Tax authorities begin to monitor taxi drivers: what innovations await passengers

In Ukraine, taxi drivers working through platforms such as Uklon, Uber, and Bolt are obliged to pay taxes in the same manner as ordinary employees. This applies to everyone who regularly receives income from transportation.

The head of the State Tax Service, Lesya Karnaukh, emphasized that drivers who earn a stable income must pay 18% personal income tax and 1.5% military duty. If a driver is not registered as an entrepreneur, he pays about 25% of his income to the platforms and another 19.5% in taxes.

Experts advise registering as an individual entrepreneur of the 3rd group, which allows you to avoid significant bureaucratic complications. In this case, the tax burden will be 5% of turnover plus a fixed social security contribution of 1,760 hryvnias per month.

Representatives of the Uklon and Bolt platforms are ready to facilitate drivers’ tasks by agreeing to serve as tax agents. This means that they will automatically withhold taxes from each trip and transfer them to the budget. It is expected that this approach could provide the state with an additional 14 billion hryvnias in 2026.

The new rules should not significantly affect passenger fares. Bolt General Manager Serhiy Pavlyk noted that the tax rate for drivers will be 10%, and the market will gradually adapt to the new conditions.

These changes are part of a major reform of the gig economy in Ukraine and a response to the European Union’s requirements to recognize drivers as employees with all social guarantees. Ukraine is seeking an optimal solution to legalize taxi drivers’ income without unnecessary bureaucratic pressure.