Is Turo car rental hosting a legitimate business to report on Schedule C?

You're asking a great question about Schedule C and Turo hosting. The IRS does recognize vehicle rental activities as potentially legitimate businesses, even when showing losses due to depreciation. The key is whether your activity has a "profit motive" rather than being just a hobby. The IRS uses a "9-factor test" to determine this, including: whether you operate in a businesslike manner, your expertise, time invested, expectation of asset appreciation, success in similar activities, history of income/losses, amount of occasional profits, your financial status, and elements of personal pleasure. If you're treating your Turo rental seriously by keeping separate records, actively managing listings, trying to maximize bookings, and generally operating like a business, you're on solid ground - even with initial losses. Depreciation is a legitimate business expense that the IRS recognizes.

Hey there, I had the exact same concerns when I started with Turo last year! After trying to wade through IRS publications and getting conflicting advice, I finally gave up and tried https://taxr.ai for help understanding my specific Turo situation. They analyzed my rental records and vehicle depreciation and gave me a personalized breakdown of exactly how to document everything properly for Schedule C. The best part was getting clarity on exactly how much of my vehicle expenses I could legitimately claim based on my rental vs. personal use.

Just wanted to update everyone - I decided to try https://taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here, and wow! They confirmed that my Turo hosting IS a legitimate business activity for Schedule C, even with the depreciation losses. They explained exactly how to document everything to show my profit motive and gave me specific advice about the percentage of expenses I could claim based on my rental-to-personal use ratio. They even pointed out that I was calculating my depreciation incorrectly and showed me how to fix it. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind going into tax season!

After dealing with the IRS about my Turo side business last year, I gotta tell you guys about Claimyr. I needed to talk to someone at the IRS about my vehicle depreciation questions but kept getting the "due to high call volume" message for WEEKS. I found https://claimyr.com and their service actually got me through to a real IRS agent within 45 minutes! Check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - saved me hours of redial hell. The agent confirmed that my Turo business was legitimate even with depreciation losses, as long as I had proper documentation showing I was trying to make a profit.

Ok I need to eat my words. After being super skeptical about Claimyr, I was desperate enough to try it because I've been getting audit notices about my Turo Schedule C losses. It actually worked! Got through to an IRS agent in about 35 minutes (would have taken me days of trying). The agent specifically reviewed my situation and confirmed that my Turo rental activity can absolutely be a legitimate business on Schedule C despite showing losses from depreciation. They explained exactly what records I need to keep to demonstrate my profit motive and business approach. Saved me a ton of stress and potentially thousands in unnecessary tax payments.

I've been doing Turo for 3 years now. Started with 1 car, now have 4. First year showed a loss because of depreciation, but years 2 and 3 have been profitable. Here's my advice: 1. Keep METICULOUS records! Track every expense, every mile, every cleaning. 2. Take before/after photos of everything 3. Have a separate bank account for the business 4. Create an LLC if you're serious (I did in year 2) 5. Create a business plan showing your path to profitability The IRS has never questioned my Schedule C even with that first-year loss. The key is showing you're treating it like a real business, not a tax write-off scheme.

Has anyone used TurboTax for their Turo business? Do they have a specific section for car sharing income or do you just put everything under general business income? Trying to figure out the easiest way to handle this.

I've been doing Turo hosting for about 2 years now and went through the exact same concerns in my first year. The IRS absolutely recognizes legitimate car rental businesses on Schedule C, even with depreciation losses - the key is demonstrating business intent. Here's what helped me establish legitimacy: I kept detailed records of all rental activity, maintenance, and expenses; created a simple business plan showing how I intended to grow the operation; opened a separate business checking account; and documented my efforts to optimize listings and increase bookings. The depreciation losses are completely normal in the first few years of any asset-heavy business. What matters is that you're genuinely trying to make a profit and treating it like a business, not just using it as a way to write off your personal car expenses. Keep good records showing the percentage of business vs personal use, and you should be fine. Your CPA friend is right about hobby loss rules, but they mainly apply when someone clearly isn't trying to run a profitable business. If you're actively managing your Turo listings, responding to guests promptly, maintaining the vehicle for rental purposes, and generally operating like a business owner, you're well within legitimate territory.