Its that time again when we pull out or receipts, bills and what not and prepare our taxes. I just bought My RV last year and wanted to know if I suppose to claim th RV on my income tax return or if I could get any deductions?

If you stay in it at least 14 nights during the year, and it has kitchen and bath facilities you can deduct the mortgage interest just like a second home. At least that was the case when we bough ours in 2008.

Thanks JB. I did not stay in it 14 nights at a campground however I did stay in it at the ski resort parking lot several nights but I am not sure that would count. I imagine I would have to have some receipts from the camground to prove I stayed there.

According to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), staying at a campground has nothing to do whether or not you can deduct the interest on both your a 2nd residence, including an RV. You simply have "to use the RV for personal purposes for either more than 14 days or ..." Read the below citations from the IRC:

"Under IRC section 163 (h)(2) a taxpayer may deduct any qualified interest on a qualified residence, which is defined as a principal residence and one other residence owned by the taxpayer for the purpose of deductibility for the tax year. IRC section 163(h)(3) defines qualified residence interest as any interest which is paid or accrued during the tax year on acquisition or home equity indebtedness with respect to any qualified residence of the taxpayer."

"In accordance with IRC section 163(h)(4), an RV will be considered a qualified residence if it is one of the two residences chosen by the taxpayer for purposes of deductibility in the tax year as long as it provides basic living accommodations such as sleeping space, a toilet, and cooking facilities. If the RV is chartered out, the taxpayer will have to use the RV for personal purposes for either more than 14 days or 10% of the number of days during the year the RV was actually rented, in accordance with IRC section 280A(d)(1)."



-- Edited by Jake62 on Thursday 27th of January 2011 08:07:33 AM

Thanks for your guys help. I was going to try to do it myself but think I will have a tax preparer do my taxes this year. I know it will cost a little money but its better than doing something wrong and being audited.

Use Turbo Tax.  It's very thorough and a lot cheaper!

wmalefyt wrote:

---

Use Turbo Tax.  It's very thorough and a lot cheaper!

---

I second using Turbo Tax ... very easy and probably only $50 to file both Fed & State.  Look for discounts for Turbo Tax thru your bank or investment firm.  For example, if you're a member of USAA, you get a 25% discount off the retail price.  It's FREE to simply try it and see if you like it.  You don't pay a dime until you file.

 

I agree with Mallo. While Turbo Tax will probably correctly calculate based on what the user inputs, like any software, it cannot know what you have failed to tell it. An ordinary taxpayer may not know what information is important. A professional may be able to elicit better information from the taxpayer. If you hire a professional, know about the new rules. Beginning in 2011 IRS requires that anyone preparing a federal tax return for a fee must be a registered tax preparer (background check and education requirements). Ask anyone who you might hire to prepare your taxes if they are a registered tax preparer and demand to know their PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number). Make sure they sign the return and insert their PTIN. Here's the link to the IRS website describing these requirements: http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=210909,00.html?portlet=1

Just a follow-up regarding utilizing Paid Tax Preparers (PTP). While I agree with Mallo & Leslie, I agree only to a certain point. If your taxes are fairly straight forward, i.e., using the 1040ez form or even the 1040 with "normal" deductions & credits such as mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable contributions and, your employer furnishes you a W-2, then these are fairly straight forward and Turbo Tax does an outstanding job. I've even used Turbo Tax when I've had K-1 income, Stock Income with calculating "cost basis", and it did a great job. I also compared tax returns between Turbo & using a PTP (my mother-in-law) and at least in my situation, I received the same tax refund or owed the same amount of money. Again, this is only my specific situation which I'm addressing. However, if you own your own business (my in-laws have their own farm in Kansas and my brother-in-law is heavily invested in the banking sector) you may want to use a PTP, even though Turbo has "Home & Business" or "Business". I simply can't speak to those since I've never owned my own business. If you use the "Easy Guide" in Turbo Tax, it certainly takes you thru every tax situation you may encounter when your tax situation is described as above. If you're going to use a PTP, at least put all your tax information Turbo Tax and see what it tells you in the end. It's FREE before you actually file. Then, if you're still uncomfortable or feel you're missing something, go to a PTP, give them all the same information you put into Turbo Tax, and see if you come out ahead ... including the extra cost to pay the PTP over the $50 charge for Turbo Tax. Happy Tax Season to All!

I had wondered about using TurboTax since we workamp and need to file non-resident if we get 1099's from our location. I may still try the free online version and see how it compares to my PTP.

We have used Tax Cut software by H&R Block for years. It is generally $10-15$ less than Turbo Tax. They also now have on line versions that are even less. We purchased the download deluxe version for $24 this year. You might want to check out the H&R Block web site and compare.

We did not have any problems filing out of state returns for 2 different state using Tubo Tax.

I use TurboTax's free program for our federal returns.  We have simple federal taxes, b/c we don't itemize.  (No mortgage.)  The annoying part is that we have to do our state taxes differently.  We are 2 women, married according to state law, but not federal law.  So we file single federal taxes, and married state.  Pain in the neck.  So after I do the federal in turbotax I do the state either on the state's website, or on paper.  I don't know of any software that will take our situation into account.  I also don't want to pay b/c our taxes are so simple at this time.
I did see H&R Blocks software for 2010 at the dollar store for $1.
I was surprised to see our taxes went down this year.  We are very middle, middle class.  1 kid, 2 nurses.  Turbotax, at the end, will show you what percentage of your money goes to federal taxes (not including SS taxes, medicare, state taxes etc.)  Mine was 7% (I claimed our son) and my partner was 15%.  I remember my mother screaming about the thieving gov't in the 80's & 90's when she would do her taxes.   Not so much for me.

Heidi

-- Edited by Pinon on Sunday 6th of February 2011 02:30:01 PM