Hi, I purchased a RV in2022, paid cash. When i transferred title I paid a tax on the valve of the RV. Where in my taxes can I write this off? Is this amount a write off?

[xmasbaby0]

SALES TAX

You can enter the sales tax you paid for the RV you purchased in 2022 by going to Federal>Deductions and Credits>Estimates and Other Taxes Paid> Sales Tax.  You will be asked if you paid sales tax on a major purchase, and you will be able to enter the sales tax you paid for your new vehicle. 

Sales tax is an itemized deduction. “Major purchases” that you can enter for the sales tax deduction include:

Motor Vehicles (cars, trucks, motor homes, RV’s, sport utility vehicles and off-road vehicles

Aircraft or boats

Mobile homes

Manufactured housing

Building materials for major home improvements

You cannot deduct: furniture, jewelry, home electronics such as TV’s or computers

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901222-which-deduction-should-i-choose-sales-tax-or-income-tax

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2566624-how-much-sales-tax-did-i-pay-last-year

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3148443-how-do-you-define-major-purchase-or-major-item-for-the-sal...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900791-how-do-i-find-my-local-sales-tax

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2566624-how-much-sales-tax-did-i-pay-last-year

[Opus 17]

First, you can deduct sales or use tax.  When you buy a vehicle from a third party for cash, chances are the value tax you paid to transfer the title was actually a sales or use tax, but check your state DMV or tax laws to be sure.  You can only deduct the tax as sales tax if it is charged at the same rate as any other general sales tax.  For example, if the sales tax on clothes and appliances is 6% in your area, you can deduct the use tax on the RV if it is also 6%.  If it is a special vehicle tax that is higher or lower than the general sales tax rate, it is not deductible as sales tax.   Lastly, this only applies to motor vehicles, so if this is any kind of camper that does not have a motor, you can't deduct the sales/use tax.

This is an itemized deduction so whether you actually get a benefit depends on your overall tax situation and your other deductions.  You can only deduct sales tax if you are in a state that does not have an income tax, or if you choose to deduct sales tax instead of income tax.   When you deduct sales tax, you can either deduct the actual sales tax you paid for the year (proven from receipts) or you can use a standard amount based on your income and the local tax rate.  If you use the standard amount, you can add the sales tax for the purchase of a motor vehicle including the RV.

Second, some states charge a value-based personal property tax on the value of your vehicles.  Personal property tax is deductible each year you pay it, and is not subject to the same limits as sales tax.  But it must be a value -based tax charged on the value of the property.  (For example, in Virginia, there is sales tax when you buy a vehicle, and there is also a personal property tax due every June that is around $20 per $1000 of vehicle resale value.)  This is not the same as your annual registration.  Again for example, suppose your state DMV charges $50 annual renewal on any RV, plus $5 per $1000 in value.  The value portion is a deductible personal property tax but not the flat rate registration fee. 

Both sales tax and personal property tax have their own section on the Deductions and Credits page. 

[Mike9241]

What kind of tax? transfer to whom for what purpose?  To me it sounds like a transfer tax and not a sales tax.  a transfer tax on personal property is not deductible unless used in business. 

[Opus 17]

@Mike9241 

in the three states in which I have lived, when you buy a vehicle in a private party sale, and go to the DMV to register it, you have to present a bill of sale, showing the purchase price, and they charge you sales or use tax.  In most cases, you also have to pay the use tax if you receive the vehicle as a gift, unless you receive it from a close relative, such as a parent or a child.  There may, of course, also be a registration fee that is not considered part of the deductible sales tax.

[Mike9241]

im my state ther is a state license and title tax. merely pointing out that the op didn't specify what the tax was called nor were complte details given about the transfer.  but it could be a sales tax, my state has tthat too

[Opus 17]

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@Mike9241 wrote:

im my state ther is a state license and title tax. merely pointing out that the op didn't specify what the tax was called nor were complte details given about the transfer.  but it could be a sales tax, my state has tthat too

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I did also note that it is only deductible sales/use tax if it is charged at the same rate as sales/use tax on other goods and services in the state.  If the tax is the same rate as sales tax, the IRS will consider it deductible sales tax even if it is labeled "title tax".  But if the tax is a different rate from general sales tax, then it's not deductible even if it is called "sales tax."