1Is gig or platform income taxed like a salary?
No — it's business income, which is to your advantage. You can deduct the costs of earning it or use the presumptive scheme, and you file as a small business rather than a salaried employee.
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ArticleGig income from apps and platforms is business income, not salary — which means you control far more of your tax than a salaried person does, if you handle it right. Here are the moves that matter.
Reviewed by CA Harika Chebolu, FCA · Last updated 2026-06-13
Quick answer
Cab drivers, delivery riders and platform freelancers earn business income — here's how presumptive taxation, real expenses and advance tax actually cut the bill.
Payments from delivery, ride and freelance apps are your business receipts, not salary. That single fact is good news: you can subtract the cost of earning that money before being taxed, and often declare a fixed share as profit instead of tracking every rupee. The trade-off is that you manage your own tax, since no employer withholds it for you.
Most gig and delivery work counts as a small business, so under Section 44AD you can declare just 8% of receipts as income — 6% on amounts received digitally — with no detailed books, as long as turnover stays within Rs 2 crore (Rs 3 crore if cash is 5% or less). For most riders and drivers that's both simpler and lighter than it sounds.
If your costs are high, skip presumptive and deduct the genuine expenses of the work instead: fuel, vehicle maintenance and insurance, phone and data, platform/commission charges, and depreciation on a vehicle or equipment used for the job. Compare the two approaches once a year — heavy-fuel, high-EMI workers often do better claiming actuals.
Platforms may deduct some TDS, but it rarely covers your full tax. If your tax for the year crosses Rs 10,000 after TDS, the balance is due in instalments — 15 Jun, 15 Sep, 15 Dec, 15 Mar — and missing them adds 1%-a-month interest. Set aside a slice of each payout so the dates aren't a shock.
Your platform earnings summary, any TDS, and your bank credits all show up in your AIS and Form 26AS. Match them before filing so nothing is missed or double-counted, and keep fuel and maintenance bills if you claim actual expenses. Clean records make both filing and any future query painless.
No — it's business income, which is to your advantage. You can deduct the costs of earning it or use the presumptive scheme, and you file as a small business rather than a salaried employee.
Usually yes, under Section 44AD. Declare 8% of receipts (6% on digital) as income with no detailed books, up to Rs 2 crore turnover (Rs 3 crore if cash is 5% or less).
Yes, if tax after TDS crosses Rs 10,000. Pay across the four advance-tax dates to avoid 1%-a-month interest, since platform TDS rarely covers the full liability.
Driving or delivering across platforms? Write to the firm and we'll help you pick the simplest, lowest-tax route.