Couriers earn around 1 million at Kifli, but what about elsewhere?

The changes introduced in September last year in the rules of the itemized tax (kata) of low-tax businesses had a significant impact on the income of food couriers. In the past, the kata provided many entrepreneurs with an extremely discounted monthly fixed tax of up to HUF 12 million per year. A significant number of food couriers have chosen this type of tax for years. However, more than a year ago they fell out of the kata beneficiaries, and their tax burden increased markedly.

As a result of the lost discounts and flat-rate taxation, the monthly tax burden of food couriers rose to an average of HUF 100-200,000, instead of the original HUF 50,000 fixed monthly tax. The president of the Hungarian National Courier Representation (MOFK), Attila Elek, called the current situation regrettable and explained that the couriers’ incomes were reduced by less than half in the past year. Due to the change, many people were forced to leave the profession.

Some food delivery companies tried to compensate for the drop in the income of couriers. Foodora, for example, introduced a one-time fee increase of 18 percent, while Wolt offered a monthly bonus of HUF 65,000 to full-time food couriers, provided they completed the service of 650 addresses per month.

Attila Elek emphasized that in the past, tips were also a significant part of couriers’ income, but nowadays they hardly receive a tip. He also pointed out that although some claim that a food courier can earn 800,000 per month, this is not impossible in Budapest, but requires 15 hours of work per day.