Understanding Florida 180 day tax waiver

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by SemperAvanti41

I was amazed when I purchased a boat in Florida that there is a reciprocal sales tax arrangement between Fl and NY. I kept the boat in Fl for over 3 months so I paid FL sales tax. When I brought the boat to NY, I only paid the difference in the higher NY rate to NY.

One other note, when I paid the tax at NYS DMV they knew NOTHING about the boat still needing a NYS registration, even though it was Federally documented. I found this out when I was given a ticket by a local marine cop.

The good news is that, shockingly, the registration cost in New York State is a relatively modest (for NYS) $90 for three years.

[StanleyCup]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

As long as it is registered and used in some U.S. state or territory for more than six months, then you do not owe use tax to Florida when you move it there. It does not matter if the jurisdiction that you were in previously charged a sales tax or not.

Originally Posted by RickG

In our case, we had to prove that we had paid sales tax in the other state before the clock started ticking on the 6-month rule.

Sorry for quoting old posts, but this thread contains all the info I could find on this, so I figured this would be the place to ask this?

If a Delaware resident buys a boat from a private seller in Florida, and they take the boat out of FL and register it in DE (no tax), could they bring the boat back to FL a year or two later, register it in FL, and owe no tax?

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by StanleyCup

Sorry for quoting old posts, but this thread contains all the info I could find on this, so I figured this would be the place to ask this?

If a Delaware resident buys a boat from a private seller in Florida, and they take the boat out of FL and register it in DE (no tax), could they bring the boat back to FL a year or two later, register it in FL, and owe no tax?

No. Florida will honor tax paid in another state but requires either that proof or payment to Florida upon registration in Florida regardless of where you bought it. The Tax Collector’s office in Florida has a very clear explanation of this on their web site.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by StanleyCup

Sorry for quoting old posts, but this thread contains all the info I could find on this, so I figured this would be the place to ask this?

If a Delaware resident buys a boat from a private seller in Florida, and they take the boat out of FL and register it in DE (no tax), could they bring the boat back to FL a year or two later, register it in FL, and owe no tax?

Yes, it can be registered in Florida upon returning from out of state after having been away for more than six months after purchasing from a seller in Florida and with NO sales / use tax becoming due upon registration in Florida. The vessel's six month absence from Florida provides for a permanent exemption of sales / use taxation from the prior sale that occurred in Florida.

Reference: https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_lib...t/gt800005.pdf

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.


Penalty and Interest

Anyone who purchases a boat and obtains a tax exemption as a nonresident purchaser is subject to Florida use tax, discretionary sales surtax, interest, and penalties (including a mandatory penalty equal to the tax) when:
• A boat that bears a decal set remains in Florida after the expiration of the decal;
• A boat that does not bear a decal set and is not in a Florida registered repair facility
remains in Florida more than 10 days from the date of purchase;
• A boat that does not bear a decal set and that was in a Florida registered repair facility remains in Florida more than 20 days from the date the repairs or alterations were completed;
• A boat returns to Florida within six (6) months from the date of departure, is not placed in a Florida registered repair facility, and stays in Florida more than 20 days; or
• The nonresident purchaser does not furnish the Department with the required documentation.

A purchaser who attempts to evade tax by submitting a fraudulent affidavit is subject to the tax due, interest, and a mandatory 200 percent penalty (according to section 213.29, Florida Statutes). The purchaser is also subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 5 years in prison.

Further Reference: https://www.floridasalestax.com/docu...Purchasers.pdf

Use tax and surtax are not due on boats brought to Florida if you meet all of the following conditions:
x You own the boat 6 months or longer, and
x You have shown no intent to use the boat in Florida at or before the time of purchase, and
x The boat has been in use 6 months or longer within the taxing jurisdiction of another state, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Time spent in foreign waters does not count as part of the 6-month period.

[skipgundlach]

What he ^^^^ said.

We had our boat in a RRF, in their CCC ("registered repair facility", "care, custody and control" for just shy of 3 years. We left the state a second time (the first being a wreck-ended passage, immediate insertion into an RRF and then sailing back to where we'd started) within the allotted (and counting, from the first attempt!) 20 days grace period.

We've mostly been back in FL other than a long jaunt to the Bahamas, ever since.

Flying Pig is rarely at motion, which means we're here far longer than the 90 consecutive (if you can prove you left the state before that, or if challenged, arrived in fewer days than that ago, you're golden) days you're allowed without penalty/scrutiny.

We have to get a state (in our case, antique, meaning dirt cheap) registration for our USCG boat, a nuisance to those without ground transportation, but being a USCG boat means we only have to mount the sticker on the mast, not display the numbers on the bow.

As to the last item, we had no intent to be Floridians; we thought we were leaving for the Eastern Caribbean - but we have yet to get there in this boat...

[Exile]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

We have to get a state (in our case, antique, meaning dirt cheap) registration for our USCG boat, a nuisance to those without ground transportation, but being a USCG boat means we only have to mount the sticker on the mast, not display the numbers on the bow.

Do you know what the cut-off year is for "antique" registration status in Fla?

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Florida will honor tax paid in another state but requires either that proof or payment to Florida upon registration in Florida regardless of where you bought it. The Tax Collector’s office in Florida has a very clear explanation of this on their web site.

Yes. That's how it worked with me. You pay tax wherever you purchased the boat. It is preferable to also register it there as well but not required.

[denverd0n]

What Montanan said!


If you own and use the boat in another state for more than six months, then you can bring it here and you WILL NOT owe any sales/use tax on it.


