Taxes, interest deduction

[Str8edg]

Financed our FR3 in 2018. We have a sticks and bricks with a mortgage as well as a HELOC. My question is, can I deduct the interest on all of these? I do itemize if that matters. My CPA didn’t do it this year or last year and I think he overlooked or wasn’t clear on the statement.

Any experience? Thank you!

[WorldCat25]

I am not an accountant. But my unerstanding is that, unless you are a business, you can only deduct interest on a primary home mortgage.

Suggest you check with a different accountant than the one you used in the past or Google it.

Good luck.

[Itchytoe]

I agree with WorldCat25. I don't think you can deduct it, unless you are using the RV as part of a business venture of some kind. Your primary mortgage's interest is deductable, but not the line of credit or the RV.

[Mr_D]

Mortgage interest on a second home is deductable. And an RV qualifies as a second home if it has a toilet, galley and sleeping facilities. I've been doing it for many, many years.

[dons2346]

[NLOVNIT]

When we bought our 1st RV 20 years ago, that was the 1st question I asked my tax accountant. The answer was "yes", we could deduct the interest paid on the RV loan because it's a 2nd home with fully contained facilities.

On edit: With the new std deductions for 2019 (12,200 single/24,400 married couple) what we paid in interest wasn't worth itemizing for us.

Lori-

[Redline04]

My two previous campers, a trailer and a 5th wheel were allowable as tax deductible loan interest due to being self contained, However, when the tax laws changed and we sold the 5’er last year to move into a Class C, the new loan was no longer tax deductible due to being purchased after the tax law changes went into effect.

[TJDave]

Originally Posted by Redline04

My two previous campers, a trailer and a 5th wheel were allowable as tax deductible loan interest due to being self contained, However, when the tax laws changed and we sold the 5’er last year to move into a Class C, the new loan was no longer tax deductible due to being purchased after the tax law changes went into effect.

We had the same experience. We were able to deduct loan interest since 2007 on our previous motorhome and our current until the recent tax law changes.

[UTTransplant]

The basic deduction is so high now that your mortgage plus RV interest has to be extremely high to take advantage of the mortgage deduction on the RV. We don’t even come close.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

The basic deduction is so high now that your mortgage plus RV interest has to be extremely high to take advantage of the mortgage deduction on the RV. We don’t even come close.

This^

The new $26,000 Standard Deduction for Married Filing Jointly is high enough that you’re likely to never have enough itemized deductions that top that amount (unless combined they surpassed that amount). You get to either take the Standard Deduction or the total of your allowed Itemized Deductions, whichever is higher. In this case the Standard Deduction is higher.

Which is why your tax preparer would not use your various interest costs, nor your property tax payments on your Federal 1040 return.

[Old Scout]

…."what change to the tax law" are we referring to???? Std. deductions doubled, which for the majority of us, makes itemizing deductions pointless......Now for those of you that are impacted by SALT--I feel your pain--but not really...…..

[Gary RVRoamer]

When the new, larger, standard deduction was put in place, there were also changes to mortgage interest deductions, both a max limit and some restrictions on how it can be used. Discuss with your tax person but I suspect he has already figured the most advantageous method of filing.

[wnytaxman]

When you say your CPA didn’t use the deduction, were you referring to just the interest on the motorhome? The interest deductions are there within limits. A principal can not exceed $1 million and your home equity loan proceeds have to have been used to improve your existing home. Assuming you meet both of these criteria you should also be able to deduct the interest on your RV loan as well as the other interest.

I would check with your CPA to see whether or not they used the standard deduction which means you did not itemize, or did they miss the interest on the RV.

[mokurt]

I was able to deduct my trailer on my taxes along with my house.