Question

Travel Trailer for business travel

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
March 15, 2020
1 reply
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Where and how would we report a travel trailer used for business purposes? My husband is a forestry contractor who works in multiple states throughout the year. He used to sleep in his truck while traveling, but in 2019 he purchased a small travel trailer for $11,000.

Would this go in as a travel expense OR as a capital asset? And, how would we depreciate it if we put it in one of those categories?

Relevant IRS Info:

-If depreciated as a Capital Asset, I believe it would be considered part of Asset Class 00.26 "Trailers and trailer mounted containers" which have a 5-year class for MACRS and 6 years for ADS...

-As a travel expense https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc511 says that you can write off "Other similar ordinary and necessary expenses related to your business travel..... operating and maintaining a house trailer." But in this case, how would we depreciate the purchase price properly?

Thanks for any guidance!

ColeenD3

It is not a travel expense, it should be depreciated. After you set up your business, enter income and expenses, then depreciation is the next section. Enter the asset there.