RV Tax Savings Guide
Transcription
RV Tax Savings Guide
RV ownership just got better than ever! Create up to $6,000 tax free cash Learn how to generate up to using your RV! $6,000 tax free cash Which item is the largest expense for most families? using your RV! A. Food & Clothing B. Housing C. Automobiles Answer inside… Arthur Godfrey once said… “I’m proud to be an American and pay taxes, …But I could be just as proud for half the money!” RV ownership just got better than ever! Inside this RV=Tax$aving$ manual you will find… Tax strategies to maximize deductions for the use of your RV. You will learn strategies that makes it possible to put $3,000 to 6,000 tax-free cash in your pocket each year! Maximize many itemized deductions for use of your RV How to deduct up to $25,000 the first year with the purchase of a Motorhome or Truck Keep more of your hard earned money for you and your family to enjoy Every strategy explained in this manual is footnoted to the IRS Code or Tax Regulation that allows Which item represents the largest expense for most families? A. Food & Clothing B. Housing C. Automobiles Answer: None of them Did You Know…? Taxes represent the single largest expense that most tax payers have. It exceeds what they pay for food, clothing, lodging and transportation. According to the American Taxpayer Union, in 1958, the average American paid 18% of their gross income on federal, state, and Social Security taxes. Today, the average American spends 41% of their gross income on taxes. Add them up: Federal income tax, state income tax, social security tax, gasoline tax, sales tax, property tax, school tax, vice tax and that is only some of them. That means you are likely working 4 to 5 months of every year to support the government instead of your family! Other 8.4% Other taxes Clothing, Federal, State & Food & Vehicle Social Security Taxes 24.4% 37.6% Housing & Medical 26% Wouldn’t it be nice to start keeping $200-500 of that money each month? How a home or RV based business saves you money on your taxes Let’s take a look at getting a second job vs. starting a home based business John and Debbie were married with one child. John was working a full-time job, while Debbie was a stay-at-home mom. They often wound up with too much month left at the end of the money, so Debbie decided that she would get a job to help out with the bills. Debbie found a job that would pay her $15,000 a year. However, at the end of the year their situation really hadn’t changed much leaving both of them wondering why? John knew that with Debbie having a job some of the income would go to taxes, child care, meals, clothes, automobile and other. So after the first year he examined just how much the second income had helped: $ 15,000 wages 4,500 federal/state wages 1,150 social security tax 4,250 child care 1,250 lunches at $5 / day 1,000 automobile expenses 1,000 clothing, etc. --------------$ 1,850 net gain per year After looking at the net gain they realized that Debbie was working a full time job for an extra $150 a month! There must be a better way! Once you establish a legitimate business you are able to take advantage of tax loopholes that are only available to business owners. These tax loopholes add up to significant savings by allowing you to convert your everyday expenses of RV ownership into Tax Deductible Expenses! Even if you currently work a full-time job, your part-time business and applicable tax deductions could actually lower your tax bracket thereby leaving more money for you and your family! In this manual you will learn how to start a home/RV based business and convert some of your current expenses into legitimate tax deductions. This is legal and ethical! Not only can you create a second source of income for you and your family, but you can also create tax deductions that will allow you to generate more income to you! Arthur Godfrey once said… “I’m proud to be an American and pay taxes,….. But I could be just as proud for half the money!” The Tax Paradox - Two Tax Systems There are two tax systems in the United States. One for employed individuals (W-2 employees) and the other is for the business owners. W-2 employees are the most heavily taxed with the fewest number of tax deductions available. While the same person with a home-based business qualifies for many more deductions. Take a look at your paystub… you will see a line that gives you your gross income, this is the amount you are being paid prior to taxes being deducted. The next three lines are the taxes you are paying… Federal, State and Social Security. Social Security also has an invisible twin sister, this is a match amount that your employer has to pay as well. If you think about… if your employer didn’t have to pay an additional 7.65% of your pay to the government, there would be more money to pay you more. Business Owners get Roughly 100 deductions W-2 employees get Roughly 3 deductions Isn’t it ironic that the largest number of Americans get the fewest number of tax deductions. Fortunately there is an opportunity for you to be able to increase your income and qualify for many of the tax deductions that are not available to the W-2 employees alone. The money you may save using tax deductions can literally for all or a good