I Ran the Numbers on Turo. Here's What Renting Out Your Car Actually Costs You

Quick Take

• Turo offers three earning plans, paying out 70, 80, or 90 percent of your rental price.

• Damage responsibility scales with your payout: $250 on the low plan, up to $2,750 on the high plan.

• None of the three plans cover wear and tear, lost income while your car sits in the shop, or a replacement vehicle.

• Renting your car out makes you self-employed for tax purposes, so you'll owe self-employment tax on your net income.

• Check with your insurance carrier before you list anything. Many personal auto policies exclude car sharing entirely.

How does Turo's payout actually work?

Turo gives you three earning plans to choose from, and the tradeoff is simple on the surface: give up more of your payout, and your damage responsibility drops. The 70 percent plan keeps your damage responsibility at $250. The 80 percent plan pushes that up to $1,500. The 90 percent plan, where you keep the most money per booking, carries $2,750 in damage responsibility if something goes wrong.

I keep coming back to that last number. $2,750 is real money, and it's the kind of thing people don't think about until they're staring at a repair estimate.

What isn't covered, no matter which plan you pick?

This is the part that catches people off guard. None of Turo's three plans cover wear and tear on your car. None of them cover the income you lose while your car is in the shop getting fixed. None of them give you a replacement vehicle to drive in the meantime. You're absorbing all of that yourself, on top of whatever damage responsibility your plan carries.

Does renting my car out change my taxes?

Yes, and it's an easy detail to miss. The income you earn from Turo makes you self-employed for tax purposes, which means self-employment tax on your net income, on top of regular income tax. The standard mileage deduction offsets some of that (76 cents a mile as of July 2026), but it won't cancel it out. Set aside money for taxes the same way you would with any other side income, because the IRS is going to want its share.

What should I check before I list my car?

Call your insurance carrier first. This is the step people skip, and it's the one that matters most. A lot of personal auto policies exclude car sharing outright, which means you could be driving around with a gap in coverage without knowing it. Turo has its own insurance options built into each plan, but the details vary, and it's worth reading exactly what's covered before you assume you're protected.

The bottom line

The payout percentage looks like the whole story, but it isn't. Between the sliding damage responsibility, the gaps in coverage, and the tax bill you didn't budget for, Turo can still be a solid side hustle. Just run the real numbers first, not just the headline payout.

Got a money question? Send it to us at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com.