Escrow Account Questions
 

Hey Guys,

I am leasing my truck through a bank, over and above my truck lease payment, I put an extra $100 per week for repairs. Can I deduct this from my taxes?

Depends on how it's structured. If the lease agreement includes maintenance then you can. If all you're doing is putting money into an account so it's there when you need maintenance (which I assume is what you're doing), then no. You deduct your maintenance expenses as they occur.

Thank you, yes, in my agreement it does include an escrow, over and above the payment.

Then no, you can't deduct the payments. If the wording of your agreement calls it an escrow account, then you can't write it off. An escrow account is simply a savings account that you use to pay for repairs. If, at the end of the lease, there is money left in the account you get it back. If this is what you have, then you can't write each payment off. You have to write off each maintenance item as it occurs. The key is that the money is still yours, even though you are required to pay into the account.

Now, some leases have a maintenance provision. The leasing company takes care of all or a specified portion of your maintenance for a set fee that's in addition to your lease payment. You pay that money and the company handles the agreed upon maintenance. If it ends up costing more or less than the agreed upon price, it doesn't matter. You agreed to pay X dollars for X maintenance. In this case you could write it off with each payment because once you've made that payment, the money is gone; no longer yours.