Camping in Kentucky Just Got More Expensive Because of a New Tax Law

When I was a kid, my family and I used to go camping a lot. We didn't have a lot of money so camping was a pretty inexpensive way to get us out of the house for "vacation."  We'd take a huge tent to some property owned by family members and set up shop for a few days.  We'd build a fire to sit around. We'd hike and play in the woods. Mom would cook for us on that portable Coleman stove (that I can still remember the smell of). We loved it! Again, my parents did to. It was an affordable way for them to pay for adventure!

Well, camping in Kentucky just got more expensive for some. And look. Camping has already grown into a huge industry and it's not particularly cheap now to begin with. However, you can add a new tax to the list of expenses. A new law went into place over the weekend that requires tax on additional types of "recreational vehicles."

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The tax is the result of KY House Bill 360. Section 49 of that new law essentially expands the definition of motor vehicles to include various "recreational vehicles" that weren't included before. Campers, you know what that means? Your campers- the vast majority of them- are now subject to the Motor Vehicle Usage Tax. Before July 1st, they weren't.

KRS 138.450(24) expands the definition of recreational vehicle to include the following:

MOTORHOMES

TRAVEL TRAILERS

FIFTH-WHEEL TRAILERS

POP-UP CAMPING TRAILERS

PULL-BEHIND CAMPERS

Basically, any recreational vehicle that contains living quarters and is required to be licensed for use on public highways in the Commonwealth is now subject to the 6% MVU.

The Daviess County Clerks Office in Owensboro shared this snapshot of the new law on social media over the weekend.

According to RVBusiness.com, the new law was passed in response to a request from the Kentucky RV Coalition. See, before this new measure went into effect, towable RVs were treated differently than motorhomes.  The difference? Motorhomes were "taxed as a passenger car and travel trailers were taxed like buying a tent." RV dealers in the state say the law was incredibly confusing to customers, particularly ones from out of state.

With the passage of House Bill 360 into law, motorhomes and travel trailers are now taxed the same and are all subject to 6%.