Can someone help me figure this thing out...

[trog625]

My family and I have been going to WDW for 8 time out of the last 10 years and I am trying to figure out some things about the DVC.

1. How does this work?
2. Is it tax deductible?
3. What happens if we don't do WDW one year?

Any help would be great!

Thanks in advance.

[GAN]

Most of the information to get started can be found here:

http://www.intercot.com/resorts/dvc/default.asp

2) Taxes could be deductible, other than that if you were to finance through a home equity line -you could deduct interest. Perhaps one of the financial guru's here on the site can be more specific.

3) You don't have to go every year -you get xxx amount of points every year, those can be put towards the following year(but not further into the future than that) -giving you 2 years worth of points. You can also borrow from next year's points. Theoretically, you could use 3 years worth of points in one year and go every 3 years. A little confusing at first.

Feel free to ask any other questions that aren't answered in that link.

[Donald A]

As a true real estate interest, you get a deed. I was able to deduct the interest on my payments on my taxes. However, if you pay for it outright and don't finance it, I do not think there is any tax benefit.

[DisneyDudet]

I have yet to use this as a tax deduction, but we were told that I can deduct the interest from my taxes.

The link provided above will be able to help answer your first question!

[FiggyFan]

Another tax deduction - part of your annual dues is property tax, and is itemized on your annual statement. I always deduct that portion on my taxes, just like my own home's property tax.

[Ian]

1. How does this work?Unlike traditional timeshares, Disney's plan doesn't work on buying blocks of time in weeks. Instead Disney prices their timeshares on a "per-point' system. You buy points at a specified cost per-point and those points are used in exchange for stays in Disney resorts.

The amount of points an individual stay requires varies greatly depending upon where you stay, when you stay, and what type of accomodations you choose. The minimum purchase amount of points is 160 and, typically, that will get you about 10 nights of standard accomodations during non-peak times of the year. If you'd like to go more, stay in larger rooms, or visit during peak times (like Christmas) then you would buy more points.

The average cost per point from Disney today is around $100 ... maybe a little more. So if you were to buy say 200 points at Bay Lake Tower you might pay about $20,000 for your membership. In addition, there is a per-point annual dues expense (typically around $4 per point) that you pay at the beginning of each year.

That's kind of the basics ... there's a lot more to it, but you can get that from the link that was provided.


2. Is it tax deductible?Certain portions of your payment are tax deductible, yes. That's assuming you don't already own a second home, of course.

3. What happens if we don't do WDW one year?Nothing. Your points can be "banked" from one year into the next, although they must be used the following year or you'll lose them.

[trog625]

Thank you all for your insight and comments. I will check out the link provided.

[trog625]

If you buy a block of points, has there ever been any unavailability? Also, if you stay more than a week are there maid services available or are you responsible for that?

[Ian]

I'm not sure I understand your first question ... I think you're asking if there are times when you might not be able to get a reservation even if you own DVC points at a resort.

I think the answer to that is probably ... maybe. If you call right at your 11 month window, it's near impossible that you wouldn't be able to get a room. But if you're trying to stay at a non-home resort and can only book at the 7 month window, then it's more likely. It's also more likely during peak times or that you won't be able to get the specific room size you want.

On longer stays you do get maid service. I don't remember the exact schedule, but it's something like towel service after day three and a full cleaning after day five ... something like that.

[TheDuckRocks]

Certain portions of your payment are tax deductible, yes. That's assuming you don't already own a second home, of course.

Ian, what if you buy into 2 seperate "home" resorts? Would you be able to get the tax deduction on both of them? I thought you might know as I see you have both SSP and BLT. On a couple of hundred points this deduction can't be very much, is it?

[Ian]

Ian, what if you buy into 2 seperate "home" resorts? Would you be able to get the tax deduction on both of them? I thought you might know as I see you have both SSP and BLT. On a couple of hundred points this deduction can't be very much, is it?A DVC contract is really one master contract with a bunch of add-ons if you own at multiple resorts. So really, it's only considered one "second home" for tax purposes.

That's a long way of saying, yes ... you can get the deduction on both of them. And yes you're right ... it really isn't very much.