Can you deduct travel expenses to "visit" your deeded timeshare property.

[tadman]

I was told when I bought my RCI timeshare in Las Vegas that even if I didn't stay at my timeshare, I could deduct the cost of the airfare and other expenses, even possibly lodging (if I didn't stay at my resort) because it was for the purpose of visiting an investment property. Truth be told, I did visit the property during my last trip to vegas, but it was to late to book at my resort. Is there any truth to this and even if it is a little stretch for tax purposes, what is the proper IRS form to use for such deductions.

 

[DeniseM]

You cannot - but I bet you heard that from a TS sales Rep. This is one of the common whoppers they tell to sell a TS.

There are generally no tax deductions with a TS, except sometimes the property tax. See the tax article on the Advice page, linked in the red bar at the top of the page.

 

[tadman]

Yes it was by a TS sales rep. Unfortunately, they are still using that in their sales pitch. I just sat through a presentation at a deeded timeshare in willimasburg and was given the same line. they said it was limited to once per year, but that it was within the letter of the law to do it. Wish I had found this site before buying from the developer. I had already read Mr. Mclintocks article about income tax do's and don'ts. I had hoped it hadn't been updated in a while and that the newer tax codes allowed this kind of thing. Thanks for your quick response. TAD

 

[Dave M]

Denise is correct. (And the article, although not changed recently, is up to date.)

 

[tadman]

thank you both for the prompt responses. I am going to go throw my receipts out now. Have a good evening. TAD

 

[Talent312]

... [T]hey are still using that in their sales pitch. I just sat through a presentation at a deeded timeshare in willimasburg and was given the same line...

Its like all TS sales-creeps read the same playbook. They seem most proficient in the chapter on "Lines that Sound Like They Could be True, But Cannot Put in Writing."

In any event, I don't think it wise for folks to waste their valuable vacation time by volunatrily submitting themselves to these shenanigans. No "gift" is worth the time+trouble, IMO.

 

[theo]

Maybe, but...

Its like all TS sales-creeps read the same playbook.

Or, in many instances, perhaps have it read to them by a more literate acquaintance.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

What most often happens is that in training sessions, the trainers give the sales staff information of all types about what is being sold. The trainer reviews the features of the item, how it can be used, the ostensible advantages of buying the product, etc.

The sales person absorbs all of that information and begins using it. Seldom does the sales person personally investigate and verify what is being given them in a training session, particularly as it involves areas that involve matters of technical expertise. It's unlikely that the car salesman has personally the stopping distances of vehicles in braking tests, for example. They presume, as do most of us when we are trainees in similar settings, that the information being given has been reviewed and vetted elsewhere in the organization by someone who has the ability and resources to do so.

********

The point of what I'm saying is to shift the blame for statements such as this away from the sales person and to the organization. When salespeople make statements such as this it really indicts the developers sales organization, not the salesperson. (And for the moment I'm excluding sales people who continue to use a line even after they know it isn't true.)

A good sales organizations doesn't feed unsubstantiated information to their sales staff to use on the sales floor. It's also been my experience that that most sales people, even in the timeshare industry, do not intentionally lie.

Of course, as I noted above there are sales people who can and do mislead and lie with little impunity. Perhaps the timeshare business has a higher than normal ratio of such people. I can't say if that's the case. That certainly has not been my experience, but that might reflect that we've always been a bit more selective about the organizations at which we've interviewed.

*******

Of course, ethical sales people will tend to gravitate toward ethical sales organizations, with the converse equally applicable. The result, of course, is that the most predatory sales operations are also the sleaziest.

 

[Rob&Carol Q]

TS Sales Staff = Weasel

Do we really need to go much further?