USCG Documentation and Which State to use

[Brown7477]

Originally Posted by sanibel sailor

allowable home ports are either where the vessel is physically located (eg home ported) or the location of the owner of record. The Delaware thing is typically done thru an LLC based in DE. same with Cayman Islands, etc. There is no sales tax in DE either. I did it and "got away with it" but found that the LLC expense added on top of the worry about legitimacy was not worth it. The best reason is for asset protection. The local authorities are also on the lookout for out of state registered boats that are in their jurisdiction for a long duration in which case they can impose fees and I presume fines. Here in FL, 90 days is the limit without going to another state at least overnight. But my boat is over 25 years old so is considered an antique and annual registration is a painless $6.

Mine is a 1981 so I guess it qualifies for an antique.
Are you saying I need to have an LLC to register my boat in DE and not be a resident?
Does DE have a yearly registration renewal?
Do I really need to have a State registration if the boat doesn't stay in one place for too long? Or will the USCG documentation be enough? It really doesn't sound like a WI State registration will be very helpful if I was to spend more than 90 days in FL or any other State anyways.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Brown7477

Mine is a 1981 so I guess it qualifies for an antique.
Are you saying I need to have an LLC to register my boat in DE and not be a resident?
Does DE have a yearly registration renewal?
Do I really need to have a State registration if the boat doesn't stay in one place for too long? Or will the USCG documentation be enough? It really doesn't sound like a WI State registration will be very helpful if I was to spend more than 90 days in FL or any other State anyways.

Most states on the east coast will want you to register the boat in their state if you stay more than 90 days. No different than driver's license rules. Stay in FL for more than 90 days they want you to get a FL license.

Fortunately the registration fee isn't much, $100-$200 in FL. If you keep moving you can probably duck the registration.

Sales tax a lot of states will come after you for that. FL in the past has had officers take lists of boats at marinas and checked the tax and registration status.

[Dsanduril]

No you don't need to have residency in Delaware to register the boat there. DE requires the boat be registered in the "state of principal use" and says that if the boat spends 60 or more days in DE then that is the state of principal use. The registration form even has a tick-box for 'non-resident'.

If your boat is documented and you are truly transient then you don't have to register your boat in any state. Some states may require registration based on your residency (so, for instance, if you maintain legal residence in Wisconsin they may or may not base registration requirements on that basis). Each state has different rules, usually around 60-90 days in the state being the trigger for requiring registration.

Florida, for instance, requires you to register after 90 days, even though you also maintain registration in your "home" state:

I will be vacationing in Florida this summer. Do I need to register my vessel there?

Florida recognizes valid registration certificates and numbers issued to visiting boaters for a period of 90 days. An owner who intends to use his vessel in Florida longer than 90 days must register it with a county tax collector. However, he may retain the out-of-state registration number if he plans to return to his home state within a reasonable period of time.

Every state is different, many won't care, but it is up to you to keep yourself informed.

[Brown7477]

Well I think I've decided to do a Delaware State registration
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/Boa...PPLICATION.pdf
as well as the USCG Documentation.
USCG National Vessel Documentation Center, Forms Page
Can someone please tell me the correct procedure and forms for the documentation process?
The vessel was previously documented and the only paperwork I have is a signed and notarized CG-1340 Bill of Sale from the previous owner.
the reason for only having this is that he hadn't received the Original Certificate of Documentation as of the sale date.
I will probably call National Vessel Documentation Center tomorrow and see what they say I need to do to expedite this.

[JayCall]

Brown-if you bought your boat privately, you, as buyer are responsible for paying the sales tax over to the state. They generally ensure that this gets done by charging the sales tax the first time you register the boat. Wisconsin does require that documented boats be registered in Wisconsin. If you bought through a broker, it is the broker's (or escrow agent's) responsibility to collect that sales tax as a part of the purchase price. Check your bill or sale to see if sales tax was included, it will be shown separately. Save your bill of sale, or any other documentation showing your payment of Wisconsin sales tax. If you move the boat to another state and are there long enough for that state to charge you a use tax (same as a sales tax, just after the sale), you will get credit for the sales tax paid to Wisconsin. In general, once the sales tax is paid at purchase, there is little to worry about with regards to taxes in future years.

[Kenomac]

No sales tax or annual property tax on a boat documented in Oregon.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Brown7477

Correct


Sales tax is paid at the time of registration, so sales location would be irrelevant if you reside or register it in another State.

