Could a Yacht Be Considered Your Second Home?

Yatchs,In,Turquoise,Water,In,Cala,Mondrago,,Mondrago,Natural,Park,

They say that a home is where the heart is. However, when it comes to a second home, it can be where your heart is, or just about anywhere else, as far as the IRS is concerned. In fact, not only can a second home be just about anywhere, it can actually be just about any structure, including a yacht or even a sailboat.

That’s right, boats typically count as a second home in the IRS’s book for figuring tax breaks, as long as the boat has cooking, sleeping and toilet amenities. According to the IRS, when it comes to your federal income tax, home mortgage interest is any interest you pay on a loan that is secured by your home. If you itemize your deductions and you own a qualified home with a mortgage you can deduct the interest from that mortgage.

Likewise, for your federal income taxes, you can also deduct taxes on personal property based on the value of that personal property, including any taxes due on a boat. However, you must be using your yacht or other boat for personal use. You don’t even have to stay in the boat or second home anytime during the year in order to claim real estate, property and interest taxes as deductions.

So if you’re considering buying a yacht or you already have one, then make sure you are fully maximizing the tax breaks that could come with it. If you want to make sure you are taking advantage of every tax break possible, then contact GROCO today for help. Just call 1-877-CPA-2006.

Posted in ,

The Basics of Asset Allocation

The Basics of Asset Allocation The Two Biggest Investment Mistakes: 1. Failure to diversify. Don’t bet everything on one stock. Don’t put all your money into either stocks or bonds. 2. Failure to cope with inflation risk. Today you need over $2 to buy what $1 bought in 1980, over $4 to buy what $1 bought in…

Stock Basis Reporting on Form 1099-B in 2011

Stock Basis Reporting on Form 1099-B in 2011 By Ron Cohen, CPA, MST Partner Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP See the new Form 1099-B for 2011 that requires “cost basis” information. Form 1099-B 2011 In the past, the client’s sometimes don’t know or can’t find their cost basis in stocks they have sold. Major…

Bond Risks and How Bond Funds Deal With Them

Bond Risks and How Bond Funds Deal With Them A bond is a promise. In return for the money lent to a corporate or governmental borrower, the borrower pledges to make periodic payments of interest at a fixed rate and to repay the original loan after a set period of time. Both the date at…

Meeting the Challenge of College Costs

Meeting the Challenge of College Costs Your child has entered high school and is just four years away from college. It’s time to get serious about figuring out how much it’s going to cost. Based on recent data from the College Board, if he or she goes to a private four-year university, the cost for…