RV Loan Calculator
The RV, the loan, and your tax picture
Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- General mathematical model
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only. Confirm the assumptions, current rules, fees, and rounding that apply to your situation before making a decision.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the RV's price, including any sales tax and fees you will finance, and your down payment.
- 02
Enter the APR you have been quoted and the term in years. RV loans secured by the vehicle commonly run 10 to 20 years, so the interest is the number to watch.
- 03
Enter a yearly depreciation rate. No government survey measures RV depreciation, so use listings for the same model a few years old; the rate decides how long you owe more than the RV is worth.
- 04
Enter your marginal tax rate and your other itemized deductions: mortgage interest, state and local taxes and charity. The standard deduction opens on the 2026 single-filer figure; change it to $32,200 if you file jointly.
- 05
Read the payment and total interest, then the tax saved if the RV qualifies as a second home, then the year-by-year table and the chart of the balance against the value.
Formula
Loan = price − down payment. Payment = the amortizing payment on the loan at the APR over the term in months, and total interest = the sum of each month's interest on the declining balance. Value after m months = price × (1 − depreciation rate) raised to the power m ÷ 12, and you are underwater in any month where the balance is above the value. If the RV qualifies as a second home, tax saved in a year = marginal rate × [the larger of the standard deduction and (other itemized deductions + that year's interest) − the larger of the standard deduction and other itemized deductions]. After-tax interest = total interest − the tax saved across the loan.
Example
A $65,000 RV with $13,000 down leaves $52,000 to borrow at 7.99% over 15 years: $497 a month and $37,395 of interest, 72% of the amount borrowed, or $102,395 paid in all. First-year interest is $4,087. With $14,000 of other itemized deductions against the $16,100 standard deduction, qualifying as a second home saves $437 of tax in year one at 22% and $2,441 over the loan, leaving $34,954 of interest after tax. At 10% a year of lost value you owe more than the RV is worth for 7 years 4 months, with the gap peaking at $4,070 around year 8, and the RV is worth about $13,383 when the loan ends. Over 10 years instead, the payment would be $631 and the interest $23,675, which is $13,720 less.
Definitions
- Qualified second home
- The one home besides your main home whose mortgage interest you may deduct in a year. An RV can be it if it has sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities and secures the loan.
- Depreciation
- The value an RV loses over time. There is no official benchmark for RVs, so this page uses a yearly rate you enter.
- Underwater
- Owing more on the loan than the RV is worth. Common in the early years of a long loan with a small down payment.
- Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)
- The maximum a vehicle is rated to weigh loaded, shown on its label. Vehicles at 14,000 pounds or more fail the car loan interest deduction's test.
- Standard deduction
- The flat deduction you take if you do not itemize: $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly and $24,150 head of household for 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
Good to know
Why RV loans run so long, and what the length costs
An RV loan looks more like a small mortgage than a car loan. Lenders commonly offer terms of 10 to 20 years on loans secured by the RV, and the long terms are what make large purchases fit a monthly budget. They are also what makes the interest so large. On the default figures, a $65,000 RV with $13,000 down leaves $52,000 to borrow at 7.99%. Over 15 years the payment is $497 a month and the interest is $37,395, which is 72% of the amount borrowed. Over 10 years the payment would be $631, $134 more a month, and the interest $23,675. The five extra years cost $13,720. The shape of an amortizing loan makes the early years especially expensive. In the first year of the 15-year loan, $4,087 of the $5,960 paid goes to interest, more than two-thirds. After five years of payments, $40,952 of the $52,000 is still owed. Only in the later years does most of each payment reduce the balance, and by then the RV has lost much of its value. That timing matters because RVs are often sold or traded well before a long loan ends, and a borrower who sells in year five has paid years of mostly interest on a balance that has barely moved. Three choices change the arithmetic. A larger down payment reduces the balance that interest is charged on. A shorter term raises the payment but cuts total interest sharply. And extra payments early in the loan, where the balance is largest, save far more than the same money paid near the end. The rate is also worth shopping, since RV loans are not covered by the auto loan averages published for cars.
The second-home deduction and the itemizing test
Interest on an RV loan can be deductible, but not as a car loan. The route is the home mortgage interest deduction, and it depends on whether the RV counts as a home. IRS Publication 936, for 2025 returns, says a home includes a house, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, house trailer, boat or similar property that has sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities. An RV with all three can be a qualified home, and the loan must be secured by it. Several limits follow from treating it as a home. You can deduct interest on your main home and one second home, so an RV cannot be the second home in a year when a vacation house already is. Home acquisition debt taken out after December 15, 2017 is limited to $750,000 in total, or $375,000 if married filing separately, across both homes. And the deduction is itemized, which is where most of its value goes. Itemizing only helps when itemized deductions add up to more than the standard deduction, which for 2026 is $16,100 for a single filer, $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly and $24,150 for a head of household. The interest saves tax only on the part that lifts your total above that line. On the default figures, $14,000 of other itemized deductions plus $4,087 of first-year interest reaches $18,087, which is $1,987 above the $16,100 standard deduction. At a 22% rate the interest saves $437 of tax in year one, not the $899 that 22% of the full interest would suggest. As the interest falls each year, the saving shrinks, and on these figures it ends after year 10, for $2,441 across the loan. A joint filer with the same deductions would save nothing.
