Can you write off your race car? I mean seriously....if it went into a wall and were destroyed what would you do?

Personally I really don't like to even think about that but seriously....am i ready to write of 10k.....that's a nice down payment on a house....

So I just bought another 92-95 hatch running for 1100 bucks....1995 CX with ac....Interior is thrashed....stinks....the owner smoked....hmmmm....but it is another shell....for a potential race car....

that makes 4 92-95 hatches I own one of which is raced prep'd and daily driven and a 2000 si that is raced prep'd and only sees the track.
now i'm suppose to buy a 91 si with a b16a swap here in the next week or 2....hmmmm

i really need to start a new hobby!!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Not to mention how many engines you're gonna need for all those cars!!!

 

Q: Can you write off your race car?

yes. No problem. I pay everything which is related to racing in cash. If the car was gone tomorrow, my finances would only get better.

Now, if the car were stuffed and only the shell was done, it would take me about 3-5 months to rebuild. If the car was stuffed like Phat S' was, only a bag of bolts at best left to salvage, it would be 12+ months if ever I would be back to racing. This is actually the worse case for me as I would need to come up with $8-12k cash to buy another car.

 

yup. Mine is mostly an auto-x car but I bought it because I wanted to drive it on track as well. Just as zsolt does I pay for everything with only the money I have at the time so I'm never going to be in debt because of my racing. One of the reasons I stopped prepping my 00 si daily driver and got a cheap car to dedicate to track use.

Rebuilding is a different story, but financial loss at the time not at all. I guess I could probably find another shell fairly cheap though so maybe it woudln't be that big of a deal.

 

no, that's why I autoX and don't race wheel2wheel yet.

and when i do cross-over the question won't be "can you write off your race car?" but "can you write off your kart?"

 

I was thinking about donating mine to the salvation army, don't think that would work though. I think the best way is right it off as a bussinesses expense from what I have heard

 

Not only can I... But I did.... Could I afford to... well that's a different question.

Let's just say that rice_classic has a father who really like to watch his son pursue his dreams. And for that I've tried to include him as much as possible even though I am several states away:

Ahhhh, isn't racing fun?
BEFORE



Tire wall at 80MPH


RESULTS




And a new project:
Just STARTED



I am going to be painting the inside of this car Flat Gray and the outside Championship white (most likely) because it looks better as a background for sponsorship logos (I hope!).

 

I did too, this spring, I wrote off my newly built B16 91 hatch race car the first time I took it out onto the track:



Because I didn't want to go into debt, it took me all summer to build a replacement (which I guess I could write off as well, although that would be incredibly depressing!).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Can you write off your race car? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Been there, done that also. Like Zsolt said, I pay cash for everything. I basically have a allowance of 'x-dollars' a paycheck to play cars with. I don't have a lot of fancy parts on the car and pretty much have to make do with what I have. Running a slower class car helps keep costs down also.

So long as we're sharing meatballs.... remember this one? Twisted unibody, krinkled roof, busted suspension, and a new love for air bags.

 

I say you sell every car except one and keep your focus there. Whatever effort you are splitting x number of ways could be put to use on the treadmill, lifting weights and learning how to stay focused.

Man I've owned 19 cars in 8 years most of them FWD hondas and some rediculously over prepped and never saw real track time as a result.

You could buy a house right now but what's it going to be when your 80 ? I bought a house or I lived my life racing. Hopefully you can find a neutral peace in both.

I rember talking to a retired driver and he said "If you look in the mirror than your blinded from what's comming ahead, I never looked in the mirror"

.005 cents

 

track car/daily driver? yes. paid in cash, have enough in the bank that i could buy a nice daily driver if i had to.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sans &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You could buy a house right now but what's it going to be when your 80 ? I bought a house or I lived my life racing. Hopefully you can find a neutral peace in both.

I rember talking to a retired driver and he said "If you look in the mirror than your blinded from what's comming ahead, I never looked in the mirror" </TD></TR></TABLE>

"It's not how many years are in your life but how much life is in your years."

 

You could call it a casualty loss and take a deduction on your taxes.

If audited, your auditor might think that an accident with a racecar is not unexpected and challenge though.

 

race car paid for...check

daily driver paid for...check

mortgage...not even close

if i crash it tomorrow...it was a good experience

 

Everything racing related it put on the Visa and paid down after it reports to the credit reporting agencies for that reporting batch.....that is how you increase your credit score while racing.


