Q: If I own a vehicle and would like to rent it out for profit, can that individual use vehicle themselves for profit?

A: I see that you are in West Virginia but asking about laws in Colorado. The Colorado law supports you leasing your automobile to someone who then uses it for profit. Leasing an automobile to another person or business can be done at a profit to yourself (just be sure to tell your CPA about that revenue) and the person using your car can also make a profit. You can add things to the lease agreement to protect yourself, such as language about returning the car on-time, using only premium fuel, or agreeing to a no-smoking policy.

Colorado imposes a sales and use tax that also includes leases. A lease of tangible personal property for a period less than 36 months does not trigger the tax.

Contact your insurance company and ask about adding the additional driver to the policy. Sometimes an additional driver can be added for only a small increase in cost. By adding the second driver, you are taking big steps to make sure that your insurance policy will cover any liability arising from a crash, vehicle theft, or similar problem while your renter has possession of the car.

The person renting the car from you, however, should read the Ride Share App policies carefully. The ride share platform may expect ride share drivers to own the cars used to transport passengers. There may be terms in the ride share policies that require a certain kind of car insurance. Further, there may be some risk that a passenger suing the person who uses your car could sue you as well, regardless of insurance coverage. Even a lawsuit doomed to fail can be an expensive headache in your life.