Sales Tax in Florida

[SemperAvanti41]

2 weeks ago I registered my USCG Documented boat in Hillsborough county FL. I did not pay any sales tax as I have all the documentation showing sales tax was paid. Boat was previously registered in NY. When I purchased boat in FL in 2005, I paid 6% sales tax in FL and then an additional 2 7/8% sales tax in NY where boat was then berthed. Believe it or not, NY & FL have reciprocal sales tax agreement. So NY only collected the difference between NY 8 7/8% sales tax and the 6% already paid. I do not think FL has a reciprocal sales tax agreement with IL, so I think you are going to be charged sales tax on the FMV of your boat.



To get a correct answer on the sales tax contact:
Florida Department of Revenue
PO Box 6417
Tallahasse, FL 32314-6417
850-717-6029


By the way, I bet if you are able to register boat in a rural county without paying sales tax, you will be contacted by the above revenue office. Most states like NY are not very good about providing needed government services, but they are dynamite at collecting sales tax.

[Chuters]

Simply put. You’ve owned the vessel for twenty six years, you are not going to pay sales tax in Florida. Your going to pay to register the boat in Florida, and every year you will pay to renew the registration. If your vessel is a USCG documented vessel it’s not required to put the FL registration number on the port and starboard side of hull at the bow. You just need to put the small registration sticker on the port side of the boat. I put the registration sticker at the base of the mast so it is easily removable each year and replaced with a new registration sticker. You can even renew for two years at a time. The renewal can be done online. It is the same process for a motor vehicle. You can also get a driver license at the same location, at what ever county your in Tax collectors office. Just make an appointment. Just an FYI, the initial registration fee may be higher then the annual registration fee.

[skipgundlach]

By now you've read all the comments and know you're home free on the use/sales tax.

However you might not know that in a couple of years your annual registration will be a paltry sum, because you'll qualify for antique status.

It's so little I don't actually recall how much, but it's single digits, including fees not related directly to the boat, but instead overhead for the state:

https://www.sarasotataxcollector.com...ration-antique

Our initial registration was treated as antique despite our not having
the sticker or other antique documentation; the clerk caught the age.

2.50 basic tax, 2.25 county fee, total initial registration (good thru
November based on owner birth month) $4.75

A couple of other links which may be helpful:

https://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/forms/BTR/87243.pdf
https://www.flhsmv.gov/motor-vehicle...registrations/

[Mauruuru]

I registered my Federally documented boat in Florida after returning from the caribbean for several years.....I did not have to pay sales tax only registration fees for boat and dinghy

[CarlF]

One common confusion is that CG documentation is a title - it's NOT a registration. It's about ownership. There's no such thing as Federal vessel registration.

That's why it is not legal to title your documented boat in a state and states will generally not try to issue you a title. But just about all states require a state registration.

[Tonali99]

every state has its quirks. Bought mine in S.C. and documented it. Moved as soona s I got the papers. Even out of state, South Carolina sent me tax bills.