SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Is your second home an RV? Check deductions
Jul 14, 2011, 12:55 PM | Updated: Mar 4, 2016, 5:59 am
According to the Internal Revenue Service, “second homes” must have basic sleeping, cooking and toilet accommodations to qualify for a mortgage interest deduction.
Most all recreational vehicle (RV) types – motorhomes, van campers, travel trailers, truck campers and even some folding camping trailers – are equipped with these facilities.
In a capsule, an RV combines transportation and temporary living quarters for travel, recreation and camping. The two main categories are motorhomes (motorized) and towables (towed behind the family car, van or pickup). Types of towable RVs including folding camping trailers, truck campers, conventional travel trailers and fifth-wheel travel trailers.
There’s a reason you are now seeing more of them on summer roadways, autumn football tailgate parties and winter ski overnight parking areas. Nearly one in 12 households in the U.S. that own vehicles (approximately 7.2 million) now own an RV, according to a University of Michigan study commissioned by Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA).
And – hold on to your reading glasses – more RVs are now owned by baby boomers (35-to-54 year olds) than any other group, according to the University of Michigan study.
The RVIA reports that today’s typical RV owner is 49 years old, married, with an annual household income of $56,000. Nearly 10 percent of those 55 and over own an RV, slightly exceeding the 8.9 percent ownership rates of 35-to-54-year olds.
RV owners are likely to own their homes and spend their disposable income on traveling – an average of 4,500 miles and 28-35 days annually, RVIA surveys show.
In addition, lenders are viewing RV buyers as reliable borrowers. Fewer than 2 percent of all RV loans are delinquent, the RVIA says, sparking lenders to extend RV loan terms and thus making monthly payments more affordable.
Mortgage interest is deductible on federal income tax on two homes. Your RV might qualify. The IRS (www.irs.gov) publishes two booklets that contain helpful information regarding the tax deductibility of loan interest. Copies of “Publication 936 – Home Interest Deduction” and “Publication 523 – Selling Your Home” are available by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-3676.
