Ride-hailing drivers and platform delivery couriers: the end of withholding tax, in favor of the business license tax (Article 30)

Owners of vehicles used for public transport of passengers or goods who work through an online matching platform (ride-hailing, home delivery) are changing tax regime under the 2026 Finance Law tax annex. Article 30 of Finance Law No. 2025-987 of December 19, 2025 revisits a regime that had been in force for several years.

The previous regime: a 4% withholding tax

Before the 2026 tax annex came into force, these vehicle owners were subject to a 4% withholding tax on their income, deducted directly by the platform operator from their share of the fare, after the platform's commission. This withholding, collected under the same conditions, guarantees and penalties as VAT, was final: it stood in for both the transport business license tax and the corporate income tax, collected on a flat-rate, advance basis.

The new regime: subject to the business license tax

Article 30 removes this 4% withholding and shifts these operators into the ordinary business license tax regime applicable to transport businesses (Articles 272 et seq. of the General Tax Code). In practice, the business license tax is now paid annually, based on the vehicle category, and comprises two components: a fixed duty based on turnover depending on whether the activity is passenger transport, goods transport, or a mix of both, and a corporate income tax collected on a flat-rate, advance basis. The VAT regime applicable to these operators, meanwhile, does not change and remains the ordinary regime.

A new formality that now governs platform access

The real change for the platforms themselves lies elsewhere: registering or re-registering a vehicle owner is now conditional on proof that this business license tax has been paid. In practice:

• the platform operator must require this proof before any registration or re-registration;
• in the absence of proof, it must refuse registration or deactivate the account of the non-compliant driver or courier;
• if the platform fails to meet this monitoring obligation (registering anyway, failing to deactivate), it becomes jointly liable for the business license tax owed by the non-compliant operator, without prejudice to other applicable penalties.

What changes, in plain terms

For drivers and couriers, taxation moves from an automatic deduction proportional to each ride to an annual, flat-rate contribution tied to the vehicle's category. This requires an active step of registering and paying, with proof to be provided to the platform. For platforms, it is a new compliance requirement to build into their registration processes, with a real risk of joint tax liability in the event of insufficient monitoring.

ANKHURA CONSEIL's advice: Matching platforms should review their registration process without delay to build in verification of proof of the business license tax, given the risk of joint tax liability. Independent drivers and couriers, for their part, should identify the license category applicable to their vehicle and plan ahead for the payment deadline. ANKHURA CONSEIL supports both platforms (compliance policy) and individual operators (registration, calculating the license tax).