I live in MA, may buy a boat in NY for use in Maine...

[GerryL]

As the title says, I am a MA resident and only own property in MA. We want a boat for use on the Maine coast, and have found a possible boat in NY. What would the sales tax and registration expectations be in this scenario? I'm not looking for advice on avoiding taxes, but I would like to know who will have their hand out in this scenario. Where should the boat be registered? I've never had a bigger boat for coastal sailing, just smaller boats for inland lakes which I've registered in the state I use it/keep it in.
Thoughts from those of you with experience in this? Thanks!

[pjShap]

You would register the boat in MA, as long as you move it out of NY within (I think) 90 days. You would pay MA sales tax. I bought my current boat in MD 6 years ago, and as a NY resident, I registered it in NY.

[SailFastTri]

If you’re planning to base it in Maine long-term you should probably register it there. Look up the Maine registration rules on their DMV site. They won’t care where you live.

[sailorboy1]

I have had 2 boats I held in MA. One brought CT and 1 in MA. Both were Coast Guard documented and when I was in MA a CG doc boat didn't have to state regrister. So I never paid ant sales tax.

[CaptTom]

You need to register (and pay whatever taxes are owed) in the state where the boat is primarily used. Each state has different rules for how long it can be in the state before they consider that it's state of primary use.

Note that I'm using the term "register" loosely. You are not allowed to put state registration numbers on a federally documented vessel. Some states (like Maine) will simply require you to pay excise or sales tax, but not issue numbers or call it registration. Others will call it "registering" the boat even though you don't actually apply numbers to the hull. By whatever name, the boat's "home" state will have their hand out.

In the case of Maine, from time to time the state puts pressure on the local harbormasters to walk the docks and identify any boats which do not display Maine registration or tax stickers. As I understand it, other states do the same.

Bottom line: You'll want to register it wherever you plan to keep it.

[Shrew]

The easiest way to think of this is, the boat is registered where the BOAT LIVES. Not where you live, not where you bought it.

Federally documented is really about titling and officially 'flagging' the vessels nationality. Boats documented are still required to be registered if navigating that states waters for longer than pre-established time limits. You don't fly registration numbers, but typically have to affix a registration sticker. One reason is it is possible to be required to register in multiple states.

[David Mathis]

Our boat was bought in a southern state but we live in NY. It's documented. No problem. When the boat entered NY waters several months later we had 30 days to get it registered and pay the sales tax. Since it was documented, no registration number was to be provided, just a sticker.

It's interesting that the first time registering it, the DMV lady issued a registration with a state number using the document as an out of state registration. I advised her of the documentation requirements of having no state number assigned or displayed but she assigned one. The DMV lady is always right! Rather than arguing then having to go to the back of the line, I smiled and said goodbye. Later that summer, a very new marine patrol guy patrolling alone decided to check the boat as it had no state number. He had never seen a document or heard of one. He was shown the section in the state boater's handbook about documented boats not displaying a state number even though one was on the registration (improperly). He was skeptical and surprised that the USCG hadn't arrested us for operating without numbers. He made two phone calls before deciding to give us a warning about proper registration (???), a lecture on safe boating rules, and being careful. When the registration was due in three years, I took the boater's handbook to DMV. The lady read the documented vessel section, made a phone call, then issued a registration without a state number.

[Scubaseas]

Maine will only want you to register it if you're keeping it most of the time in Maine. BUT they will want to see you paid sales tax to someone. If it's going to live in Maine you need a sticker on the bow. If you pay tax in Mass, Maine will ask to see proof of use/sales tax being paid but won't ask you to pay it twice. But it really depends on the local harbormaster. Honestly, I doubt anyone in Maine would care or ask you for papers or even mention it if you register the boat and pay sales tax in Mass. Now if you try that in Florida.....

Mass may have an annual excise tax. Your hailing port on the USCG title may determine who you pay the sales tax to. Check with Mass about this.

Maine has an excise tax but only if the boat is used in Maine for over 60 or 90 days (I forget which) and you're a resident. I bought a boat in Texas and live in Maine. Texas is fine with me keeping the boat in Texas as long as I have a valid Maine sticker on it. Maine didn't care who I paid as long as I paid someone. You go to the Town Clerk for the township where the boat will live.

[Cormorant]

I see that Massachusetts wants you to register your boat if it spends more than 60 consecutive days in MA waters. Florida wants you to register if you spend more than 90 days in FL waters. Have any cruisers been in the situation where you spend summers up north and winters in FL and have to register in two (or more) states?

[maine-cruiser]

I had a similar situation. Live in MA and bought the boat in NJ in fall of 2019 with the intent of bringing it to Maine. Boat was documented with CG. A bit delayed by Covid but did leave NJ in June of 2020 and made it to Portland. Once there paid the sales tax in Maine (I believe there's a 60% exemption on boats), paid the Portland excise tax (about $130) and got my sticker.

Bill

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I have had 2 boats I held in MA. One brought CT and 1 in MA. Both were Coast Guard documented and when I was in MA a CG doc boat didn't have to state regrister. So I never paid ant sales tax.

and when I cruised down to FL and had to regrister my sailboay and dinghy I didn"t pay FL sales tax on the sailboat I had had for years, but did on the dinghy I got in NH 4 months prior

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

...Honestly, I doubt anyone in Maine would care or ask you for papers or even mention it if you register the boat and pay sales tax in Mass....

Mass may have an annual excise tax. Your hailing port on the USCG title may determine who you pay the sales tax to. Check with Mass about this...

Two small points here. First, Maine will most certainly care if you keep a boat here which doesn't have a Maine registration or excise tax sticker. As I said, from time to time the state comes down hard on the local harbormasters and "encourages" them to walk the docks to enforce this. You might get lucky, but don't count on it.

The hailing port has absolutely nothing to do with where you pay taxes. You could even select a land-locked location. It is true that some states (e.g.; CA) will troll the federal documentation database looking for scofflaws who failed to register in their state, but they'll back off once shown proof that the boat isn't kept in their state, even if it's haling port is listed there.

Originally Posted by maine-cruiser

...Once there paid the sales tax in Maine (I believe there's a 60% exemption on boats), paid the Portland excise tax (about $130) and got my sticker.

Another very small point, but the excise tax is a state tax, not a municipal one. You can pay it at city hall, but it goes to the state, and it's the same anywhere in Maine. Your $130 amount is typical. People who've registered in other states without an excise tax have commented that it's cheaper to register here and pay the tax than it it is just to register it elsewhere.

[GerryL]

OP here; lots of good input, and varying thoughts/opinions as expected. If this goes through, maybe we'll go straight to Maine and register there. We don't plan on keeping it in MA or sailing here much. I already pay MA excise tax on 3 autos, 3 motorcycles, and 3 trailers. Yikes, how does that happen? I need to downsize at some point.