Self employed

Hi, adavis123! Welcome to the world of self employment!

The answer to your first question is yes, as a self-employed person, you can write off the expenses of your business against the business income.  If your business has a net loss, generally speaking yes, that loss will offset the other income on your tax return (note there can be exceptions to this, such as the at risk limitations or passive activity limitations).

You would report the business income on Schedule C of your tax return.  Any normal and reasonable business expenses can be used to reduce this income.  These include the fees that Turo charges you (you can find these on the Turo earnings and tax summary).  You can also deduct unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses and your vehicle expenses.

When deducting vehicle expenses, you can choose to use either the Standard Mileage Rate or Actual Expenses.  In either case, you will need to keep a mileage log to substantiate the business miles driven and the deduction taken.  The IRS rules about taking vehicle deductions can be found in IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift and Car Expenses, located at this link:  Publication 463 Page 26 of this publication has a sample Daily Business Mileage and Expense Log.  

With regard to any expenses, you should keep the proof you need in an account book, diary, log, statement of expense, trip sheets, or similar record. You should also keep documentary evidence (i.e receipts) that, together with your record, will support each element of an expense.