Paying Your Turo Team Members: Per-Job Rates, Payment and 1099s

Most hosts pay the people who clean and move their cars by the job. That's simple until there are four of them, a few hundred jobs a year, and a tax form due in January. This guide covers setting the rates, paying people, the records to keep, and the 1099-NEC rules for money you pay in 2026. The IRS rules below were read on November 3, 2026.

Not tax advice. We make fleet software, not tax returns, and nobody here is a CPA. This is general information on US federal rules. Check your own situation with a tax professional.

How should I set a per-job rate for a Turo cleaner?

Start from how long a normal turnover takes, add the drive, and price it as one job. Agree on it before the first one.

For a reference point, the median wage for vehicle cleaners was $17.23 an hour in 2025 (O*NET OnLine, BLS 2025 wage data).^[8] Rates near you may be higher or lower.

Example, with made-up round numbers: a turnover takes one hour and the drive takes half an hour. At $20 an hour, that is $30 a turnover.

Set a few rates up front, so nobody argues later:

• A standard turnover, for a car that came back in normal shape.
• A deep clean, for pet hair, spills or a smell, at a higher rate.
• A drive, for a delivery, a return or a run to the mechanic.
• A wasted trip, for when they show up and the car isn't there.

Write the rates down and give your team a copy. A change applies from an agreed date, not to work already done.

Can I get back what I pay for a deep clean?

Sometimes. If a guest left the car in a state only irresponsible or abusive use could cause, you have 72 hours after the trip ends to report a cleaning issue to Turo.^[9] If the evidence supports it, Turo charges the guest a $150 violation fee and adds it to your earnings (Turo).^[9] Everyday dirt doesn't qualify.^[9]

Your cleaner's photos are the evidence. Ask for them before they start cleaning, and pay the deep-clean rate either way. The person who did the work shouldn't wait on Turo's decision.

Are my cleaners and drivers contractors or employees?

It depends on how much control you have, not on what you call them. The IRS's general rule is that someone is an independent contractor if you have the right to control or direct only the result of the work, not what will be done and how (IRS).^[2]

The IRS looks at three kinds of evidence (IRS)^[3]:

• Behavioral: do you control, or have the right to control, what they do and how they do it?
• Financial: do you control the business side of the job?
• Type of relationship: is there a written contract, or employee-type benefits?

If it's still unclear, you can file Form SS-8 and the IRS will decide.^[3] Employees' wages go on a Form W-2, not a 1099 (IRS).^[1] This is the question to take to a professional before you hire, not after.

What should I get from a team member before their first job?

A completed Form W-9. It is how a person gives their correct taxpayer identification number to whoever has to file an information return about them (IRS).^[4] Get it before you pay them, not in January when you need it.

If a payee doesn't give you their number, payments you must report on a 1099-NEC are subject to backup withholding (IRS instructions).^[1] The rate is 24% (IRS).^[5]

How should I pay my team and keep records?

Pay on a fixed day, by whatever method you both agree on, and record every payment as you make it. For each one, write down:

• who you paid and how much,
• the date you paid and how (cash, check, bank transfer or an app),
• which jobs and which cars it covered.

Keep the jobs and the payments apart. A job is money you owe; a payment is money you sent. At year end, the total you actually paid each person in the year is the number that matters.

The method matters for taxes. Payments made by payment card or through a third-party payment network are reported on a 1099-K by the payment company, not on your 1099-NEC (IRS).^[1] Ask your preparer how that applies to each way you pay.

The IRS says to keep most records for 3 years, and employment tax records for at least 4 years (IRS).^[7]

Do I need to send a 1099-NEC for 2026?

For payments you make in 2026, file a 1099-NEC for each person you paid at least $2,000.^[1] For 2025 and earlier, the line was $600.^[1] The IRS says the new threshold applies to tax years beginning after 2025 and may be adjusted for inflation starting in 2027 (IRS).^[1]

The IRS lists four conditions, and all four have to be true:^[1]

1. The person is not your employee.
2. You paid them for services in the course of your trade or business.
3. They are an individual, partnership or estate, or in some cases a corporation.
4. You paid them at least $2,000 during the year.

Payments to a corporation, including an LLC taxed as a C or S corporation, are generally left out.^[1] Personal payments are not reportable (IRS).^[1]

When is the 1099-NEC due, and how do I file it?

Send each person their copy and file with the IRS by January 31.^[1] When that falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the due date is the next business day (IRS).^[1] January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so for 2026 payments the deadline is Monday, February 1, 2027.

If you file 10 or more information returns in total, you must file them electronically.^[6] The IRS's free web portal for this, the Information Returns Intake System (IRIS), took the 1099-NEC for 2025 returns (IRS).^[6]

What if I co-host cars for another owner?

Agree in writing who pays the team. The 1099-NEC is filed by whoever paid the person in the course of their business (IRS)^[1], so a team member who cleans for two owners can get a form from each one that paid them $2,000 or more.

Turo won't sort this out for you. Its hosting teams set who can do what on a trip, and co-hosts can't see trip receipts or host earnings (Turo).^[10] Settle pay between yourselves, on paper. Our guide to Turo co-hosting covers what a written agreement should include.

How Taylor's Fleet Services handles this

Taylor's Fleet Services records pay inside each fleet, as that fleet's expense: a team member who works for two fleets is counted separately in each. In each person's Details on the Team tab, you choose Per Job, Hourly Employee or Not Tracked Here, and, for Per Job, their pay per cleaning and per drive. Each job on the Dispatch tab starts from that pay, and you can change it there. Cleaning pay counts in each car's profit. It does not pay your team or file 1099s for you.

Click around a live demo fleet with no sign-up: taylorsfleet.com/explore