portion of your RV. A partial list of potential tax deductions Accounting – tax preparation Advertising Auto expenses Office expenses Depreciation Cafeteria plan Charitable contributions Child care (day care) Children’s wages Credit report costs Dues paid Equipment purchases Equipment repairs Health insurance Meals & entertainment Campground fees Postage Office supplies Telephone cell phone Travel expenses Top 5 Deductions Asset Expensing: IRS Code, Section179 Allows you to deduct all or part of qualifying property, up to $25,000, in the year purchased. Qualifying property includes motor homes, trucks, SUV’s, computers, among others. Asset expensing is in the depreciation family and one of my favorite deductions because it is more of a ‘paper’ loss that doesn’t require additional spending to create. Most people realize that when you buy a truck, RV, etc. it depreciates by several thousand dollars the minute you drive it out of the dealership. Asset expensing allows you to be able to write off that depreciation in one year instead of spreading it out over several years. In 2005 I bought a new truck and after asset expensing the business portion I saved roughly $6,000 in State & Federal taxes that year alone. That was like buying the truck for $6,000 less thanks to my home based business. So how could this help you? Lets say you decide to buy a new truck for $40,000 and it is used 60% for business. $40,000 x 60% = $24,000, which you can asset expense and take as a tax deduction against any business income, and remember – every $10,000 in deductions equals approximately $3,000 in tax savings, that’s cash back to you! Vacation / Business Trips: IRS Code, Section 162 A2, Reg.1.162-2 Combine vacations with business travel and deduct a portion of your travel expenses. A little planning and record keeping can save you hundreds of dollars. In order to be deductible, travel must be primarily for business purposes. This means that you cannot schedule a family vacation and deduct it just because you place business cards under car wiper blades. However, with your home/RV based business you can talk to the RV resort owner or camp host about your business and set up an appointment to go see them. Hiring Children: IRS Code, Section 63C, 162A1, Pub. 15 Sec. 3 Up to $6,300 per child per year. Pay your children to help you in your home-based business. They can in turn buy their own clothes, pay for their recreation, save for their college or wedding. You can pay Uncle Sam or pay your children – it’s the same money! Wages for children, living at home and under the age of 18 are not subject to federal, state, social security taxes for the first $6,300. Medical Reimbursement Plan: IRS Code, Section 105 By incorporating your business or employing your spouse you can set up a medical reimbursement plan. Under this plan you or your spouse can be reimbursed for medical expenses. Expenses that can be included: Medical insurance premiums, out-of-pocket medical expenses, medical insurance deductibles and co-payments, dental care, prescription medicines, vision care including eye glasses and contact lenses, chiropractic and psychiatric fees, term life insurance premiums up to $50,000 face value, disability insurance premiums, etc. These benefits are tax-free to the employees (including your spouse). The value of these reimbursements is not added to their taxable income. Deductible for you and not taxable to them! Here is a sample of an employment agreement between spouses and/or children as well as a sample corporate resolution: Medical Care Reimbursement Plan for XYZ Corporation The Corporation shall reimburse all eligible employees for expenses incurred by themselves and their dependents, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, section 152, as amended for medical and dental care, as defined in Internal revenue Code, Section 213(3), as amended subject to the conditions and limitations as hereinafter set forth. It is the intention of the Corporation that the benefits payable to eligible employees hereinafter shall be excluded from their gross income pursuant to Internal Revenue Code, Section 105, as amended. All corporate employees with at least ____ months of service employed on a full-time basis at the date of inception of this plan are eligible under this plan. A. The corporation shall reimburse any eligible employee for medical and dental expenses ______ without limitation or ______ not to exceed $________ in any fiscal year. B. Reimbursement or payments are for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the eligible employee that are not covered under any insurance policy, any health and accident plan. Any eligible employee applying for reimbursement under this plan shall submit to the Corporation all bills for medical and dental expenses incurred at least thirty days prior to payment for verification by the Corporation. Payments will be made on a quarterly basis. Failure to comply herewith may, at the discretion of the Corporation, terminate such eligible employee’s right to such reimbursement. The Plan shall be subject to termination, at any time, by the vote of the Shareholders of the Corporation; provided, however, that medical and dental expenses incurred prior to such termination shall be reimbursed in accordance with this Plan. This _____ day of _______________, 2015 By: ________________________________ President Employee: _____________________________ Employment Agreement between spouses and/or children 1. This agreement shall begin __________________ and continue until termination of employment or this agreement. 