Recreation
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Recreational boat owners who paid state sales taxes on a boat purchase, or those who secured a loan to finance a boat, may have some tax deductions available when filing their 2009 federal income tax return, says a national boat owners group, BoatU.S.
For boat owners who paid substantial state sales taxes on a new or used boat purchase last year, the Tax Extenders Act of 2008 continues to offer a federal tax deduction for state sales taxes.
Boaters must choose either the state sales tax deduction or state income tax deduction on their federal tax return – you cannot take both.
In addition, to take the state sales tax deduction, the sales tax on a boat purchase must be applied at the same tax rate as the state’s general sales tax. In order to claim the sales tax deduction, tax returns must be itemized. State sales taxes are entered on IRS form Schedule A , line 5b.
For those owners with a secured boat loan, mortgage interest paid on the loan may be deducted from your federal income taxes.
Taxpayers may use the home mortgage interest deduction for one second home in addition to their primary home, and must itemize deductions on their returns. A boat is considered a second home for federal tax purposes if it has a galley, a head, and sleeping berth.
Some boaters may be unaware of this potential tax benefit because not all lending institutions send borrowers an Internal Revenue Service form 1098 which reports the interest paid. Not receiving the form does not preclude taking the deduction.
If a 1098 is not available, boaters should contact their lender for the amount of interest paid and should enter it on line 11 on Schedule A along with the lender’s tax ID number. If a form 1098 is sent, boaters should simply enter the amount on line 10 of Schedule A.
For those who fall under the Alternative Minimum Tax, most deductions are unavailable as taxes are calculated differently. Boaters are urged to contact a tax preparer or financial advisor for more information.
For more details on the mortgage deduction, go to www.IRS.gov and download Publication 936 or the Fact Sheets.
For state tax deduction information download Publication 600 , which also includes state-by-state tax tables.
Boat Owners Association of The United States is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters providing over half a million members with government representation, programs and money saving services. For membership information visit www.BoatUS.com or call 800-395-2628.
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- Written by: Editor
This week's report starts the same as the last – cold and rain are upon us and the bite is correspondingly slow across the board. The big however is that after this past Friday we should be plowing headlong into spring-like weather for the next week.
This is the time of year when the “spring is here, nope we're still in winter, but wait spring is” kind of thing is happening. There have been some really strong signs that the bass bite is ready to blow wide open into a spring bite. Here's where we're at.
Bass anglers working live bait and artificials alike have been having a tough time with the often changing weather and recent blast of cold air. The folks that were doing pretty well fishing skinny water a short time are back on deep water rock piles working super slow and looking for a subtle bite.
But, again, we're expecting the temps to warm significantly into the coming weekend and week. We should see some strong activity as bass begin to get their spring fever and start looking for shallow water to do what they do in spring. This is always an exciting time of year with anticipation so thick you could just about slice it with a knife. Add to that the fact that Clear Lake is in better shape this year than we have seen in quite a while and oh my ... I can hardly contain myself! I'll keep you posted ...
There's still not much happening on the crappie front. I've been saying for a while that if this bite happens for us on Clear Lake it will likely be a spring/summer bite as we have been trending that way for the last couple years. I've got folks out with minnows each week poking around for them but the results have been slim. Simply put, we're in wait and see mode ... Don't be afraid to venture to Clear Lake to try your hand.
Lastly on the crappie/panfish front, I want to mention a change in the fishing regulations for California. There is now a limit on bluegill of 25 and a combined bag limit of 25 bluegill and crappie. This is a major change (and welcome to those of us who have seen our fishery hammered over the years). Pick up a copy of the fishing regs and give them a look. The changes for 2010 are listed in the front of the book.
For catfish, anglers are already getting excited about the annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Business Association Catfish Derby. Applications are available in the store or online at the www.clearlakeoaks.org site. The catfish action has been slow with the recent cold and rain. This too should be changing with the coming spring weather.
We now turn our attention and energy to the annual Lake Friends of NRA banquet coming up Saturday, April 10, at the Lions Hall in Middletown. This is our fourth year for the event here in Lake County. This event sold out last year and we're on track to sell out again this year. This is our flagship event for the year! Drop by our shop in Clearlake and preview some of the nearly 40 guns we'll have at the event, get your tickets, and show your support for the Lake Friends of NRA.
And lastly, we've got a full calendar of classes scheduled for March. Check our Google Calendar on our Events & Classes page at www.994Fish.com for dates and times. For March we're offering the following classes: Personal Safety & Awareness, Intro to Handguns, Fundamentals of Marksmanship, Semi-Auto Pistol Operation, Handgun Care & Cleaning, and we're teaming with ECTS for American Heart Association First Aid & CPR. I hope you'll join us. Feel free to call 707.994.FISH (3474) or email (
Bob Rider is owner of Lakeshore Bait & Tackle, 14913 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, Calif., telephone 707-994-FISH (3474) or visit www.994Fish.com .
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
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