Boat gas = Tax write off?
 

I have heard from a few people that you can write off all the gas you put in your boat during a year on your taxes. They say you can do this because you pay a road tax on gas and you don't use boats on the road. Is there any truth to this? If so, where would you put it as a deduction on your taxes? I should have started saving my receipts years ago :)

Well, the "road tax" wouldn't be the entire price of the gas, so I doubt you can write the entire price off your taxes.

I own my own business, and so entertain "business associates" on my boat a lot. ;)

I also would be interested too but i do have my taxes done by a very good CPA...i am 100% commission so I need some extra CYA. If this is true the taxes on gas here in CA are almost 50 cents per gallon.

Love to hear if anyone has done this and can prove it wont be audited.

I know you can in Texas. I haven't done it, but I am saving my receipts this year.

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinf...rms/98-661.pdf

It sounds like you might be referring to the "Off highway fuels tax credit".

Here is a link to the information:

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p510...link1000116950

You will note that under the definitions of uses there is not the word "recreation". Its use is for business purposes such as generators, heavy machinery etc. This is very common in the construction industry. However IMHO if you ran a business that involved boating, you might be entitled to an off hiqhway fuel tax credit in CA. I believe other states may offer actual fuel tax credit on recreational use but I am not 100% positive.

The word "audit" comes to mind

In Washington you can get a refund but it has nothing to do with your taxes. Here you fill out a form that gets you a "permit" . Once you have this permit you can send in your fuel recipts and there rebate form 4 times a year so quarterly. Then they send you a refund check for the hwy taxes that you paid at the pump. Now here in washington we have a ton of taxes on our gas. schools roads etc. on top of fedral taxes. They only refund they issue is the state side of things and even then its not a hundred percent they skim some off the top for schools and some other stuff. I have a copy of the permit form some where.

I filled out mine today and getting a refund of just over $130.00 back. Our Gas tax here in NC is 0.2999 cents on the gallon. I know, extremely high.

i write my gas off as a business expense, as far as my houseboat, i write trip expenses off , gas ,, food,, drinks, never would i write off my slip fee or what i payed for the boat, that is asking for trouble, the trip fee for 2 1/2 weeks is around 8k - 10k

Taft, I'm from Texas as well and I don't think a boat fits in there anywhere in that link

Set yourself up as a LLC. Create a business and show an INTENT to make a profit. Then you can write everything off including the boat as a business expense. Problem being this will only work for about 3 yrs if you are not making any money at all.

Texas will refund your gas tax - I've done it the last three years. It comes to about $.20-30/gal. It adds up to a around $100-200 a year for me.

VA does the same thing too
 

VA does the same thing - have not filed before so don't know if you get the whole amount back or not but plan on keeping receipts this year.

Here is the link to download the form from the VA Dept Motor Vehicles

http://www.dmvnow.com/webdoc/pdf/ts217.pdf

For WA,
http://www.dol.wa.gov/forms/442071.pdf

I'm doing it this year! I said that last year too but...

Yes a business can claim the gas you use in your boat as an expense for entertaining current and potential clients on your federal tax return, meaning that the business lowers its taxable income. In case of an audit, you will just have to keep records of the amount of gas used and hours on the boat to determine the portion of that was used for entertaining clients if the boat is used for personal use as well. When keeping reciepts to claim your gas make sure you have the reciept that shows the amount of gas put into the boat and not just the credit card receipt or just make sure it was a "cash" purchase.

here is the rebate form for Texas.

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinf...rms/06-106.pdf

I have a side consulting business, that regularly makes profit, but never have the opportunity to entertain prospective clients. Guess I may need to re-think my marketing strategy. It would be great if I can write off some of the boat expenses. Anyone know if there are non-highway credits/refunds/write off in AR?

Good post with some potentially useful info.

I live in Washington. I added up all my receipts from 2008 with the intention of getting this "refund". It ended up being around $51. You only get .18 a gallon. Now I will say 2008 was a slow year for me. I think I put double the hours on the boat in 2009. I also noticed on some receipts you can't wait too long. The stupid things fade out, even stored in the center console out of the sun.

FYI, In Texas they dont' alwasy ask for your recipets. You fill out the form, then wait...more times than not they just send the check.

What about Michigan?

here is a list of states who give refunds with links to spcific info. Beware not everything is entirely accurate the two sites say VA uses the TS-216 form; the correct form is the TS-217. Maybe other states out there too.

http://www.americanboating.org/fueltax.asp

http://www.boatus.com/gov/state_taxrefund.asp

damnit oklahoma

Dan, Form 06-106 from the Texas Comptrollers Office clearly states at the top left that "all fuel tax refunds must be supported by fuel receipts". I guess somebody has been lazy in your refund. I called the Texas Comptroller and they said it's 20 cents per gallon.

I get a reimbursment check for all the road tax I pay on my boat gas. State sends me a form i send it in and then spend the money on a tank of gas.

Tax writeoff...
 

This depends on your state. To begin with, if you can claim a deduction it is for the ROAD TAX only. Someone said that in CA the tax rate is .50/gal so the questions is, is that total tax or road tax. In Illinois, you can only claim the road tax deduction (on state return only, not federal return) for off road equipment like tractors and farm equipment, 4 wheelers...NOT BOATS. You must be able to prove your deduction as well. Hope this helps...

yes you can

in CA if you use your boat 3 miles offshore you can right it off at 18%

Anybody have any info on Nevada