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Old 12-02-2020, 05:13   #16
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

Technically, you are supposed to pay the sales tax immediately on a private sale. They collect the sales tax, however, when you register the boat. So the odds of getting caught -- assuming you don't hang around Florida for months and months -- are extremely small. On the other hand, the odds are not zero, so it might be best to contact a broker and see what he/she would charge just to provide the 90 day exemption.


You pays your money and takes your choice.
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:20   #17
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

I have spoken with state revenue people in Maryland, and I do know that they have agents that do check out boats periodically with out-of-state licenses (especially Delaware) that are spending more than 90 days in MD waters. That is about the only way they can tell if the boat is there too long. Somebody has to be tracking it. And, since most states are hard up for money, hitting up yachties is a pretty easy way to raise money.
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:23   #18
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

I am a FL licensed Broker. A Non resident May purchase a boat in Florida, without paying FL sales tax. However, they MUST file an affidavit stating that y’all are non residents. Also, once filed with state, you are allowed 90 days to keep vessel in FL, or you can file for another 90 day extension. So, check with Florida Dept of Revenue for relevant documents. Or call/text me and I’ll send docs to you. 904 557 6932, stmurray62 @gmail.com
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:27   #19
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

Quote:
Originally Posted by redneckrob View Post
If you do a search you'll see plenty of folks who get the call from the tax department, so they've clearly got a system set up to track boats in the state. Not sure exactly how they do it, but I certainly had no interaction at all with the state and got the letter several months later at home in Maryland.
Here in WA one of the requirements for permanent mooring that I recently learned for my location is that you must prove you paid sales tax for your boat, and if you didn't, you are required to pay the sales tax in WA.

I don't know if this applies all over or just in the county I'm currently located, but redneckrob's comment speaks to this side of the issue.
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:27   #20
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

File the Florida sales tax exemption; as a non resident y’all are not required to pay FL sales tax. It’s not a big deal; saves a lot of grief and $$$$$
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:34   #21
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

Apologies if this duplicates other responses; I didn't have time to read them all. I experienced this in January 2017 on purchasing my boat in Florida, as a Florida non-resident, in a private transaction.

All of the information you need is in this document:

https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/gt800005.pdf

A few specific notes:

* A sale by a private individual, but through a broker, is still a sale "by someone other than a registered boat dealer." The broker in my transaction was not sure of this, and as a result thought it had to collect sales/use tax at closing, but I provided a copy of a Florida Supreme Court case ruling as above, so the broker happily agreed not to collect tax.

* The relevant information for you is page 2 of the PDF, under the heading "Boats Sold to Nonresidents." This explains that such sales are exempt, the requirements to qualify for the exemption, including timing of removal--90 days for a documented vessel [paraphrasing] with the purchase of a decal, which can be extended an additional 90 days; and that the removal time can be tolled by immediately placing a boat into service of a registered repair facility.

* I did what someone else mentioned: I made sure that I was over the Florida state line and obtained a receipt from a marina for refueling by the deadline (in my case, the exact date of the deadline). This was important later when the Florida Department of Revenue sent me a letter saying I owed use tax. I sent a response showing that I was out of Florida waters in time, and I never heard from them again.

* Importantly, you also need to check the regulations in your home state. Some (perhaps many or most) states will collect a sales/use tax if not paid in Florida. In my case, my home state (Mississippi) exempts sales between private individuals, so I had the selling broker alter slightly the USCG Bill of Sale to, instead of having the generic title "Bill of Sale," instead have the title "Bill of Sale - Isolated Sale of Vessel by Individual." I did that for both the vessel and the tender/dinghy. Sure enough, the MS Department of Revenue sent me a letter stating that I owed use tax, but I provided them a copy of a decision by the MS Supreme Court ruling that no tax was owed on a private sale between individuals, and I never heard from them again.
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:50   #22
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

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Originally Posted by Crazcarl View Post
Forgot to mention that the boat will be USCG documented and registered in a different state. We are essentially meeting in FL for survey and closing, and then both going on our separate ways, so wondering how long I have till I need to leave.
Reference: https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_lib...t/gt800005.pdf

If you are planning to buy a boat in Florida or have plans to bring one into Florida, the Florida Department of Revenue reminds you that tax compliance is an important aspect of boat ownership.

