Our boat is US Documented. Was moored in Chatham on the Cape last year after being in the Bahamas / Florida for many years. I paid for a seasonal mooring to a private marina. I also paid a Mooring Fee to the Town. Now I have a bill for an excise tax to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, payable to Town of Chatham. Do I have to pay the excise tax if the boat is Documented, and not registered in Mass ? Thanks, cheers, John
Taxachusetts Boat Excise Tax question
- Thread starter damonwells
- Start date
If your residence is in Mass. couldn't they trace you through your documentation numbers?
In Rhode Island they called that a personal property tax that was based on the value of the car/boat. We had the California registration numbers still on the boat and CA plate on the trailer, weren't in RI long enough to bother to change it over so were not dinged with boat tax. We did have to pay the PPT on both cars though.
In PA it doesn't matter if your boat is documented or not, you still have to register it in PA and have at least a PA registration sticker displayed.
In Rhode Island they called that a personal property tax that was based on the value of the car/boat. We had the California registration numbers still on the boat and CA plate on the trailer, weren't in RI long enough to bother to change it over so were not dinged with boat tax. We did have to pay the PPT on both cars though.
In PA it doesn't matter if your boat is documented or not, you still have to register it in PA and have at least a PA registration sticker displayed.
More than 60 days and you have to pay use tax. However if you paid sales or use tax in another state and can show your receipt, you will not be dinged again for up to the amount you paid to the other state. If the other state is equal or greater you're good, otherwise you need to write a check for the difference. BTW -- RI has no sales or use tax on boats, so that's where you want to be in New England if from out of area.
I was curious about the Rhode Island tax thing Larry, sure enough, the use tax on boats was repealed in 1993. That was two years after we left.
I never figured ANY tax would be repealed?
I never figured ANY tax would be repealed?
Documentation trumps registration, so no fee for that or numbers on the topsides. But if you have a mooring permit, the excise tax follows.
The documentation number becomes the registration number, and you don't need to show the number outside the boat. But you still need to show a small square state sticker, which is a different color for documented boats so marine patrols know you're registered.
John, just to point out, the excise tax and the sales/use tax in MA are two completely different things. The sales/use tax has the usual rules. Basically if you owned the boat outside of MA for the first six months you are OK. However, the excise tax is due for any boat moored in the Commonwealth, even ones where a sales tax has been paid. It's paid to the town not the State. It's also a very small amount, varying by the town tax rates, much much smaller than the sales/use tax.. hope that helps.
Steve McInnis
Steve McInnis
Although enforcement can be spotty, after 90 days, boats in Florida
must register here. Even Documented ones. Saving grace here is its
not that expensive.
must register here. Even Documented ones. Saving grace here is its
not that expensive.
True, if you rent one and don't spend too much time on it, you might escape. But the harbormasters will notice.
Send a message to Sen. John Kerry, he can tell you the ways to dodge the boat taxes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/john-kerry-saves-500000-b_n_656985.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/john-kerry-saves-500000-b_n_656985.html
In 2010, I moved my boat from Florida to Massachusetts by way of the ICW. My boat is documented, and in Florida I had to register the boat and show a state sticker. In MA, you do not register with the state. You must pay excise tax to the town you are moored in.
It has nothing to do with being documented. The following is from the Massachusetts Excise Tax Form - "You must pay an excise tax for a boat you own on July 1 and moor or locate in Massachusetts. The excise is assessed for the fiscal year that begins on that date. Bills are issued by the city or town where you moor or dock the boat for the summer season, or where the boat is registered or principally located if it is not moored or docked for the summer."
And since the money goes to the town not the state, the town keeps track of who pays. If you claim you don't "moor" the boat in the town, then they quite reasonably figure that they can take away your mooring permit. The mooring waiting list in some Massachusetts towns is a 15 year wait.
And since the money goes to the town not the state, the town keeps track of who pays. If you claim you don't "moor" the boat in the town, then they quite reasonably figure that they can take away your mooring permit. The mooring waiting list in some Massachusetts towns is a 15 year wait.
For those with an insatiable curiosity, here's what I found researching this question several years ago. Note that I am not a professional tax attorney and you should check with an attorney.
- Documented boats do not have to be registered in Massachusetts (even after 60 days). Massachusetts is one of the few states that allow this.
- If you have a seasonal mooring or slip whether through a town permit or renting from a boatyard -- you will owe excise tax. The boatyard is required to report the boats on their moorings to the town. They don't have to report renting by the day.
- The Massachusetts excise tax is a unique combination of boat length and age of the boat. The excise tax on old boats can be very low (like $25). It's very possible for the Massachusetts excise tax to be less than the annual Rhode Island registration fee which is based only on length not age.
- Sales tax (and use tax) is only owed in Massachusetts if you "intended" to ever use the boat in Massachusetts when you bought it. How do you establish "intent"? The tax court has ruled that if you bring the boat into Massachusetts (even for one day) during the first six months of ownership then you have the burden of proving that you didn't have intent on the date of purchase (an almost impossible test). On the other hand, if you bring it in after six months the state tax authorities have the burden of proof. This is impractical for them too but the the boat owner can give them a gift. Here's a case where a boat owner had to pay over $60,000 ($20,000 in penalties) because of an accident when his wife went to register the dinghy. While she was standing at the counter with the dinghy forms, a clerk noticed the yacht's documentation form in her open file folder. She tried to cover it up - but too late to stop an investigation that showed the owner had a long history of keeping his previous boats at his summer house in Massachusetts and even had repairs done to the boat in a Massachusetts boat yard that was just over the Rhode Island border during the first six months. Here's the case. If you have nothing better to do, it makes fascinating reading.
- Documented boats do not have to be registered in Massachusetts (even after 60 days). Massachusetts is one of the few states that allow this.
- If you have a seasonal mooring or slip whether through a town permit or renting from a boatyard -- you will owe excise tax. The boatyard is required to report the boats on their moorings to the town. They don't have to report renting by the day.
- The Massachusetts excise tax is a unique combination of boat length and age of the boat. The excise tax on old boats can be very low (like $25). It's very possible for the Massachusetts excise tax to be less than the annual Rhode Island registration fee which is based only on length not age.
- Sales tax (and use tax) is only owed in Massachusetts if you "intended" to ever use the boat in Massachusetts when you bought it. How do you establish "intent"? The tax court has ruled that if you bring the boat into Massachusetts (even for one day) during the first six months of ownership then you have the burden of proving that you didn't have intent on the date of purchase (an almost impossible test). On the other hand, if you bring it in after six months the state tax authorities have the burden of proof. This is impractical for them too but the the boat owner can give them a gift. Here's a case where a boat owner had to pay over $60,000 ($20,000 in penalties) because of an accident when his wife went to register the dinghy. While she was standing at the counter with the dinghy forms, a clerk noticed the yacht's documentation form in her open file folder. She tried to cover it up - but too late to stop an investigation that showed the owner had a long history of keeping his previous boats at his summer house in Massachusetts and even had repairs done to the boat in a Massachusetts boat yard that was just over the Rhode Island border during the first six months. Here's the case. If you have nothing better to do, it makes fascinating reading.