2. Compensation – The Employer shall pay the Employee for all services rendered a salary or hourly wage of $_______________________. 3. In addition to compensation payments, the Employer shall provide a Medical Reimbursement Plan for the benefit of the employee, the employee’s spouse and the employee’s dependents pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code Section 105 and the company policy statement. 4. Employees duties shall include but not limited to; ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 5. Other benefits, if any, shall include; ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ This _____ day of _______________, 2015 Employer: _____________________________ Employee: _____________________________ Mileage: Tres. Reg. 1.162-1A In 2015 you can deduct 57.5 cents for every business mile you document. With a home/RV based business you can convert many of your current miles into business miles and get more than a $100 tax deduction for every 200 miles documented. Mileage driven commuting to and from work is not deductible, however, mileage between jobs is deductible. Hence with a home based business and proper documentation, the miles driven from one job to another (or working in your business) is deductible. To put some numbers to this deduction – if you documented 5,000 business miles driven in 2015. 5,000 miles X .575 = $2,875 in tax deductions which means approximately $1,000 more in your pocket! Document business miles by keeping a daily log in your vehicle. Adequate records or other sufficient evidence must be kept to support business use. If you plan to deduct your automobile expenses Expenses Date using the IRS mileage rates then Here there is no need to keep gas and Advertising repair receipts. You will need to Office Supplies Activity keep good mileage records to be Postage broken down into business, Cell Phone personal and commuting miles Entertainment driven categories. Website IRS rules will allow you to keep a daily log for 90 consecutive days (3 months) and multiply the miles by 4 to represent the entire year. Here is an example of the daily log I use in my business. Internet Mktg Travel – Lodging Meals Rent 1099’s/wages Inventory: Business Mileage Auto Start End Contact/Purpose Miles Odometer Business miles YTD Total miles YTD How do I Qualify? Within the last decade Congress has made very generous tax benefits available to anyone that starts their own home based business. The design is to stimulate economic growth. What is asked in return is “documentation” that clearly establishes your intent, proving the “pursuit of profit”. Even if no profit is made, the “pursuit” makes the deductions legal and ethical. There are many home based businesses that you can start very inexpensively to begin qualifying for these and other tax deductions. You may want to choose a business with a broad appeal that you could work out of your RV as well. This way you may be able to convert many of your current expenses into tax deductions. The Tale of Two Families Joe & Mary decide that they would like to purchase a Recreational Vehicle and do some traveling with their child. Joe & Mary are your average couple earning a combined annual income of $75,000. After their schedule A deductions, they had an adjusted gross income of $55,000 for tax purposes. At the end of the year they have paid approximately $12,750 in State & Federal income tax. In the course of the year, Joe & Mary took several trips in their new RV and keep track of how much they had spent while enjoying the family trips. Gas/Oil/Propane Operating Expenses RV Maintenance RV Supplies Campground Fees RV Insurance $1200 500 500 500 1000 800 Of course none of these costs are tax deductible so at the year end while having their taxes done and realizing they were going to spend another $12,750 in taxes again this year, the tax preparer told them about a similar client, John & Debbie. John & Debbie are very similar to Joe & Mary, but their tax situation at year end was quite different! John & Debbie also have one child, a combined income of $75,000 and had decided to purchase a recreational vehicle. However they had decided to take advantage of the current laws passed by congress that could reduce the costs of RV ownership. First they started their own home based business. When they would go camping they would meet with prospects and pass out flyers (similar to the one you are reading). They would even let little Johnny in on the fun. Business Deductions Now, let’s look at the difference at the end of the year… By converting everyday expenses into legal business deductions John & Debbie can save up to $6,000 or more on their State & Federal taxes. Gas/Oil/Propane Operating Expenses RV Maintenance RV Supplies Campground Fees RV Insurance Asset Expensing/Depreciation Medical Re-imbursement Child (wages) Total Deductions $ 1,200 500 500 500 1,000 800 5,000 2,000 4,500 $ 16,000