What is Taxable?
Sales and Use Tax
All boats sold, delivered, used, or stored in Florida are subject to Florida’s sales and use tax, plus any applicable discretionary sales surtax, unless exempt. Florida boat dealers and brokers are required to collect tax from the purchaser at the time of sale or delivery.

When a boat is sold by someone other than a registered boat dealer or a boat is brought into Florida for use in Florida, Florida use tax is due. The “use” part of Florida’s sales and use tax provides uniform taxation of items. Florida’s six percent (6%) use tax, plus any applicable discretionary sales surtax, is due on a boat used or stored in Florida when:
• The boat is purchased from a person who is not a registered boat dealer and the sale or delivery of the boat occurs in Florida;
• The boat is purchased in another state, territory of the United States, or District of Columbia and is brought into Florida within six (6) months of the purchase date; or
• The boat is purchased in a foreign country and is brought into Florida at any time.
When the purchaser does not pay Florida sales and use tax to the seller for a boat purchase, any sales and use tax, plus any applicable discretionary sales surtax, is paid to the county tax collector, licensed private tag agency, or the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles when registering the boat in Florida.


Discretionary Sales Surtax
Most counties impose a local option discretionary sales surtax. The surtax is due when the boat is delivered by the dealer or broker to a county that imposes a surtax. The surtax is also due when the boat is purchased from an individual and the boat is used in a county imposing a surtax.
Discretionary sales surtax applies to the first $5,000 of the purchase price. Current discretionary sales surtax rates for all counties are listed on Form DR-15DSS, Discretionary Sales Surtax Information, posted on our website at floridarevenue.com/forms.

Maximum Tax
The maximum tax on the sale of a boat or vessel is $18,000. This includes both sales and use tax and discretionary sales surtax.

When is Tax Due?
Unless exempt, a boat must be titled or registered in Florida with any county tax collector, licensed private tag agency, or the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles:
• Within 30 days of the purchase date or the date the boat entered Florida; or
• Within 90 days after the boat enters Florida, when the boat is documented, licensed, titled, or registered in another state.
Florida use tax, plus any applicable discretionary sales surtax, due on a boat purchased in Florida or brought into Florida within six (6) months of the date of purchase, is paid at the time of licensing, titling, or registering the boat in Florida.


Note: You may owe use tax to the different State when you go to register the boat in the different State. If you don't pay sales / use tax in Florida because you were able to be granted a waiver by leaving the State of Florida within the proscribed time period then of course you will not be granted credit for sales tax paid to Florida, by the State to which use taxation may become due when your vessel enter such State's waters to reside in the different State.

Which State waters, if any, do you intend to transfer the boat?

That State may or may not have use taxes. You have indicated that you will register the boat in the different State, that different State will discern if use taxation is due at the time you register with that State. Since you are having the vessel documented with the USCG you will not title the boat with the different State, only perhaps requiring registration of the vessel.

Enjoy your new to you boat.
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:51   #23
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

In 2018 I bought a sailboat in Florida as a non-resident. I did go through a broker and he helped with the process, and the seller was a Florida resident.
BUT, all the paperwork that I have does not differentiate if it is a brokerage sale or private sale. Why take a chance for a few hundred bucks?
First, it cost me $75.00 to keep the boat in FL for 90 days. If I wanted to extend another 90 days, it was $425.00 that had to be paid within 50 days of the sale; after that it can't be extended.
You are buying a big ticket item and there is going to be paperwork that has to go to the Coast Guard, Homeland Security, banks, etc.
Go to the Florida Dept. of Revenue's website for information. I had a Sales Affidavit Instruction form and a Suggested Format for Affidavit form that had to be filled out.
Basically, if you do this legally, all you have to do is prove your boat is out of the state of Florida within the time limits, (I used a haul out and repair bill from a marina in Georgia) and prove that your boat is registered/documented.
I have the name of a very nice gentleman at the Dept. of Florida Revenue and also a very good company that can document your vessel if you want. (Not sure how you contact me directly, don't want to break the rules of this forum!)
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:59   #24
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

I got a tax bill from South Carolina only because my documentation renewals were sent to my mother's address before forwarding. I politely informed the authorities that the boat had never been in South Carolina and was in fact in Europe.

