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SelahwayJF7 · 28-02-2015, 14:54

Hi there,

We are very interested in a boat in Florida and will hopefully be making an offer soon. In Oregon we don't have sales tax so we are wondering if there is a legal and legitimate loop hole that we could navigate our way through to avoid paying the 6% Florida sales tax?

I've read that if we take the boat out of Florida within 90 days of closing the deal could be an option. Does any one know the requirements for that to work? Do we simply have to keep it out of Florida for 90 days then free to come back? We would register the boat in Oregon.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

Jason

GGamble · 28-02-2015, 15:02

I did basically the same thing. But I think it was six months. I kept the boat in AL. The paperwork and yacht can't be in FL when the deal is signed.

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**a64pilot** · 28-02-2015, 15:39

I think you can buy in FL without paying tax, then you have I think 90 days to get it out of Fl waters, I believe if you come back to FL and stay more than 90 days, your registering the boat in FL, and I would assume they would want you to show them where you had paid sales tax somewhere.
At least that is my understanding

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SelahwayJF7 · 01-03-2015, 15:20

Thanks for your responses.

So am I incorrect in thinking that if I buy a boat, take it out of Florida within the 90 day window and register it in Oregon that I would not have to pay the sales tax? And then if I brought the boat back to Florida after a time, as long as I had proof of my Oregon Registration and that I exited the state I would not get taxed after all for coming back to Florida?

Thanks again for your input.

transmitterdan · 01-03-2015, 15:25

Read their rules here:

http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/forms/current/gt800005.pdf

S/V Illusion · 01-03-2015, 16:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by SelahwayJF7

Thanks for your responses.

So am I incorrect in thinking that if I buy a boat, take it out of Florida within the 90 day window and register it in Oregon that I would not have to pay the sales tax? And then if I brought the boat back to Florida after a time, as long as I had proof of my Oregon Registration and that I exited the state I would not get taxed after all for coming back to Florida?

Thanks again for your input.

if you bring it back to Fl, you have 90 days to register it here and show poof of sales tax paid to another state. Absent such proof, you will be paying it to Fl. Registering it in another state is irrelevant.

If you buy it here but leave for a few months and then return, the appearance you describe and create is tax evasion. Writing the scenario you described above is potential evidence.

denverd0n · 02-03-2015, 06:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by SelahwayJF7

So am I incorrect in thinking that if I buy a boat, take it out of Florida within the 90 day window and register it in Oregon that I would not have to pay the sales tax? And then if I brought the boat back to Florida after a time, as long as I had proof of my Oregon Registration and that I exited the state I would not get taxed after all for coming back to Florida?

Not exactly. What the law says is that a boat that is "bought for use in Florida" must pay the sales/use tax. Yes, if you take it out of Florida within 90 days you do not have to pay the sales tax at the time of purchase. But you have to register, keep, and use the boat outside of Florida--in some other state or territory of the U.S.--for at least 6 months in order to avoid paying the use tax when you eventually return to Florida. Otherwise it is assumed that you bought it for use in Florida (which, in this case appears to be exactly what you are doing), and so you must pay the tax.

The "and use" part is important. You cannot legally just move it somewhere else and let it sit for 6 months and a day, and then return to Florida, and avoid the use tax. While a lot of people do that and don't get caught, it is illegal, and there are some who have gotten caught. You may be asked to provide receipts for fuel, dockage, repairs, pump-outs, whatever; something that proves that you were USING the boat outside of Florida.

So where are you going to move it and use it for 6+ months? I'm pretty sure that all of the states near Florida also will charge you a sales tax when you bring the boat to their state. Some may be less than the 6% that Florida charges, but then some may also be more. And, of course, if what you really want to do is to use the boat in Florida, you have to ask yourself if it is worth all the time and effort--meanwhile not using the boat the way that you really want to--in order to lower your tax bill by a few percentage points.

In addition to the link in the previous post, which spells all these things out as regards the sales/use taxes, the link below has all the information you need regarding registering the boat in Florida.

Official Website Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

By the way, the state that you are a resident of is pretty much irrelevant. Most states laws concerning registration and taxing care where the boat actually is. Not where you live.

Good luck, however it works out.

**a64pilot** · 02-03-2015, 06:52

I believe and may be wrong here, but I think when you register it in FL, if you paid less than 6% somewhere else, you will pay the difference when you register it in Fl.
I know it's that way with Automobiles

S/V Illusion · 02-03-2015, 06:54

[QUOTE=denverd0n;176297you have to register, keep, and use the boat outside of Florida--in some other state or territory of the U.S.--for at least 6 months in order to avoid paying the use tax when you eventually return to Florida.

.[/QUOTE]

That is either very poorly written or wrong.

Unless you can demonstrate tax was paid elsewhere, the state of Florida requires payment to them within 90 days. This is true regardless of how long the boat is out of state.

S/V Illusion · 02-03-2015, 07:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I believe and may be wrong here, but I think when you register it in FL, if you paid less than 6% somewhere else, you will pay the difference when you register it in Fl.
I know it's that way with Automobiles

That is true.

transmitterdan · 02-03-2015, 07:44

The only way to avoid Florida sales tax legally is to pay the same or larger amount of tax in another state and have documentation to that effect. Either that or don't keep the boat in Florida. Registering in a non use/sales tax state does not get around it.

denverd0n · 02-03-2015, 07:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Unless you can demonstrate tax was paid elsewhere, the state of Florida requires payment to them within 90 days. This is true regardless of how long the boat is out of state.

Not true.

Say you buy a boat in Florida and then move it to Delaware. No sales tax in Delaware, I don't think. You keep the boat in Delaware for 7 months. You use it every couple of weekends. Sail it all around. In the process collect receipts for gas, pump-outs, moorings, whatever. Then you decide to move to Florida, and take the boat back down there. No use tax is due to Florida.

This gets into some detailed legalese, but here is why...

Florida Statute 212.08, paragraph 8, says "...it shall be presumed that tangible personal property used in another state, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia for 6 months or longer before being imported into this state was not purchased for use in this state." This statute does not differentiate based on where the boat was originally bought (Florida or elsewhere). It just says that if you used it in another state for more than six months then you don't have to pay use tax to Florida.

Furthermore, in 212.05, paragraph 2, it talks about boats originally bought in Florida and then taken out of state before sales tax is paid. There it says that a boat that is returned to the state "within 6 months from the date of departure" will have to pay the tax (subject to credit for tax paid elsewhere). This pretty clearly implies that if it is returned MORE than 6 months from the date of departure, no tax will be due.

For all the gory details, here is a link to Florida Statute 212, about sales and use taxes: Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

So, bottom line: Buy a boat in Florida, take it to another state, title it, register it, use it in that state for more than six months, then bring it back to Florida--you do not owe Florida any sales/use tax on the boat.

EDIT: Perhaps I should add, I am not a lawyer, and I am not offering legal advice. If you don't feel comfortable reading and interpreting the laws for yourself, and you really want to be sure about this stuff, you should probably hire a lawyer. Internet legal advice is worth exactly what you pay for it... Nothing.