Beertruck,

The one problem I see with your situation is the profit motive. It is going to be difficult to turn a profit in that situation. I don't think you would have enough income to offset the expenses, especially depreciation on expensive toys. It is pretty hard nowadays to legally write off what could be pleasure or a hobby as a tax deduction. The IRS has pretty much seen everything. If you doubt me, just go look at tax court cases. There are some pretty interesting situations that people get themselves into to do just this, write off a personal expense.

I agree with the dificulty of turning a profit, and if you can then you will be paying taxes on those profits. The bottom line I got out of the many hours taking to my accountant about how to do something like this was. The IRS has seen it all, You are not trying anything that hasn't been tried before. The IRS will get their money, all you can do with is pospone what you own them, but eventually you will have to pay it.

Sorry if I misled anyone about the cooking/bathroom/sleeping thing. I stand corrected. It appears as though I have been misled by my old boss. I guess I have my second home sitting in my driveway now.

Mpally,
Would it be legitimate to set up a race team as a non-profit organization?

Excellent question.

DD,

Good question indeed. A short answer is possibly. It all depends on exactly what you are wanting to accomplish. I am not sure it would be the best entity to pick for a race team and I haven't seen any race teams that have tried it. BTW, we prepare the tax returns of a well-known offshore race team.