Yes, so the tax returns would be informative. I suppose if it was a 0% interest loan then it wouldn’t show at all.
But if you forgive a loan of greater than $600 then you’re required to file a 1099-C and it becomes income to the person whose debt was forgiven.
ETA: Hmmm, maybe not if the lender is not an applicable financial entity. In reading the description of an applicable financial entity, most individuals, even most stinking rich individuals, would not qualify. Crud.
Still, seems like a gift. No clue what the penalty is for failing to disclose a gift.
There is a maximum gift that can be given annually. I’ve only ever read about it in terms of literally giving money, so I’m unclear how it works with objects and loans. Maybe it’s possible to legally forgive ~$15,000 of the loan annually?
Yeah, that would work, but then I assume it should still be disclosed on Thomas’s financial disclosure.
The gift tax exclusion is tied to inflation but it was at $15,000 for a long time and currently up to $17,000. It can only move in $1,000 increments so it’s sticky.
Also if you’re talking about two married couples you can have a total of four gifts each year from couple A to couple B, so multiply that by 4.
The person who makes the gift files the gift tax return, if necessary, and pays any tax. Essentially, gifts are neither taxable nor deductible on your tax return. Also, a monetary gift has to be substantial for IRS purposes — In order for the giver of the sum to be subject to tax ramifications, the gift must be greater than the annual gift tax exclusion amount. The giver won’t pay any tax if the gift is at or below the annual gift tax exclusion. You don’t need to include the gifts that you and your spouse received as income. This is because gross income doesn’t include the value of property you get by:
Gift
Bequest
Devise
Inheritance
Yeah, and you still don’t pay tax even if you go above the limit, but it permanently reduces the amount you can pass on to your kids tax free so most people wouldn’t want to go over it for someone who’s not their kids.
Of course with estates you get around a lot of that but some stuff can’t go into estates.
True. We don’t know much about the guy who “financed” the RV, I know the lifetime limit is something over $11M, potentially he didn’t need to leave that much. Or just found the living benefit of a SCOTUS Justice being on speed-dial more important than leaving a little more money to kids.
True, although worth noting is that in 2026 it’s going to decrease to somewhere between $6 & $7 million, depending on inflation due to the sunset provision in the current law.
He still might think it’s worth it… dunno.
But there’s forms to be filed if you go over the limit each year regardless of your reasons for doing so.
I knew that Clarence Thomas owned a motorhome and said that getting out in the RV gave him a chance to meet regular people.
I didn’t know what he owned, I just pictured a Winnebago. I was wrong. The Marathon - Prevost is something that would be noticed at almost any campground in the US. Prevost does high end commercial busses - the kind that travel 100,000 miles a year. Marathon customizes them for wealthy clients. Some photos of used Marathons for sale: Luxury RV Inventory | Prevost Bus Conversion | Marathon Coach
The $267,000 that Thomas paid in 1999 was about twice the median price of existing single-family house in 1999.
From the last half dozen times I’ve seen this this year look like the penalty is “oops I should’ve not have done that, let me file this amended disclosure now that you already know about it. And stop asking about ethics to regulate the court, we like our undisclosed gifts.”
Earlier this year, Thomas did report three private trips he took at Crow’s expense in 2022, after the federal judiciary changed its guidelines for reporting travel. He did not report travel from earlier years.
Three more megadonor-paid trips after the judiciary required them to be reported. Don’t ask about the past, that’s just friends being friends.
Going to be down at least 1 Justice for a number of cases if they decide to follow their Code. Several mentions that a Justice shouldn’t be swayed by financial obligations or if their impartiality may be questioned. They also note that Justices should obey the gift regulations of all other judges. There are a number of gifts that may be accepted, such as travel and lodging at a law-related function. Otherwise, any gifts of over $50 must be disclosed. They’re also to decline any gifts that a reasonable person might see as giving undue influence.
Such as Thomas’ ~$200k RV. IIRC about 95% of his “loan” was forgiven under false pretenses.
