When it comes to renting a car, have you ever noticed how many surcharges and fees there are?  One often wonders why they pay so much just to rent a stupid rental car for the day.  Well, when you break down all the surcharges and fees, it makes sense when you look at it.  I broke down the surcharges and fees and what you can expect when you rent a car.  Never pay too much for a rental car, it isn’t worth it!

Let’s first look at the formula and it goes a little something like this –

Days Used + Mileage (You’ll find that a lot of rental companies today won’t charge your for mileage but some do)

City taxes – Depending on what city you’re going to get the car, this will determine how much you’re going to pay when it comes to taxes.

Government fees – Almost every state has these.  It’s different than tax and is listed as “government fees”.  Where does it go?  To the government, of course!

Licensing fee – This is yet another fee you’ll see on your bill that goes on top of your regular rate.  This fee is for the rental companies looking to recoup the license fee they had to pay to their local state government.

Airport fee – Many airports have shuttles going back and forth to the airport to pick you up.  This helps pay for this.

These are going to be the taxes and surcharges you’ll usually see on your bill.  When you get your bill, you’ll be able to see how it breaks down.  Each tax is usually no more than 10% of your total bill.  Now you know why when you get that “$11 a day” special, it breaks down to $20 a day.