Can I claim food and drink while I am working?
Rarely. Ordinary meals during a normal working pattern are not allowable.
Last checked 12/09/2026.
Usually not. HMRC treats the cost of eating as something you would incur anyway, so a coffee and a meal deal during a normal shift are not allowable.
Reasonable subsistence can be claimed where the travel is genuinely outside your normal pattern - an occasional long trip well beyond your usual area, or an overnight stay. A regular round in your usual zone is not that.
This is one of the most commonly over-claimed items on driver returns. Expenses if you are self-employed (opens in a new tab).
Related
What can I claim on top of the mileage allowance?
Anything that is not a cost of running the vehicle - parking, phone, kit, platform fees.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 19/08/2026
Business miles, commuting and the depot run
A business mile is one driven wholly for the work. Commuting between home and a regular workplace is never claimable. For most gig drivers the working day starts when the app goes on, which makes the drive to a chosen pickup zone personal and the drive between drops business.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
Record keeping, and how long to keep it
You have to keep enough to show how every figure on your return was arrived at: what you were paid, what you spent, and how far you drove for the work. Records have to be kept for 5 years after the filing deadline for the year they cover.
HMRC & taxUpdated 27/08/2026
Capital allowances on a vehicle
A capital allowance is tax relief on something you bought to keep and use, spread over years rather than deducted at once. You cannot claim capital allowances on a vehicle and use the mileage rate for it, so for most gig drivers this is a road not taken.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
ULEZ, clean air zones and the congestion charge
If your vehicle does not meet the emissions standard, driving into a charging zone costs a daily fee. London ULEZ and the seven English clean air zones each set their own rules, and a Class C zone charges vans and taxis but not private cars.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 27/08/2026
How Amazon Flex pay works
Amazon Flex pays a fixed price for a block of time, quoted before you accept it. The figure is gross, it says nothing about the miles the route will run, and everything after that, fuel, insurance, wear and tax, comes out of it.
Earnings & profitabilityUpdated 27/08/2026