Donate Your Timeshare and Make Tax Day a Holiday

April 15^th is not usually a welcome day for most Americans. Also known as tax day, April 15^th is the day where all eligible tax payers must file their income taxes. Sometimes it feels like you need to be a full time CPA to understand some of the tax code, deductions, and forms. It can be quite a stressful time. Because of this, many gyms, restaurants, massage therapists, and coffee shops offer deals to help last minute filers keep their cool.

For those who own a timeshare, it could be even more worrisome because some of the rules and regulations concerning timeshares are so confusing. You are only allowed to deduct part of your maintenance fees when filing your taxes. You can deduct those parts that include property taxes and insurances. However, you cannot deduct fees associated with staff or upkeep. You will have to itemize each deduction to show how you are making your deductions.

Renting makes things even more confusing. If you rent your timeshare out for half the time of your ownership, you can only deduct half the expenses but you must include all of the rent as personal income.  Therefore, you're not really taking in as much as you think at all.

If you want to have a happy tax day, there is another approach than trying to rent out your timeshare. You can donate your timeshare instead. When you donate your timeshare, there is no need to worry about what you can deduct and what you can't. You deducting the market value of the timeshare once and then you're done. There are no longer any annual maintenance fees to worry about. The only thing you'll have to worry about instead is what you're going to do with that big return.