moving a US Boat up to Canada

[deblen]

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/imp-mar-eng.html

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Ha, we have contingency plans for that here in 406 Country / The Last Best Place.

The Province of Montana.

Gee... You're a pretty rowdy bunch. You might fit between Alberta & Manitoba though....
Better still-you could replace Quebec.


Len

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Much easier to apply now and ask for a "Provisional Certificate" pending final details and tonnage measurement if required.
https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-trans...al-certificate

Only if they plan to Federally register it.

When I brought my boat up to BC from SF in 2016, I sailed it with its California State "stickers" for a year and a half (back & forth to the San Juans, although I had my US passport and got my Perm Res card in mid-2017). When those expired, I licensed (NOT registered) it in BC and paid the GST & HST of 12.5%. I'd owned the boat for almost 25 years, so I found a handful of online ads for a sistership with the lowest "value' I could find.


Provincial licensing doesn't require tonnage measurements.

All of us have slightly different personal stories, so I'm sharing my experiences, not telling them what to do.

[Elie]

Originally Posted by Borlay

I would move the boat up to Blaine harbour. Keep it in the US. Very close to the border. Easy to pop over to go sailing. Depending on where you live of course.

Many Canadian boats sailing on Lake Champlain(vermont and NY State) in summer register their boats in Canada are exempt of any taxes since the boat is not used in Canada. You can do the same if you plan to keep sailing outside of Canada. You can even store it in Canada for winter. Many canadian marinas provide the service for those 'in bound' boat.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Mach8Knots

If you buy a boat in the US and keep it there, but register it in Canada, isn’t there some restriction as to who you can sell it to if and when that time comes? Something like “not for sale to US residents while in US waters”

Correct, how ever many of these sales take place off shore. Many US yacht brokers know how to do this.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Elie

You can even store it in Canada for winter. Many canadian marinas provide the service for those 'in bound' boat.

Sorry, no, A Canadian Resident or citizen cannot do that. They will be charged taxes and possibly duty as soon as they anchor, make physical contact with another vessel in Canadian waters or touch the dock at a Canadian Port.

[Mach8Knots]

What is “offshore?” Outside territorial limit of 12 miles? That’s a long way to go for most smaller boats.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Mach8Knots

What is “offshore?” Outside territorial limit of 12 miles? That’s a long way to go for most smaller boats.

I thought this was a "cruisers" forum.

[hjohnson]

Originally Posted by Borlay

I would move the boat up to Blaine harbour. Keep it in the US. Very close to the border. Easy to pop over to go sailing. Depending on where you live of course.

Even if the boat is US registered, you still owe GST/PST on it the first time you cross the line into Canada if it’s owned/operated by a Canadian resident.

When my buddy and I purchased our boat, it was down in Bellingham. The first time we crossed into the gulf islands, we had to pay our taxes on her. Thankfully could just do that over the phone (yay Nexus). CBSA later mailed us a tax receipt for qty 1 boat. We kept the paper aboard.

When we eventually did move the boat to Canada and reregisterred it, taxes had already been paid (we had the paperwork to prove it). Thankfully, we made that move in 2019.

[hjohnson]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

If they are Canadians resident in Canada, if they do not formally import boat into Canada, they will not be able to sail rountinely from Blaine into Canada....

You don’t need to formally import the boat, but you do need to pay your taxes. We kept our boat in Bellingham for about 5 years, before moving her to Vancouver. While in the US, she had a WA title and WA registration number/stickers. But the first time we sailed her to Canada, we paid the taxes on her, then kept the tax receipt aboard in the logbook.

When we later imported her to Canada, there was nothing oweing, as the taxes had already been paid.