehicle is used in the business. This makes it sensible to compare the likely mileage claim with actual vehicle costs before choosing a method.

Check HMRC's current simplified vehicle-expense rules.

4. Prepare and submit the Self Assessment return

An accountant can prepare the self-employment figures, include other relevant income and gains, calculate the amount due and submit the return after receiving your approval. They can also explain payments on account where these apply and help you plan for the payment deadline.

This can be especially helpful if you started driving part-way through a tax year, stopped and restarted, changed platforms, have employment income as well as driving income, or need to correct an earlier return.

5. Keep the records ready throughout the year

Waiting until January to collect a year's worth of statements and receipts makes errors more likely. Regular bookkeeping can help you see whether your income is profitable after commission, fuel, hire and other costs. It also prepares you for Making Tax Digital if you are already within the rules or will enter them in a later year.

Making Tax Digital for Veezu drivers

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax now affects some sole traders. It requires people within scope to keep digital records and send income and expense summaries to HMRC through compatible software every three months.

The start date depends on qualifying income, which is total gross income from self-employment and property before expenses—not taxable profit. Income from more than one self-employment or property business may need to be combined when checking the threshold.

Under the current timetable:

• qualifying income above £50,000 in 2024/25 means MTD should have been used from 6 April 2026;

• qualifying income above £30,000 in 2025/26 means MTD will apply from 6 April 2027; and

• qualifying income above £20,000 in 2026/27 means MTD will apply from 6 April 2028.

This is important for drivers because the test is based on income before expenses. A driver may have turnover above a threshold even where commission, vehicle hire, fuel and insurance substantially reduce the final profit.

Check when MTD for Income Tax applies and how HMRC calculates qualifying income.

What are the quarterly MTD deadlines?

For standard tax-year update periods, the current quarterly deadlines are:

The quarterly updates are summaries rather than tax returns. They do not replace the end-of-year tax return or the 31 January payment deadline.

What if you missed the first MTD deadline?

The first quarterly update for people required to join MTD from April 2026 was due by 7 August 2026. HMRC has confirmed that it will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026/27 tax year. However, the outstanding updates still need to be dealt with, and quarterly updates must be sent before the tax return can be submitted.

If you believe you should already be using MTD but have not registered, speak to an accountant promptly. They can check whether the rules apply, help you choose compatible software and bring the records up to date.

Read HMRC's quarterly-update guidance.

Does Veezu report driver income to HMRC?

UK reporting rules require digital platform operators within scope to collect information about sellers and report relevant details and platform income to HMRC each year. HMRC's guidance specifically includes people providing services such as taxi driving.

The platform must also provide the seller with a copy of the information reported. HMRC explains that a platform report may show calendar-year earnings after fees, commission or taxes deducted. That information does not replace your own business records, and the calendar year does not match the UK tax year of 6 April to 5 April.

Platform reporting does not automatically mean that additional tax is owed. It does make accurate reconciliation more important because HMRC may be able to compare reported platform information with the figures on a tax return.

Drivers should check the annual information supplied by each platform and query discrepancies rather than assuming that bank deposits alone provide the correct tax figure.

Read HMRC's digital-platform reporting guidance.

What records should you give your accountant?

Keeping the following information can make the year-end process quicker and more accurate:

• Veezu weekly, monthly and annual statements;

• Driver Partner Portal earnings reports;

• annual digital-platform information supplied to you;

• business bank and card statements;

• a record of cash fares and tips;

• statements from every other driving platform used;

• a mileage log showing the date, journey and business purpose;

• fuel, repair, servicing, insurance and breakdown documents;

• vehicle purchase, finance or hire agreements;

• private-hire driver and vehicle licensing costs;

• telephone and data bills; and

• details of employment, property or other taxable income.

Keep original digital records and clear images of receipts rather than relying only on totals entered into a spreadsheet.

Is hiring an accountant worthwhile for a Veezu driver?

It depends on the complexity of your records and your confidence with tax. A driver with one platform, well-maintained records and straightforward expenses may be comfortable preparing their own return.

Professional help becomes more valuable where you:

• accept both cash and card fares;

• drive for several platforms;

• own, finance or hire an expensive vehicle;

• are unsure whether mileage or actual costs are more suitable;

• have missing or inconsistent platform statements;

• are late registering or filing;

• have received an HMRC query;

• have qualifying income within the MTD thresholds; or

• trade through a limited company.

The main benefit is not simply completing a form. It is ensuring that the income is reconciled, the expense method is appropriate, the records support the figures and the filing obligations are understood before a deadline is missed.

Frequently asked questions

Do Veezu drivers have to complete a tax return?

If you operate as a self-employed sole trader and your gross trading income was more than £1,000 during the tax year, you will normally need to register for Self Assessment and submit a tax return. Other circumstances can also create a filing requirement.

Do I need to declare cash fares and tips?

Yes. Cash fares and tips connected with the driving business should not be omitted simply because they did not pass through the platform or business bank account. Keep a regular record so they can be included accurately.

Can I claim Veezu commission and platform fees?

Fees or commission incurred wholly for the driving business will normally be relevant when calculating business profit. Their treatment depends on whether your accounts begin with gross fares or an amount already shown after deductions. Do not deduct the same fee twice.

Can a Veezu driver claim mileage?

An eligible sole trader using a qualifying vehicle may be able to use HMRC's simplified mileage method. For 2026/27, the rate is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p thereafter. Restrictions apply, including for black cabs and hackney carriages, so check the vehicle and any previous claims before using the method.

Does the MTD threshold mean income or profit?

It means qualifying gross income before expenses. HMRC combines relevant self-employment and property income when checking the threshold. Employment income, dividends and certain other sources do not count towards qualifying income.

Can an accountant manage MTD quarterly updates?

Yes. An authorised accountant can help register an eligible client, set up compatible software, maintain or review digital records and send quarterly updates. The taxpayer remains responsible for ensuring that the information is complete and accurate.

What if I drive for Veezu, Uber and Bolt?

Income from every platform must be considered. Where the activities form the same driving trade, the records will usually be brought together when preparing the self-employment accounts, while retaining statements from each platform for reconciliation.

Need accounting help with your Veezu income?

Gondal Accountancy's Veezu driver accounting service helps driver-partners with Self Assessment, income and expense records, mileage reviews and Making Tax Digital support.

We can review your platform statements, help organise your driving records and prepare your tax return based on the information you provide. Support is available from our Birmingham office and remotely across the UK.

Call 0121 439 9760 or contact Gondal Accountancy to arrange an initial consultation.

You may also find these services useful:

• Accountants for taxi and private-hire drivers

• Self Assessment accountants

• Bookkeeping services

This article provides general information based on HMRC guidance available on 13 August 2026. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances, the business structure, the vehicle and the records maintained. Seek advice about your own position before making a claim or filing a return.