Deducting Sales Tax on 2006 Boat Purchase

AndersonAcres

Member
Oct 30, 2006
725
Iowa
From January 25, 2007- BoatU.S.

Boat Owners May Deduct Sales Tax 2/7/07

Thanks to action taken by Congress in December, tax filers who made a large purchase in 2006, such as a boat, may deduct state and local sales taxes paid if the tax rate applied to the boat was the same as the state's general sales tax.

"Some taxpayers may be confused because the usual extension of these provisions was not approved by Congress until after the IRS had already printed its forms in November for the 2006 tax year," said Elaine Dickinson, assistant vice president of BoatUS Government Affairs, in the release. "We've been hearing from our members that even their own accountants are unaware of the extension since it did not appear on the printed 2006 Schedule A (Form 1040).â€

A notice on the IRS Web site, http://www.irs.gov/, outlines the so-called "extender provisions." It also lets taxpayers know that returns with these deductions will not be processed until Feb. 3 to give the agency time to incorporate the latest legislation into its processing systems for '06 returns. To get the deduction, filers must itemize their deductions.

"Taxpayers may deduct either sales taxes or state income taxes, but not both," said Dickinson. The deduction for state and local general sales taxes may be claimed on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 5, "State and local income taxes." Enter "ST" on the dotted line to the left of line 5 to indicate you are claiming the general sales tax deduction instead of the deduction for state and local income tax, according to the IRS.

For more on state tax deductions, download IRS Publication 600, which includes state-by-state tax tables, by going to the above link or by calling 1-800-829-1040, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays.

January 25, 2007- BoatU.S.
 
This is good news for those of us who bought boats in '06, even in a high tax state like CT.
 
This is great news - guess I need to get with our tax guy and see what other paperwork he needs from us. :thumbsup:

-CJ
 
I'm getting conflicting information on this. I live in TX where we don't pay a local/state income tax.

Our sales tax rate on normal purchases is 8.25%, of which 6.25% goes to the state. On boats/cars however, we pay just the states 6.25%.

The article above states that as long as the sales tax % on the boat is not less than the states general rate, we can claim it. Well, the state's rate is 6.25% and I paid 6.25% on my boat this year.

However, my turbotax is not allowing me to claim it. I have updated it too. The IRS Form 600 is very vague and does not define "general sales tax rate" very clearly. I paid 6.25%, and the tax rate listed for TX is 6.25%, but line 3 wants me to add in the local 2.0% that is added in.

Anyone in TX have an answer for this? I'm going to call the IRS tomorrow when they're open but it has the potential to be a $1K difference in my refund.

-Dave
 
delliott00 said:
I'm getting conflicting information on this. I live in TX where we don't pay a local/state income tax.

Our sales tax rate on normal purchases is 8.25%, of which 6.25% goes to the state. On boats/cars however, we pay just the states 6.25%.

The article above states that as long as the sales tax % on the boat is not less than the states general rate, we can claim it. Well, the state's rate is 6.25% and I paid 6.25% on my boat this year.

However, my turbotax is not allowing me to claim it. I have updated it too. The IRS Form 600 is very vague and does not define "general sales tax rate" very clearly. I paid 6.25%, and the tax rate listed for TX is 6.25%, but line 3 wants me to add in the local 2.0% that is added in.

Anyone in TX have an answer for this? I'm going to call the IRS tomorrow when they're open but it has the potential to be a $1K difference in my refund.

-Dave
You should be able to get a refund. Your state tax is paid full and then you pay your local options tax, but not on boats. Since you pay state tax full, you should get the refund. Some states only charge half or less of the state sales tax for cars and other vehicles, such as NC only charging 3.0% on cars and 3% or $2000 max. on new boats, so no refund here.
 
My bean counter just called to confirm that the entire sales tax amount is deductible in Maryland. :grin:

Thank you Anderson!
:smt038
 

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