Can Your Boat or RV Count as your Home for Tax Deductions?

Did you know that not all “primary residences” are traditional houses or apartments? Believe it or not, some people actually declare their boats or their recreational vehicles (RVs) as their main or secondary residences. If you own one of these dwellings, then there’s a good chance you may be eligible to do the same…and to enjoy some tax deductions as a result.

Is Your Boat or RV Eligible?

Camping boat P1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Of course, not every boat or RV is eligible to count as a primary or secondary residence. In order to meet this qualification, the structure must have at least the following:

·         A place/area for sleeping

·         Toilet facilities

·         Cooking facilities

If it turns out that your boat or RV meets these three criteria and is, indeed, eligible to count as a residence for tax purposes, you must decide how to designate it. Designating it as your main residence is a little trickier since you can only have ONE residence as your main residence and it must be the one where you spend most of your time each year. For most people, then, their boat or RV won’t qualify, but if you do actually spend most of your time on your boat or RV, even if it doesn’t have a permanent location, you can claim it as your primary residence. When you do this, you can take homeowner deductions, which will help to lower your taxes, and you can also deduct mortgage interest paid if the boat or RV was used as security for the loan you used to purchase it.

Even if, like most people, your boat or RV can’t count as your primary home, there’s a good chance it could still qualify as a secondary home, which comes with some benefits of its own. So, either way, if you own a boat or an RV, it’s a good idea to determine how to classify it and to hopefully do so in a way that saves you money!