What expenses can e-hailing drivers track in South Africa?

The costs that exist because you drive for income: fuel, maintenance, tyres, e-hailing-appropriate insurance, licensing, cleaning, work-use data and airtime, tolls and parking, and the business-use portion of vehicle finance. Whether each is deductible for tax depends on your circumstances, so verify with SARS or a registered practitioner.

Does a tax deduction give me my money back?

No. A deductible expense reduces the income you are taxed on, at your marginal rate. You still paid the full amount; you are only taxed as if you earned less.

How do I keep track of driving expenses without drowning?

Daily, log litres, kilometres and earnings. When big costs happen, capture them with their slips or invoices. Monthly, review your cost per kilometre and set money aside for the next service. Records beat memory at tax time.

Guide · South Africa

Uber driver expenses in South Africa: the full list

If you only track fuel, you're seeing a third of the picture. Here are the costs that quietly decide whether driving pays you, and how to tell business costs from personal ones.

The expense list

Expense	What to track	Business cost?
Fuel	Litres, price per litre, km per fill	Yes, the core operating cost
Maintenance & servicing	Services, oil, brakes, shocks	Yes, wear comes from work km
Tyres	Price, km lifespan achieved	Yes, e-hailing km wear tyres fast
Insurance	Premium and what it covers for e-hailing use	Yes, verify your policy covers e-hailing
Vehicle finance / repayment	Monthly instalment	Business use portion
Licensing & permits	Vehicle licence, operating permit requirements	Yes, required for e-hailing work
Cleaning	Washes, valets	Mostly, ratings depend on it
Data & airtime	Top-ups used while driving	Work-use portion
Tolls & parking	Per trip or per day	Yes, when paid for work trips
Depreciation	Value lost as km climb	Real cost, invisible monthly

Business expense, personal expense, deductible, know the difference

Business expense, exists because you drive for income (fuel for work trips, tyres, work-use data). Track it separately.
Personal expense, the private use of the same car: personal trips, personal airtime. Don't mix it into your work numbers.
Potentially deductible, some business expenses may be deductible for tax purposes when properly recorded and claimed. That's a tax question with real rules and consequences.

Important: this page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax treatment of e-hailing income and expenses depends on your circumstances, and SARS rules change. Verify anything tax-related with SARS directly or a registered tax practitioner before you claim, and keep records either way, because a claim without proof is just a story.

How to keep track without drowning

Daily: log litres, kilometres and earnings, three numbers, thirty seconds.
When they happen: capture maintenance, tyres, insurance and other big-ticket costs with their slips or invoices.
Monthly: review cost per kilometre and set money aside for the next service.

Records beat memory at tax time, and they're the only way to know whether this work actually pays you. Estimate your profit per kilometre with the calculator, or track it automatically in the app.

Your ledger, built as you drive

BhutiFuel logs your litres, trips and earnings as you go, calculates your real costs, and turns the record into a clean PDF fuel claim report and CSV exports. Logging is free forever; the report tools are paid, in rands, only when you want them.

Start logging free with BhutiFuel