I can tell you that neither the State of Florida nor Texas share that point of view. In both cases, if the boat is physically in their State beyond a certain number of days (90 in the case of FL) then they will come after you for sales tax...even if the boat is registered in another State.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by sanibel sailor

allowable home ports are either where the vessel is physically located (eg home ported) or the location of the owner of record.

No. No offense, but this is not correct. The Coast Guard does not care what home port you choose when documenting your boat. The boat does not have to be there, nor ever have been there. You don't have to be there, nor ever have been there. Always liked that song about "Standin' on the corner..." but never even been to Arizona? The Coast Guard will be perfectly happy if you make Winslow, Arizona the home port for your documented vessel. You can pick any real place in the United States that you would like. (You cannot just make up an imaginary place.)

That said, as already mentioned, some states (California in particular) seem to scan the records and come after folks for taxes if your home port is in their state. They are not legally entitled to any taxes, just because you picked a home port in their state, but that won't stop them from trying to bully you into paying them.

The sales/use taxes, property taxes, or registration fees that you have to pay are mostly dependent on where you bought the boat and where you keep it. What home port you choose for your Coast Guard documentation has nothing to do with any of those things.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Brown7477

Well I think I've decided to do a Delaware State registration
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/Boa...PPLICATION.pdf
as well as the USCG Documentation.
USCG National Vessel Documentation Center, Forms Page
Can someone please tell me the correct procedure and forms for the documentation process?
The vessel was previously documented and the only paperwork I have is a signed and notarized CG-1340 Bill of Sale from the previous owner.
the reason for only having this is that he hadn't received the Original Certificate of Documentation as of the sale date.
I will probably call National Vessel Documentation Center tomorrow and see what they say I need to do to expedite this.

Maybe I've missed it, but I still haven't seen an answer regarding where the boat was physically located when the sale took place. Your residency (WI) and where you register the boat are, as has been pointed out, irrelevant in most cases.

Where was the boat at the time of sale?

[transmitterdan]

In Wisconsin a boat registered in another state may legally visit for not more than 60 consecutive days. After that you must show taxes have been paid in another state. If the Wisconsin taxes are more than what was paid then you have to pay the difference in Wisconsin. This is similar to other states. The US Coast Guard hailing port has nothing legally to do with where taxes are paid although some states (e.g. California) will argue that is does. So, if you keep the boat in Wisconsin then there is no legal way to avoid paying the state sales tax. If there are local sales taxes where the boat is kept these are also required to be paid.

[Badsanta]

Someone stated that virgina does not tax Documented vessels. Yeah thats what they say on the phone. But ask about sales tax and county personal property tax. They do charge that. It took awhile but they found me.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

In Wisconsin a boat registered in another state may legally visit for not more than 60 consecutive days. After that you must show taxes have been paid in another state. If the Wisconsin taxes are more than what was paid then you have to pay the difference in Wisconsin. This is similar to other states. The US Coast Guard hailing port has nothing legally to do with where taxes are paid although some states (e.g. California) will argue that is does. So, if you keep the boat in Wisconsin then there is no legal way to avoid paying the state sales tax. If there are local sales taxes where the boat is kept these are also required to be paid.

Similar in Texas and probably an increasing number of other states.

Bottom line for the OP: sales taxes are almost certainly legally due in the State where the boat was when the sale took place unless you are still within their grace period. You need to find out the applicable law in that State. Registering the boat somewhere else wont avoid the sales tax liability.

[fdr14127]

Maryland actually has a brochure that makes the case for registering it in their jurisdiction. I read a copy at the Annapolis boat show last year. You do have to list it with a hail port that is an actual municipality of some sort. I wanted 'Niagara' since I sail out of the lower river. Nice lady said no can do as there is no such place registered.....and pointed out the coasties had that on their transom of the Uniflite 40. She allowed that she wasn't about to tell them they couldn't do that.....

[Dirk13]

Another option would be to register your boat in Rhode Island.

There is no sales tax for boats in Rhode Island (unless you bought your boat prior to July 29, 1993)

Also you do not have to be a resident of Rhode Island in order to register your boat in RI.

Dirk

[hlev00]

Call Admiralty Insurance if you'd like help with the USCG documentation work. You don't need to buy insurance from them. They are great to work with.

781-721-5500