You may have to provide proof that you were using the boat outside of Florida. You cannot just move it out of the state, park it for six months, and then bring it back. That would be considered evidence that you only intended to use it in Florida all along, and so you WOULD owe the use tax.


I know this gets confusing, mostly because so many people post so much stuff that is just WRONG. Follow the links in Montanan's post and read the official Florida documents about this. It really is not that complicated.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by Exile

Do you know what the cut-off year is for "antique" registration status in Fla?

please pardon any dictation errors; I'm away from my computer as the boat is being pressure washed in prep for bottom paint.

I'm pretty sure it is 25 years but I have the applicable statute hidden in my computer. Aafter I get it back from having been repaired, I will be able to tell you exactly. Tthat should be about by the end of the week.

Apologies for extra characters and spaces. Editing on the phone is insane!.

[skipgundlach]

It's 30 years:

https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statut...tique%20vessel.

See paragraph 2a...

CG registered boats don't have to put the letters and numbers on the boat...

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

What Montanan said!


If you own and use the boat in another state for more than six months, then you can bring it here and you WILL NOT owe any sales/use tax on it.


You may have to provide proof that you were using the boat outside of Florida. You cannot just move it out of the state, park it for six months, and then bring it back. That would be considered evidence that you only intended to use it in Florida all along, and so you WOULD owe the use tax.


I know this gets confusing, mostly because so many people post so much stuff that is just WRONG. Follow the links in Montanan's post and read the official Florida documents about this. It really is not that complicated.

DenverOn is spot on as to the need for the boat to have been used while out of Florida as an indication that it was not purchased with the intention of being used in Florida before or at the time of purchase.

Sales and Use Taxes are both "privilege taxes". By moving promptly away from Florida after a purchase and utilizing the boat in another State or States for six months, one receives the waiver of sales and use taxation granted via an according of interstate reciprocity. By not using it in Florida for the specified period of time one did not take advantage of the privilege of use in Florida and thus no privilege gained there be no taxation owed.

Note that time spent using the boat in Foreign waters [or I suspect international waters] does not realize the similar exemption from Florida sales / use taxation. Foreign countries do not provide reciprocity of exemption for sales / use taxation as do other states in our union. That is not to say that one can not travel to waters outside the waters of the USA, it just means the clock does not toll when not in another State of the union. Now I am not sure if a territory of the USA qualifies for such six month tolling, say for example, Puerto Rico or the USVI which nearby destinations are obvious places to depart to from Florida. I suspect the law was not written with such specificities in mind but interpretations may have been determined of the intent of legislation once a specific case was brought to the Department of Revenue.

Taxes tend to make sense once one realizes the fundamental basis of their obligations. As with all taxes, the devil is in the details and their be 50 States so 50 devilish sets of rules.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

It's 30 years:

https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statut...tique%20vessel.

See paragraph 2a...

CG registered boats don't have to put the letters and numbers on the boat...

Thanks Skip, and good luck with your haulout (never fun).

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Now I am not sure if a territory of the USA qualifies for such six month tolling, say for example, Puerto Rico or the USVI...

The exact wording of the law is, "it shall be presumed that tangible personal property used in another state, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia for 6 months or longer before being imported into this state was not purchased for use in this state."

So, yeah, territories like Puerto Rico, the USVI, Guam, etc. all count. But note, as mentioned before, the boat must be USED. It cannot just sit, waiting for six months to elapse.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

The exact wording of the law is, "it shall be presumed that tangible personal property used in another state, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia for 6 months or longer before being imported into this state was not purchased for use in this state."

So, yeah, territories like Puerto Rico, the USVI, Guam, etc. all count. But note, as mentioned before, the boat must be USED. It cannot just sit, waiting for six months to elapse.

Thank you.

[NPCampbell]

Originally Posted by Fiftybucks

We just bought a boat that is immediately going into dry storage where some maintenance items will be addressed and will be there for 3 months. After that the boat will be moved around FL to GA or a quick trip out to Bahamas. The boat is a documented vessel, and we have the 180 day waiver at $435.

I have read the Tax Waiver, and there is a clause I have not seem mentioned before that at the end of the 180 days, the boat must Stay Out of FL for 6 months. Other boat owners have mentioned taking it to the Bahamas to get fuel, keeping the receipt etc..but that doesn't alleviate the 6 months away requirement.

Our plan is to move the boat up the coast to Virginia, and maybe find a nice marina and nearby dry storage. But until we get there does taking the boat to the Bahamas and providing proof by way of receipts or slip fee get us anywhere on the Florida Tax Waiver? What do others practice.

From what I can tell, assuming you are not a Florida resident:

1) You must leave Florida within 180 days. There are no further extensions unless your boat was being repaired. If you stay in Florida or Florida waters 181 days you will owe Florida's 6% sales tax up to a cap of $18000.

2) Within an additional 30 days after leaving Florida, you must provide documentation that the boat was registered in another state. Paying sales tax for another state is NOT required to satisfy this condition. If you don't provide this documentation, you will owe Florida 6%.

3) You must remain outside of Florida for 180 days. If you don't, then you are liable for sales tax of Florida's 6% sales tax minus Virginia's 2% sales tax (if you paid it) up to a cap of $18000.

4) If you do stay out of Florida for 180 days, then you may re-enter Florida for up to 20 days per calendar year starting from the time that you pull into a marina or boat storage facility. If you stay longer than 20 days, once again, you are liable for Florida's 6% sales tax minus any sales tax you may have paid already. NOTE: It is unclear if the 20 days applies to boats that never pay for a mooring ball or marina as the law specifically starts the 20 day period when you use one of those facilities.