Taxi driver costs: a worked budget for 2026

An example, not a promise

Arithmetic example: 40 hours a week × PLN 45 payout per hour × 4 weeks = PLN 7,200. With weekly rent of PLN 700 and fuel of PLN 250, PLN 3,400 remains before other costs and outstanding taxes/contributions. These are assumptions, not a platform rate. An average month at 52/12 weeks is longer than four weeks. A refundable deposit is separate working capital.

Revenue, payout and balance

What a passenger or customer pays is not necessarily the worker’s payout. Check whether the settlement is before or after commission, VAT and partner deductions. Subtract only expenses not already withheld. Calculate hourly results over all working time, including waiting and pickup travel. Turnover alone is not take-home income.

What the agreement must clarify

Clarify rent and its VAT basis, mileage limits and surcharges, servicing, tyres, insurance, deductibles, damage, downtime, replacement cars, termination and deposit return in writing. Verify the counterparty’s right to supply the car; they need not own it. A photographed handover record documents condition, mileage, fuel and equipment. Agreements operate within the law and cannot override mandatory rules.

Sources: Kodeks cywilny

A deposit is not rent

Do not add a refundable deposit to weekly expenses as “deposit/weeks”. Show it separately as tied-up funds. A justified retention, non-refundable charge or financing cost is an expense. Compare the whole agreement: rent, protection and surcharge exposure. No deposit does not by itself make an offer cheaper. There is no universal statutory deposit price or return deadline for every car rental.

Sources: Kodeks cywilny

Partner or sole trader

Working under a partner agreement and running a sole trade are different models. Under zlecenie, PIT/ZUS depend on the agreement and insurance status; a sole trader handles their own settlement. Ryczałt taxes revenue, not profit after fuel and rent. The actual service and statutory conditions determine the rate, not the app’s name. The youth PIT exemption does not cover sole-trade revenue.

Sources: Ministerstwo Finansów — ryczałt · Ulga dla młodych