State Taxes in USA

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Flyingriki

Finally found this chart that comes in handy:


State Boating Information Home - Government Affairs - BoatUS


How to avoid paying taxes on your boat...legally! - Answers in Boat Tax Law


and a note on Florida changes several years ago:
Florida Boat Tax - Major July 1, 2010 Change - Answers in Boat Tax Law

I noted an interesting error or perhaps unclear statement in the information in your last link. It states that if the boat stays in Florida for 90 days or more than 183 days a year it becomes taxable. In the sense that it must be registered in Florida, you have to pay the registration fee, which is a fairly minor tax. It does not again become subject to sales tax. I brought my boat to Fl in 2011 after owning it for 6 years in NC and did not have to pay sales tax and while I have to pay the registration fee every year (about $140) it has never become liable for sale/use tax.

[Flyingriki]

Captain,
I can't speak to the vagaries of taxation in Florida but am looking to avoid as much as possible legally. It's sad since the states (and businesses) lose out when they gouge you. Am leaning toward buying in Mexico to save the 6% in Florida. However, Florida brokers tell me you can buy there and leave within 10 or 90 days, depending on size of boat, and not pay their tax. Thinking of then going to Alabama where they charge 4% less. Can do my refitting and upgrading there at a big loss to the various services and vendors in Florida.

[hellosailor]

cpn bill-
"I think we are down to two states that don't require documented boats to have a state registration sticker and Fl is one of the cheapest."
Florida is not that simple. You would not be required to have a *sticker* but you would still be required to have a state registration NUMBER. Either you must register the boat in Florida (if it has an engine, etc.) or if you are registered in another state, you can buy a "snowbird" registration allowing you to actually keep your old registration PLUS the second Florida one.
And if the boat is over 30(?) years old with original engine, you qualify for an "antique" registration pricing that's really nominal.

"They don't have state income tax and there is no personal property tax on boats or cars." True, but it can cost an easy $500 to bring a used car into Florida. First they hit you up for $225 for one license plate (and you can only buy one plate, for the rear of the car) instead of the $25/2 plates that most states would offer. That plate is yours for life--no refund when you turn it in. No state inspection fees, but that also means a lot of neglected cars on the road. Oh, and the rest of the $500? Very steep titling charges, no matter how old it is. They go by weight and can easily go higher.
Like everyplace else, Florida got gotcha's. Like everyplace that can hose the tourists, they try to keep down resident taxes by skinning the tourists instead. For instance, a part-time resident pays full property taxes, while a full-time resident gets a substantial "homestead" tax break. So the folks who use local services all year round? May pay half of what the snowbirds pay for those same services.
Pretty much every state has unseen gotcha's like that. New Hampshire gets few retirees, partly because they have no income tax--but they do take a hefty 5% of all "investment" income, and retirees who are living off investments, rather than pensions, will find the "no income tax" in Florida to be 5% less than it is in NH.
No wonder they sell retirement and tax newsletters....

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Flyingriki

Thinking of then going to Alabama where they charge 4% less.

That will work, but you have to keep the boat, AND USE IT, outside of Florida for at least six months. If you have it sitting on the hard, having repairs done, even for more than six months, but cannot provide any evidence that you were actually USING the boat, Florida may want its tax bite when you bring it back (if you bring it back).

I have since lost the link, but some time back came across a court case where a guy did, more or less, exactly what you're talking about. He bought a boat in Florida and immediately moved it out of the state. About seven months later he brought the boat back. Florida wanted its tax. They said that he did not buy the boat "with no intent to use it in Florida." Rather, they insisted, he clearly intended to use it in Florida all along, and only moved it out of state temporarily to avoid the tax.

In the end, the boat owner prevailed. He was able to demonstrate -- with receipts for things like fuel, transient dockage, and pumpouts -- that he had been actively using it while he was out of the state. I suspect that if the only receipts he had were for work being done on the boat, the authorities (and the court) would have been unconvinced.

In the end, as with so many tax issues, this is pretty much a case where you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. It's not right, but it is what it is.