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Monkeyman_and_L's avatar
Monkeyman_and_L
Explorer
Mar 10, 2018

RV interest deduction

So, when we had a travel trailer we would get from that lender a form about interest paid in the previous year. Like clockwork.

When we purchased our motorhome last year, we ended up with the lender with the lowest rate (a decent rate to be sure), but I had to phone them to ask for a letter with the interest information for 2017.

While it's not huge because we purchased in October, it's a deduction. This company said they only send them out upon request.

Has anyone here had any difficulty with just putting in the interest paid value into their taxes for deduction? I don't recall if the letter from the old company was any kind of IRS form, but I don't believe it was.

Just curious. With the new tax laws we're still okay deducting this interest as our mortgages between physical home and motorhome are well below the 500K cutoff. Just didn't know if it was a form they needed to provide or not.

Honestly I think it should be on them, but they're looking at it from a standpoint of "less work for us if they don't ask for it." Doesn't help that despite trying to mask accents the call center is obviously based in India. They didn't know what I was talking about originally.
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  • valhalla360's avatar
    valhalla360
    Navigator
    Mar 10, 2018
    rk911 wrote:
    you can easily keep track of yout interest costs by using an amortization schedule (use excel or any number of apps).


    Get the number from the bank. While it's possible, you need to know the exact date of each payment and assumptions to get the calculation exact.

    Probably never be an issue but they have the number and can give it to you, then you don't need to worry about it.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Mar 10, 2018
    wnytaxman wrote:
    Some folks do know enough to do them on line, but if someone has anything that is more complicated like rental properties,
    I'm sure that's true, but the OP just asked about interest.
  • wnytaxman's avatar
    wnytaxman
    Explorer
    Mar 10, 2018
    2oldman wrote:
    wnytaxman wrote:
    2oldman wrote:
    Do your taxes online.
    That's fine if you know the law which most people don't.
    Turbotax knows the law, that's why I pay them. And no paper.


    We have had a lot of returns that had to be amended by people who THINK they know the law and decided to do their taxes on line. Some folks do know enough to do them on line, but if someone has anything that is more complicated like rental properties, Schedule C's, partnership interests, etc., should actually seek professional help. With all the changes in the 2018 law I would thoroughly expect a lot of folks will be giving up on the do-it-yourself tax preparations.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Mar 10, 2018
    wnytaxman wrote:
    2oldman wrote:
    Do your taxes online.
    That's fine if you know the law which most people don't.
    Turbotax knows the law, that's why I pay them. And no paper.
  • wnytaxman's avatar
    wnytaxman
    Explorer
    Mar 10, 2018
    2oldman wrote:
    Do your taxes online.


    That's fine if you know the law which most people don't.

    Lenders generally do not issue a 1098 for interest paid on RV loans. You will usually have to request that information which hopefully will be given to you in writing. Remember to take the deduction on Line 11 of Schedule A, not on the mortgage interest line. On Line 11 put down the name of the lender and RV loan and the amount of the interest.

    As a side note, an RV publication stated that in 2018 you could not deduct the interest paid on any towables. That was in error. You will still be able to deduct the interest paid on a towable in 2018.
  • rk911's avatar
    rk911
    Explorer
    Mar 10, 2018
    our lender did the sane...the annual P&I statenent sent only on request. in most cases an RV loan is NOT a mortgage so a 1098 form is not generated. you can easily keep track of yout interest costs by using an amortization schedule (use excel or any number of apps) but even though i did that i always asked the lender for the annual statement and kept it as backing paper in the event of an IRS inquiry (which never happened).
  • Monkeyman_and_L's avatar
    Monkeyman_and_L
    Explorer
    Mar 10, 2018
    Good stuff guys. I'm going to dig out one of our old tax forms from when we were still paying on the trailer and see what that form looked like. Probably just a note from the lender, no IRS official form. But been a while, so I don't remember.

    Thanks
  • westernrvparkow's avatar
    westernrvparkow
    Explorer
    Mar 10, 2018
    No special form is needed. Keep two pieces of documentation. One, a statement showing how much interest was paid to the lending institution on the loan. Two, a copy of the loan agreement showing the RV as collateral.
    The bank has no reporting obligation to the IRS for mortgage interest paid on any loan that is not secured by real estate. If the loan to purchase the RV is not secured by the RV (i.e. used a credit card, a personal loan etc.), any interest will not be deductible. If you used a home equity loan to buy the RV the deduction will tie to your residence, not the RV as a second home. 2018 may have some changes from 2017 due to the tax code changes coming into effect.

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