Taxi drivers and operators

The main activities for businesses in this industry are providing road passenger transportation services, including hire car services with driver and taxi cab services.

Input benchmarks

You may find the input benchmarks useful in calculating the expected range of income for taxi operators and drivers based on kilometres travelled or fuel used.

They have been developed in consultation with industry participants.

They represent the industry norm. You should consider your own personal circumstances when using the input benchmarks to assess your situation.

Input benchmark guide

The table below sets out benchmarks for taxi operators.

You can use this benchmark to compare and check your business performance to the taxi industry average.

Benchmark guide – per taxi
Fuel consumption (LPG) – litres per 100 kilometres	18
Total litres of fuel (LPG) consumed during year	27,000
Fuel consumption (ULP) – litres per 100 kilometres	13.3
Total litres of fuel (ULP) consumed during year	20,000
Fuel cost – percentage of gross taxi income	8% – 16%
Total kilometres travelled during year (from your records or calculated from fuel figures)	150,000
Total litres of fuel per shift (LPG)	54
Total litres of fuel per shift (ULP)	40

Note:

Regional factors may affect total kilometres travelled, gross income and fuel consumption.
Fuel consumption for LPG is the equivalent of 5.55 kilometres per litre.
Fuel consumption for ULP is the equivalent of 7.5 kilometres per litre.

For more information on the cents per kilometre rate (CPK), including rates for previous years, refer to Taxi cents per kilometre rates.

Input benchmark – sales turnover

You can use this benchmark to:

calculate your income
compare your income against the taxi industry average
check that records accurately reflect your income.

Income guide – taxi operator (per taxi)
Total kilometres travelled during year	150,000
Cents per kilometre rate – 2013	$1.30
Total fares (kilometres × CPK rate)	$195,000
Total shifts worked during year	500
Bailment arrangement (average percentage of total fares)	50%
Income from bailment (at 50% of total fares)	$97,500
Income guide – taxi drivers
Average shifts worked during year	225
Average kilometres per shift	300
Total kilometres travelled during year (average shifts × average kilometres travelled)	67,500
Cents per kilometre rate – 2013	$1.30
Total fares per shift (average km per shift × CPK rate )	$390
Total fares (total fares per shift × average shifts)	$87,750

Note:

Regional factors may affect total kilometres travelled, gross income and fuel consumption.
All dollar amounts are GST-inclusive.

Follow the links below for information on:

Completing your activity statement – instructions for taxi drivers (NAT 11368)
Taxation Ruling TR 96/11 Income tax: record keeping – taxi industry – guidelines for recording taxi takings.

Input benchmark examples

Example 1

Norman is a taxi operator in a metropolitan area. He owns five taxis, each travelling an average of 160,000 kilometres per year. The total distance travelled for all five taxis is 800,000 kilometres.

Norman is worried about his record keeping so he checks his estimated income against the benchmarks. Norman receives 50% of the fares for each taxi. His records show total fares of $780,000. His share of the fares is $390,000.

Using the 2013 cents per kilometre rate of $1.30, he calculates the total fares for all five taxis should be $1,040,000. Norman calculates his share of the total should be $520,000 under his standard 50% bailment arrangement.

Norman's recorded income doesn't match the benchmarks. He asks his bookkeeper for advice on keeping better records.

Example 2

George is a taxi driver. According to his logbook for 2012–13, George worked 150 shifts and took total fares of $44,000 (including GST).

George calculates that his total fares per shift are $293, which is below the benchmark of $390.

George decides to seek advice on his record keeping.

Example 3

Jeff, a Sydney taxi driver, has purchased 12,000 litres of LPG.

According to the fuel usage benchmarks, of 18 litres per hundred kilometres, Jeff's taxi should have travelled about 66,670 kilometres. Using the benchmark cents per kilometre rate, Jeff should have taken total fares of $86,671. His records show total fares of only $85,337.

As this is close to the benchmark, Jeff is reasonably confident that he has correctly recorded all his fares.

End of example

See also:

Small business benchmarks

Last modified: 28 Mar 2017QC 43674