Can I write it off? Well...sure. I would be more anrgy at the loss of all the hours I put into the car.....

 

This thread just made me relize that i couldn't do it in an H4 car let alone an H1 but H4 will be easier to handle H4 here icome

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by trigun7469 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was thinking about donating mine to the salvation army, don't think that would work though. I think the best way is right it off as a bussinesses expense from what I have heard</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eHoward &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You could call it a casualty loss and take a deduction on your taxes.

If audited, your auditor might think that an accident with a racecar is not unexpected and challenge though.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think these guys are confused. He's asking whether or not you are willing to lose the car and take the financial loss, not how to get a tax write-off.

 

racecars are like lightbulbs... one burns out, ya screw another one in

i'm in the process of helping a buddy get his new bmw lightbulb screwed in... his old one burnt out at watkins glen... in the rain... piloted by a novice... during his comp. school...


Hunter - who chose a 4th gen civic cuz they're mad ugly and cheap y0!

 

Allow this-NO unless you are a professional race team business. That is the key here. I am assuming that most reading this are amateur racers and have not bought or raced using a business as the basis for having fun. That is also a key since you are not racing for "prize money" ala NASCAR.
The only way I know to write any portion of the car or hobby off would be if you had the car insured for an amount less than its true value (differential cost write-off) and the car was lost in an accident not involving your hobby.
Some may ask if you are sponsored is this still the case. Generally, according to my accountant you cannot write off anything as it is not your day-to-day business to race. The IRS frowns on any attempt and has ruled repeatedly that only pro race shops and teams are eligible for deductions related to racing. How do I know-I asked him to research it for me.
If you are serious about this then you need to have a legitimate business that actually pays for your racing (part can be sponsorships of course). You need to prove to the IRS that you actually do this activity to advertise the services andparts you offer for sale to the public. On that basis there is a good chance that you will be able to write off a major loss (or a goodly part of it). Best thing-get yourself to an accountant who knows something about what we do.

Parting thought-wouldn't it be nice if you could actually get a deduction for the taxes on fuel? Pro teams can. They are also allowed to depreciate all of the equipment used both in the shop and on the road. Have a good off-season

 

I've pondered this question quite a bit lately. Though I'm only doing open lapping events and have no real plans of going wheel to wheel, the risk is most certainly still there. After seeing 2 M3's, 1 WRX, 1 new Celica, and an Accord get balled up and written off as total losses, its made me at times question why I do this. Then I strap in for another session and am quickly reminded that this is something I do for fun.

My Civic, which rarely sees the outside of the garage except for track days, is paid for 100%, but my daily driver is a clapped out 229,000 mile Volvo wagon. So technically, yes, I could write off the "racecar," but then all I'd have left is the daily bomber . . . not a pleasant thought.

 

yes im ready to write off race kar...not looking forward to the day however...but depending on how bad it was...i could come across another cheap eg shell and swap over all the crap and start over i suppose :shrugs:

 

I can't wait to write this ****** off

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by paRRRker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes im ready to write off race kar...not looking forward to the day however...but depending on how bad it was...i could come across another cheap eg shell and swap over all the crap and start over i suppose :shrugs:</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not sure I fully agree with all these varying degrees of writing off the race car. I think if you swap over all the crap and start over, you were rather fortunate as to what you wrote off. Perhaps however that's in the definition of the beholder.

From my vantage point, comprehensively balling up a car is a pretty big speed bump in your whole racing program. Makes it even more important to put the safety stuff FIRST cause it's hard to rebuild a race car when you ball up yourself.

My question (AGAIN) to you guys running H1 and H2 cars w/ bolt-in cages - Can you write off your race car and literally walk away from it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phat-S &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My question (AGAIN) to you guys running H1 and H2 cars w/ bolt-in cages - Can you write off your race car and literally walk away from it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I didn't think so, which is why I've got a Puckett cage in #32 now.

Hell, eventually I hope that head and neck restraints be mandatory also.

Jason-
who's an idiot to have raced so long without one

 

I would think that for most of the H1 guys, a crash would be less painful on the pocketbook than a blown engine. At least I know it is for me. Now if the wreck ruined the engine, that would REALLY suck, but yes, I can write it off.