Does a TM qualify for the new CA homebuyer credit?

[B_and_D]

http://ftb.ca.gov/individuals/New_Home_Credit.shtml#def2

You have to live in it for 2 years.

What do you think?

Is a mobile home eligible for the homeowners exemption?

[HEATHFINANCIAL]

no it would have to be a manufactured mobile home to qualify. travel trailers dont count:(

[Bill]

I think it likely that another key phrase is "principal residence". Along with "pay property tax".

Bill

[B_and_D]

no it would have to be a manufactured mobile home to qualify. travel trailers dont count:(

How do you know this? Did you call them, or read the bill? I'd really like to know.

[B_and_D]

I think it likely that another key phrase is "principal residence". Along with "pay property tax".

Bill

It is possible to have the TM be your principal residence, and we do pay (personal) property taxes on them here in CA.

[Bill]

Perhaps I misunderstood the question. If the TM becomes your principal residence, what do you do with your current principal residence? Sell it? Declare it to be a second home?

And I may be wrong - I'm not a Californian - but in most states, I think there is a difference between real estate tax (commonly called property tax) and personal property tax, such as you pay on your car or boat. If you declare your TM to be your principal residence, does it become subject to real estate tax?

Ducking out now ...

Bill

[photoadjuster]

<< If you declare your TM to be your principal residence, does it become subject to real estate tax? >>

Only if the tax man can find it on Jan 1st.

[B_and_D]

Perhaps I misunderstood the question. If the TM becomes your principal residence, what do you do with your current principal residence? Sell it? Declare it to be a second home?

And I may be wrong - I'm not a Californian - but in most states, I think there is a difference between real estate tax (commonly called property tax) and personal property tax, such as you pay on your car or boat. If you declare your TM to be your principal residence, does it become subject to real estate tax?

Ducking out now ...

Bill

Here is an excerpt from the IRS website regarding the deductibility of interest that shows that a "house trailer" can be a "main home":

"Topic 505 - Interest Expense

Interest is an amount you pay for the use of borrowed money..........Types of interest you can deduct as itemized deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF) include investment interest (limited to your net investment income) and qualified residence interest.........Qualified residence interest is interest you pay on a loan secured by your main home or a second home. Your main home is where you live most of the time. It can be a house, cooperative apartment, condominium, mobile home, house trailer, or houseboat that has sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities."

I was just asking HF if they had a insight that I didn't have, I'm sorry if I sounded uptight, I've been working a lot of overtime this past month. There are always questions about these new laws that come out and I'm just looking for answers.

This is an excerpt from the CA link I originally posted: "Types of residence: Any of the following can qualify if it is your principal residence and is subject to property tax, whether real or personal property: a single family residence, a condominium, a unit in a cooperative project, a houseboat, a manufactured home, or a mobile home."

Here in CA you generally pay real property taxes on land and structures permanently attached, and personal property taxes on things that aren't permanently attached to land.

I guess it gets down to what their definition of a "mobile home" is as far as this law goes. The new structures that go into mobile home parks aren't really mobile homes any more, they are manufactured homes.

If I get some time I'll look up the legislation to see what I can find out.

[HEATHFINANCIAL]

How do you know this? Did you call them, or read the bill? I'd really like to know.

actually you may be right, seems a mobile home does qualify.

i did find this story from the washington post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4018-2004Jan9.html

Note that a cooperative apartment, a house trailer or a houseboat will also be considered a "principal residence," as long as it contains a kitchen, sleeping quarters and bathroom facilities.

i suppose if California follows the feds, a travel trailer could be considered a principal residence as long as you dont own a house and it contains a shower, toilet and a kitchen.

[P and B]

I believe mobile home interest is deductible. So are boats that have the two qualifying attributes- a permanent bathroom and kitchen.....

That's what I remember about the code.

Phil

[B_and_D]

When I get some time I'm going to call them and/or look up the bill. California doesn't exactly follow the IRS in everything. It might not mean a lot of money for someone buying a TM, but imagine one of those expensive motorhomes! What's different about this credit is that you have to fax in your request to partake of the credit allocation within one week of closing the sale. You snooze, you lose.

[larsdennert]

I thought it's for new buyers. IE you haven't owned a home in X years.

A TM is not real property. It is personal property. You pay personal property tax on it. However the interest you pay on it can be deductible like real property. This has little to do with the tax credit you are talking about. Also make sure it's a credit and not a deferment of tax. There were several bills floating around that I lobbied for last year in DC. None were the CA one though.