Re: Tax question
 

That makes a Gladiator a tough one to write off. :D

BUT! Congress just passed that law where those states with out income tax can write off sales tax. Lets see, $22,000 in sales tax paid on the boat alone, I can only hope that does not push me into the AMT.

Re: Tax question
 

I know plenty of people who write off their boat's interest.
So far, only one of them has been audited.
His boat has a porta potty in a "separate potty room" - PASSED that test.
His boat has a cuddy that has a filler cushion that makes into a bed - PASSED that test.
Has a "clamp on" barbecue grill that fastens into a rod holder. Is stored on the boat and is accessible, alone with the propane bottle - PASSED that test.
Boat also has full canvas enclosure. Auditor said that if it had been an "open" boat with no enclosure, that he would have to have disallowed it. Never heard that part before.

I would take whatever advice your tax guy gives you.

Re: Tax question
 

Yup, yup and are you sure? We had a primary residence, a rental property, and we wrote off the boat. The tax guy didn't try and stop us....

Re: Tax question
 

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p936/ar02.html
Scroll down the page, maybe 1/8 of the way. Look for the italics noted "Qualified Home"
Qualified Home
For you to take a home mortgage interest deduction, your debt must be secured by a qualified home. This means your main home or your second home. A home includes a house, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, house trailer, boat, or similar property that has sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities.

Re: Tax question
 

Now I'm confused. From what I'm reading I have to have an enclosure and a toilet in a seperate room. Does a cuddy and a pump out under a filler cushion cover it?

Re: Tax question
 

Rental property is an investment/income-producing item. Any costs (interest, maintenance, etc.) relating to a piece of investment property are used to offset reportable income. The interest from the rental property is not listed as a personal deduction. It is an offset. Check your 1040's from the years in question. You'll see that it is listed in a different category.

You can have a zillion pieces of rental property with loans on each one, and the interest on them goes into a sheet for each property. And each sheet will return either "reportable income" or "loss" to be factored into your taxable income.

If you have "investment property" with a mortgage on it but it is not being rented, then you must determine whether you want to figure the interest against your cost basis for later calculation of capital gain/loss or if you want to use it as one of your TWO personal mortgage deductions.

Re: Tax question
 

I had never heard of the enclosure thing before. Dunno if that had anything to do with the "cooking device" being "outside" or not.
The crapper doesn't have to be in a separate room, just so happened that HIS was.

Go with whatever your tax guy feels good about. It's generally not a great idea to go against their advice (assuming you use a fairly experienced guy).

Re: Tax question
 

My tax guy is very good. He knows how far to push things before the red flag comes up. He just has not done anything like this before and he is unsure. Hesays he wil do anything I want. Now I'm unsure.............I don't want to risk a big fine or penalty for a lousy few bucks but I want what's coming to me.

Re: Tax question
 

http://www.boatus.com/gov/f3.htm

BoatUS website "loosely" says boat must have a berth, a galley, and a head.
A small cruiser will have NO TROUBLE meeting that description, but a go fast will begin to "stretch" it.
__________________________________________________ ____

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...atshome11.html

Seattle seems to have a lot of people who go to great lengths to meet the requirements for the deduction.
__________________________________________________ ___

As before, show these to your tax guy, and then heed his recomendation.

Re: Tax question
 

You're absolutely right. It is seperate. I'm looking at an orange and thinking apple. Thanks for straightening me out.