RV as secondary or rental. Can I claim anything?

[javigilante8243]

My son bought a 2022 RV ($130,000.) as an alternative to rising apartment rental costs.  He lived in it for 6 months, then moved in with his girlfriends family to save more.  He paid for land rent & utilities while living in it.

The RV loan is in my wife's name and the RV is in my son's name.  Can either of them deduct any of the costs?  Finance charges, land rent, etc?  This is new, so not sure what is allowed.  Is it even worth it?

Thanks.

[JosephS1 · Accepted solution]

RV's, provided they have cooking, sleeping, and toilet facilities, do qualify as a second home.  As the loan is in your wife's name and if you can itemize deductions, the interest can possibly be added to your existing deductions.  The complication comes in due to the fact that the land rent and the RV itself are in your son's name.  If the interest is large enough to allow your son to itemize, provided he has signed or signs a document pledging to repay the loan, he may be able to claim the interest himself.  The steps in TurboTax are relatively easy to follow for interest that is in someone else's name.  The land rent and utilities are not deductible at all unless the RV can qualify, and proven to be, a rental unit.  The discussion with your wife and son should be made after beginning to determine what, if any, tax effect the loan interest will have on yours or your son's tax return.

@javigilante8243 

[javigilante8243]

Thanks Joseph,

I agree, it may be easier just to do it under my son's Turbo Tax form, vs my wife's and myn.  In reviewing the docs, I do not see any tax form issued by the Alliant Credit Union.  It shows as a RV Loan and I am guessing they are treating it as a "car loan" and not a mortgage loan.  So in turn, the $6,284 in finance charges would not apply, correct?

The other clarification is do I put his RV in as a "home" or "rental"?  He does not own anything (except RV and truck), so I am not sure how to add it to his return.

Thanks again.

[ErnieS0]

The RV would not be a rental. You can enter the interest as mortgage interest without a Form 1098 in Deductions & Credits. Additionally, redeemable ground rent can be claimed as mortgage interest.

Unless your son is able to itemize deductions, he would receive no benefit. You can try it anyway and see if it helps.

1. Type mortgage interest in Search (magnifying glass) in the top right corner
2. Tap Jump to mortgage interest
3. On “Let's import your tax info” select Change how I enter my form
4. On “How would you like to upload your 1098?” select Type it in myself
5. On “Do any uncommon situations apply?” choose The seller is financing the loan and I didn’t receive a 1098 and complete the rest of the screens