Depreciation and the years underwater
No government agency publishes RV depreciation figures, so this page leaves the rate to you and labels it an assumption. The best evidence for a particular RV is the asking and selling prices of the same model a few years old. The rate matters because it decides whether, and for how long, you owe more than the RV is worth. At the default 10% a year, a $65,000 RV is worth about $58,500 after one year, $38,382 after five and $13,383 when the 15-year loan ends. The loan balance falls far more slowly at first. With $13,000 down the RV starts worth more than the loan, but the lines cross during year four. From month 44 to month 131, 7 years and 4 months, the balance is above the value, and the gap peaks at $4,070 around year 8. The table shows the equity turning negative in year four, bottoming out in years seven and eight, and turning positive again in year eleven. Being underwater has practical consequences. If the RV is stolen or totaled, insurance generally pays its actual cash value, not the balance, so the borrower owes the difference on a vehicle that no longer exists. Selling or trading in during that window means paying off the shortfall in cash or rolling it into the next loan. Four levers shorten the window: a larger down payment, a shorter term, a lower rate, and an RV that holds its value better. A lower depreciation rate is not a choice, but it can be researched, and different types and brands of RV lose value at very different speeds. If your own estimate is higher than 10%, enter it; the window widens quickly as the rate rises.
Where the car loan interest deduction fits, and where it does not
Since 2025 a second federal deduction for vehicle loan interest has existed, and it is natural to ask whether an RV qualifies. For most RVs the answer is no, and the reason is the vehicle test in section 163(h)(4). The deduction covers interest on a loan for an applicable passenger vehicle, which the statute defines as a car, minivan, van, sport utility vehicle, pickup truck or motorcycle, treated as a motor vehicle under title II of the Clean Air Act, with a gross vehicle weight rating under 14,000 pounds, whose original use starts with the buyer and whose final assembly took place in the United States. The final regulations published on September 8, 2026 add one clarification relevant here: a vehicle that meets those requirements when it is bought is not disqualified because it was designed to provide temporary living quarters. That opens a narrow door and leaves most RVs outside it. A towable travel trailer or fifth wheel is not a self-propelled motor vehicle at all. Larger motorhomes are built on heavy chassis whose weight ratings exceed 14,000 pounds. The case worth checking is a new camper van built on a van chassis, with its final assembly in the United States and a weight rating below the line, bought with a loan secured by a first lien on it. Anyone in that position should read the rating on the vehicle's label and the plant coded in its VIN before assuming either deduction. The two deductions are also structured differently. The car loan deduction is taken on Schedule 1-A whether or not you itemize, up to $10,000 a year for 2025 through 2028 with an income phase-out; the second-home route requires itemizing. The same interest cannot be counted under both.
Frequently asked questions
How long can you finance an RV?
Lenders commonly offer secured RV loans of 10 to 20 years, and some reserve the longest terms for larger loans. A long term lowers the payment but adds a great deal of interest: on the default $52,000 at 7.99%, 15 years costs $37,395 of interest, against $23,675 over 10 years.
Is RV loan interest tax deductible?
It can be, as home mortgage interest, if the RV is your second home. IRS Publication 936 counts a mobile home, house trailer, boat or similar property as a home when it has sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities, and the loan must be secured by it. You must itemize, and only one home can be your second home in a year.
Does itemizing make sense for RV interest?
Only when your itemized deductions, with the interest in them, beat the standard deduction, and only the excess saves tax. In the default example, $14,000 of other deductions plus $4,087 of first-year interest reach $18,087, which is $1,987 above the $16,100 standard deduction, so the interest saves $437 in year one rather than the $899 that 22% of the interest would suggest.
Can I use the new car loan interest deduction for an RV?
Rarely. That 2025-2028 deduction requires a new car, minivan, van, SUV, pickup or motorcycle under 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, with final assembly in the United States. The final regulations say living quarters do not disqualify a vehicle that passes, but a towable trailer is not a motor vehicle and larger motorhomes exceed the weight limit. Check the rating on the label, and never deduct the same interest twice.
How fast do RVs lose value?
No government survey measures RV depreciation, so this page makes the rate your assumption. At the default 10% a year, a $65,000 RV is worth about $38,382 after five years and $13,383 when a 15-year loan ends. Listings for the same model a few years old are the best check on your own rate.
Why would I owe more than the RV is worth?
Because a long loan's balance falls slowly in its early years, when most of each payment is interest, while the RV loses value fastest. In the default example you are underwater for 7 years 4 months, from month 44 to month 131, and the gap peaks at $4,070. If the RV is totaled or you have to sell during that stretch, you owe the difference.