Motorhome/camper as 2nd home for taxes

[Frank4]

Well it's time to do taxes. And before I bought my Georgetown I was told that I could write the taxes off as a 2nd home. Is this true and what do I need to do this. Thanks

[Mountainmanbob]

do not think so
not at least in Calif
a second home here has to be
at least someTHING like
50 miles away from the main home
then it is called a vacation home

possibly you could put your office
in your motor home or trailer
and get a legal write off ??
MM

[NO3putt]

If you can sleep, cook and use the bathroom in it then you most certainly can deduct interest on schedule a of your 1040.

[Laura]

Mo3putt is correct - if it is fully self contained, the interest on your loan can be written off in the same way a mortgage can be. That is it, though. Is the Interest on Your RV Loan Tax Deductible

[Ovair]

Yep. I've been doing it for almost 25 years.
How to Claim the Interest Paid on Recreation Vehicles

sherdep: you should receive a letter in lieu of a 1098 from BOTW. That's what we have gotten from them, and it said right on it that they don't issue 1098s. It has been accepted by my tax preparer and I've passed audits, so I'm confident it is alright.

[Rebel702]

Besides the interest you can also claim the personal property taxes that you pay for the motorhome.

[wnytaxman]

As a CPA, perhaps I can answer your questions. First off you can deduct the interest on your RV as a second home providing you don't already have a second home that you are deducting the interest on. Second thing to look at is how much sales tax did you pay on your rig when you bought it. If that sales tax plus the tax from the sales tax tables is more than what you paid in state income tax then you can take the sales tax also.

One hint for you though. Do not show the interest on your RV on the mortgage interest line on Schedule A. Show it as other mortgage interest not reported on a 1098. This should keep you from getting a friendly letter from the IRS.

As far deducting the RV cost, you would have to show some business or rental purpose to take off any of the cost of the RV itself. If you do go that route, be aware that some of the use of the RV will be personal so you can't take the whole thing unless you don't use it personally at all.

I hope this helps.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by wnytaxman

As far deducting the RV cost, you would have to show some business or rental purpose to take off any of the cost of the RV itself. If you do go that route, be aware that some of the use of the RV will be personal so you can't take the whole thing unless you don't use it personally at all.

I assume if you rent it out for profit then it won't qualify as a second home either (or would the mortgage interest fractionalize too)?

[wnytaxman]

Yep Lou, you would split it between personal and rental. Let's say the interest was $4,000 and it was 60/40 personal to rental. Then I'd take $2400 on Schedule E and $1600 on the Schedule A.

[biken201]

Yep, I was able to write off the interest on my POPUP's loan. Qualified as a second home.

[Ovair]

Originally Posted by wnytaxman

One hint for you though. Do not show the interest on your RV on the mortgage interest line on Schedule A. Show it as other mortgage interest not reported on a 1098. This should keep you from getting a friendly letter from the IRS.

Oooh, you are absolutely right. I "think" it is line 11 on schedule A instead of line 10. If it is line 10, it is referring to your primary home and the numbers won't match. It goes on line 11 as "other" and the IRS will understand it is not the main domicile.

[wnytaxman]

If some of you itemized on your prior returns and didn't pick up either the interest paid on your RV, the sales tax paid on the purchase, or the personal property tax paid on your unit, you can still amend prior year returns. The years of 2008, 2009, and 2010 are still "alive" for amending until April 17th. After that date you will not be able to amend your 2008 returns but you could still amend 2009 and 2010.