Writing off Airstream to business

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by Gary W Wong

I purchased my airstream for business for I am an architect and park it on the job site for a project. I use it for other uses also but it is considered the construction trailer. I plan to add graphics like company logo to the airstream soon to advertise my business also. It will be parked on a major thoroughfare where it will be seen by stop and go traffic.

My accountant was fine with the definition of the construction trailer and when not in use for that it is stored in indoor storage which is written off.

Of course, there are the camping trips and vacations that we go on but not very often.

It is written off as a business expense and items we purchase for it we write off. I bring the airstream to clients in the future and provide a promotional event where we will advertise my company and we purchased a portable BBQ and accessories for the event.

Always clear it with your accountant as I have each step.

I did not think about the travel and lodging concept and I can use that as part of the write offs also now.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

You shouldn't be getting a tax break on the vacation/camping trips no matter how infrequent. Otherwise they are subsidized by the rest of us.

[r carl]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

You shouldn't be getting a tax break on the vacation/camping trips no matter how infrequent. Otherwise they are subsidized by the rest of us.

That's not even a peanut compared to what corporations do.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3307591.html

[AWCHIEF]

Suggest you talk to a proper lawyer/cpa for legal information. I know a travel nurse that has set up an LLC for her business. She travels the country in a small MOHO.

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by r carl

That's not even a peanut compared to what corporations do.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3307591.html

That doesn't justify anything.

[SteveSueMac]

Random thought to expand on the advice to actually discuss this with professionals who know what they're talking about [emoji3]

There's a difference - and possibly a thin line - between tax avoidance and tax evasion. Imagine the tax code like a fence around a property. You should know your level of risk tolerance and the expertise of the tax advisor you choose because it's great to have someone (say an EA/Enrolled Agent) who is exceedingly deep with tax code to help you get as close to that fence as possible - keeping you in bounds - vs. someone who might take you beyond the boundary of the fence without your knowledge or consent. The former is using the law to avoid paying taxes you don't need to. The latter is evading taxes you should have paid but didn't.

Whether your personal preference/risk tolerance is to be 50' away from the fence at all times or 1' away from the fence - align yourself with professionals who can honor that and do well for you.

[InterBlog]

Interesting thread, difficult subject.

Many sole-owner LLCs establish the LLC format for the purposes of minimizing potential losses in our litigious society. For that reason, the LLC intentionally retains very little in the way of its own assets. That strategy kind of goes out the window if an Airstream is transferred to an LLC.

My husband and I just finished a lithium system and my rough plan is to work out of our rig much more frequently now that I can run a full-sized workstation on the sun alone, which is one of the reasons why I'm now reviewing the threads in this sub-forum.

However there's no way that I would expose our rig to corporate ownership, either via my existing LLC or a separate one designed to "rent" the rig or whatever. I'm not an attorney, but my general understanding is that, as soon as that thing is owned by an LLC, it's subject to potential future legal judgments. It's vulnerable in a way that it is not, if it instead remains our personal property unconnected with my business.

In other words, this isn't just about taxes. This is also about exposure. If I were purchasing an unmodified Airstream off a dealer's lot with the express purposes of using for business, I might feel differently because it would simply be a generic asset. But our rig has become a long-term custom project shared by my husband and I. I'd rather eat the cost of it than expose it to a potential future settlement in which it might be awarded to someone else.

I've been in business for myself 11 years now and I've never been sued, but one cannot ignore the possibility. But of course, some career fields are more litigious than others, and mine ranks moderately high (technical consulting). If someone is selling their own crafted products or whatever, maybe they would assess their own risk as being lower.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

I don't own my Airstream. It's in an LLC, which is registered to my business, which is owned by another LLC which is owned by a Trust.

You figure it out....... Average people just seem to enjoy over paying taxes and living in ignorance of the tax code.

Does that make you below-average?

As a proud American I pay the taxes I owe and glad they support veterans, my freedom and the infrastructure of this special country.

[Mollysdad]

Don't forget, if you claim it's for business, and then when you sell it you have to recapture any money as a reduction to your expense. Also, If you use it 50% business, then you can only write off 50%.
However, I'd look into a second home deduction. It meets all the criteria, especial if you have interest on a loan.

[Dan and Liz]

The depreciation "allowed or allowable" is subject to recapture when you sell, but if you use he simplified method (which at $5/square foot would yield a tiny expense deduction) that wouldn't apply. I think identifying the area used "regularly and exclusively" for business would be a very difficult hurdle in an Airstream in order to claim the home office deduction. But if you itemize, the reply above is spot on regardless of any business use.