Property Taxes

[huss9078]

Can anyone share their knowledge on how you handle property taxes?
We are looking at a 2004 53' Selene in Annapolis. Looking to stay in the Hampton Roads area.
We would like to continue working for another year and then do some traveling.
Property taxes in Virginia Beach based on a $500k value would be $18K/year!
That seems unreachable!
Any info would be welcome!

[scallywag]

Is that on the boat or on real estate? A few years ago our friends paid 22K on real estate in NJ. I think this is out of sight.

[huss9078]

On the boat....

[Hud3]

I think you must be talking about personal property taxes. Virginia levies them on boats, cars and some other things. You might want to look into keeping your boat in Hampton. The tax there is zero, or close to it. Of course then you'd have to deal with the bridge tunnel traffic!

[scallywag]

I would find somewhere else to keep the boat. For that kind of money you could do a lot of traveling to and from the boat.

Dot and John

[Captain Bill]

We simply moved to Florida where there is no personal property tax on boats. Before that we lived in NC. The taxing authority sends you a tax bill then you pay it. What you can do is look for a Marina in a nearby area that has lower taxes. We moved our boat inside NC when the city of New Bern annexed our marina without informing us several years ago. It was bad enough paying county taxes, let alone the city levy. We found a rural marina that was not in a city and highly unlikely to be. It was also in a lower tax county than the original. The downside was it was a long drive to town from the boat. When we retired we moved to Florida. Actually we are full time cruisers but official residents of Florida.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by huss9078

Can anyone share their knowledge on how you handle property taxes?
We are looking at a 2004 53' Selene in Annapolis. Looking to stay in the Hampton Roads area.
We would like to continue working for another year and then do some traveling.
Property taxes in Virginia Beach based on a $500k value would be $18K/year!
That seems unreachable!
Any info would be welcome!

huss, I just looked up the personal property tax rate on boats for Virginia Beach, and it's miniscule! On a par with Hampton city. Where'd you get your information?

Boats
("privately owned pleasure boats and watercraft used for recreational purposes only") ​One millionth of one cent ($0.000001) per $100

. Source: Tax Rates and Due Dates :: Official City of Virginia Beach Web Site

[huss9078]

Oops! I used the Personal Property Tax Relief calculator - it was for vehicles not boats! I feel much better now!
Thanks so much for setting me straight!
Does this rate apply if it is our primary living?

[fryewe]

$1000000 divided by $100 is 10000.

One millionth of one cent is $0.00000001 (note that's expressed in dollars).

1 x 10 to the 4th times 1 x 10 to the minus 8th = 1 x 10 to the minus 4th...or a hundredth of a penny. (Check my math but I think that's right.)

I guess you can round that off to zero. Not bad for a million dollar recreational craft.

Is this a result of VA requiring some kind of tax and the VA Beach officials obliging them with a ridiculous level of taxation...or a practical joke by boat-owning city fathers/mothers?

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by huss9078

Oops! I used the Personal Property Tax Relief calculator - it was for vehicles not boats! I feel much better now!
Thanks so much for setting me straight!
Does this rate apply if it is our primary living?

I don't think so, but you really ought to check with the VB Tax Commissioner's office to make sure.

[Kenomac]

Document your boat in Delaware under an LLC. In some states, an out of state LLC is exempt from local property taxes.

[huss9078]

Do you mean Limited Liability Company?

[BandB]

Just checked Hampton, VA and same as Virginia Beach. 50 cents on a $500,000 pleasure boat used for recreational purposes. Now other boats would be $5000. My understanding is that it does vary by county.

[Kenomac]

Yes, Limited liability co. A boat we tried to purchase prior to the Oyster was documented this way in order to avoid taxes in California. I really don't know the specifics because we ended up not purchasing the boat and our current boat is not documented in this manner.

You'll need to look into it further with the taxing authorities and a lawyer.

[svlamorocha]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Document your boat in Delaware under an LLC. In some states, an out of state LLC is exempt from local property taxes.

That may be a practical way to reduce the risk of getting caught, but in the places I know it does not give you an exemption on property taxes. In my experience if you keep your boat in a county with property tax and they find out you will need to pay the tax. A Delaware LLC will not save you if they catch you. Hey, they will even charge property tax on the contents of railcars.... A foreign reg with cruising license will save you from property tax, but there is a lot of related hassle if the ultimate owner lives in the US..

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