Community Forums

saddlecreek · 10-03-2010, 04:22 PM

I purchased my first 32 ft motorhome this year in April. When I purchased the mh the dealer advised me to treat it as your second home because of the tax breaks etc. Does anyone actually do this and is it legal? If it is what are the steps to take?
He may be egging me on just to close the deal.
What's the deal?

Bob (WA0MQE) · 10-03-2010, 04:36 PM

The only tax breaks you will get is if you have it financed. In this case you can deduct the interest paid on the loan. Otherwise there are no tax breaks unless you are working out of it. If you check this and other forums you will find quite a bit of information regarding this.

**Petro** · 10-03-2010, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlecreek

I purchased my first 32 ft motorhome this year in April. When I purchased the mh the dealer advised me to treat it as your second home because of the tax breaks etc. Does anyone actually do this and is it legal? If it is what are the steps to take?
He may be egging me on just to close the deal.
What's the deal?

My accountant advised me the interest is tax deductible as a second home unless I already had one. He gave me a copy of the IRS code that establishes certain criteria which was not a problem for me.

Don

CoastieSCPO · 10-03-2010, 04:37 PM

We have deducted the interest on our RV loans for many years. Never had a problem. You must use the 1040 long form and itemize your deductions. If you can meet or exceed the standard deduction, then you can use the interest, etc. Not to become political, but there is talk of doing away with such deductions in the future.

Bob

RickO · 10-03-2010, 05:03 PM

Same here. Have deducted the interest on our coach loan... it's entirely legal. I think this puts it on par with the deductions you'd have for a second home with the exception of property taxes... but if your state collects those as a part of your registration fees, you can deduct them too.

Rick

Redapple · 10-03-2010, 06:39 PM

Very legal. I deduct my MH and second home. every little bit helps.

Bill

doc · 10-03-2010, 06:55 PM

Help me here folks. I paid cash for our last MH, only taxz was sales tax here in Georgia. Is there anyway I could have used the sales tax as a deduction? If there is, I think I messed up big time and failed to use it.

azloafer · 10-03-2010, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doc

Help me here folks. I paid cash for our last MH, only tax was sales tax here in Georgia. Is there anyway I could have used the sales tax as a deduction? If there is, I think I messed up big time and failed to use it.

The sales tax is deductible, but certain criteria must be met. The sales tax in Arizona is very high so our CPA deducts what is allowed. Our license fees are deductible on Arizona State taxes only. There are so many tax laws you would have to talk to a tax preparer to get it all legal.
They can file amended forms for whatever deductions you might have missed. Happy travels, Joe

azloafer · 10-03-2010, 07:43 PM

We also deduct RV loan interest because it is considered a second home. We have our CPA work out the details. Too complicated for me. Joe

Izzyblueye · 10-03-2010, 08:35 PM

I have been told by my accountant that in the State of Ohio one cannot deduct the motorhome on your taxes or claim it as a second home unless you can prove it is used as a home for a great per cent of the year or it is used in the due course of a business expense.. Interest charges, yes, one can.

UFO Pilot · 10-03-2010, 08:51 PM

My CPA says the only requirement for income tax deduction is the RV must be fully self contained.

azloafer · 10-03-2010, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Izzyblueye

I have been told by my accountant that in the State of Ohio one cannot deduct the motorhome on your taxes or claim it as a second home unless you can prove it is used as a home for a great per cent of the year or it is used in the due course of a business expense.. Interest charges, yes, one can.

The MH loan interest is a Federal Itemized Deduction and not an Ohio deduction. Federal deductions apply no matter what state you live in. Our CPA has been deducting the interest on any MH that we have owned for many years. There is no requirement for amount of use during the year. It has nothing to do with Ohio. Might check with a different tax preparer. I believe others will tell you the same thing. Joe

After re-reading your post I note that you might have been talking about some other type of deduction than interest. in Arizona the license plate fee (registration) is deductible on the state form...all vehicle registration fees are deductible on our state forms, not just MH fees. I don't know about Ohio State Revenue Laws. Even though I don't do my own taxes I read every part of the forms that the CPA files. What fees are you talking about?

azloafer · 10-03-2010, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wthomas1

My CPA says the only requirement for income tax deduction is the RV must be fully self contained.

I was told the same thing. Joe

RickO · 10-03-2010, 09:22 PM

Good question Joe. Maybe there's confusion regarding exactly what deduction is being talked about here. If that CPA says that interest on a motorhome loan isn't deductable on federal returns... I think a second opinion is in order.

Rick