Luckily, their arms aren't that long.

I keep my boat in The Netherlands, no registration necessary, no property tax. Probably the cheapest prices for the nicest marinas anywhere.

The next time I return to the US and travel up the East Coast, I will be careful not to linger too long in any state.
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Old 12-02-2020, 10:00   #25
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

I'm from SC and bought a boat from a South African, in FLA.. Do to health issues it never left FLA. for a year and a half. Sailed from Ft. Myers around Key West up to Mettles Island. Left her there for a month and took the Okeechobee ditch back to Fort Myers and kept her at a marina for over a year. Never had a problem with FLA. taxes. I don't think a few weeks will be noticed.
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Old 12-02-2020, 10:05   #26
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

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Originally Posted by redneckrob View Post
If you do a search you'll see plenty of folks who get the call from the tax department, so they've clearly got a system set up to track boats in the state. Not sure exactly how they do it, but I certainly had no interaction at all with the state and got the letter several months later at home in Maryland. Happy to post a scan of it if you're calling BS on me? It's an $18K gamble for the OP, are you willing to pay that for them if you're skepticism is wrong? Your buyers got lucky, that's all.
good chance they used the USCG documentation records. Then sent out a demand letter. That's what Massachusetts did to me, and they had my sales tax payment and record.
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Old 12-02-2020, 10:07   #27
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

Technically if you buy the boat in Florida you would pay sales tax there right?
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Old 12-02-2020, 10:29   #28
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

Good morning. I hate to break in on an existing post but I think that it’s been pretty well answered so I will go ahead with my question on the same theme, but not answered because of these weird circumstances.
I purchased my boat in Florida from private owner maybe six months ago. It is in a marina now waiting for transport to La Paz Mexico. Since the purchase I have moved to Arizona. Before I knew I was moving to Arizona, I went to the tax collector in Florida to register the boat. They would not let me register because I was going to document the boat. The backlog of documentation is months long. I have to wait for The US CG documentation before I can ship to Mexico. I have not been contacted by anyone to pay any use tax.
Any opinions?
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Old 12-02-2020, 10:37   #29
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

I presume the Florida tax laws only apply to sales that take place in FL. On the west coast "off shore" transactions are common. Need to do some documenting (California is tough on this). Take pictures of the GPS showing over 3 miles out, don't sign the bill of sale until you're out there. Some even go to the extreme of having the new owner come out in another boat and transfer to the new boat, with the seller returning to shore on the 2nd boat. Filming it all would be best.



If this is done the sale did not take place in Florida and I would think the taxers would have a hard time claiming jurisdiction.


Bought Moontide in Florida in 05, through a broker, and got nasty decals stuck on both sides of the boat, with an expiration date readable off the boat. Boat actually left within 45 days or so and my only problem was getting the stickers off.


Have travelled throughout the state since any only issue was no registration on my dinghy when I came back from the Caribbean. One sherrif actually said I was going to jail if he saw the dinghy again. (Memorial Day weekend in the keys). Total pr__k. This was on a dinghy that had been out of the country for 2 or 3 years and had a very expired California registration. Work around was to keep rolling over a bill of sale on the dinghy that was only a couple of weeks old.



On the other hand, as other posters have said, how will the taxers even know if the ownership changed hands if not registering it there. Especially if the new owner has an out of state address.
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Old 12-02-2020, 10:38   #30
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Re: experience with Florida taxes after purchase

Carl, here in NY, you have to pay sales tax in order to register the boat, and you have to register it, regardless of CG documentation. Supposedly the state tax folks are checking marina contracts for boats in state more than 90 days to stick 'em with a bill. That being said, I bought my boat in August, kept it over the winter, and didn't register/pay taxes until the spring, without issue.

Here you are responsible for paying sales tax on it (for me it's 8.375%), but can use taxes paid in another state as credit against that bill. It's probably similar in other states, although some do a 'use tax' instead of a 'sales tax'. The only state I know of without that is rhode island - no sales tax on private boats, period, so long as they stay in state.

You can get these details on the DMV web site, but basically, you pay the sales tax in FLA (which is a lower rate than NY), then the difference when you register in NY

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