Canadian buying USCG-registered cruiser - in another country

[acrobatique]

First post in the forum so please be kind haha... looking to purchase my first cruiser, she's USCG registered till 2025 or so however it isn't currently in the US.

I'm unsure if I'll bring 'er back to Canada immediately, may in fact cruise around a bit (within the legal limits of each place I stop, of course) and then finally come home and deal with importation then. I believe I do need to register her somewhere, in the meantime however, and get a flag on her. Insurance will want proof of this also, from what I understand.

This thread (admittedly, from 2007) seemed to indicate that I can register her now, and not have to worry about importation - and resulting Canadian taxes - until the day (if it ever comes) when I bring her home and import her officially: registering a foreign boat in Canada

Does anyone have any more current experience with this? The plan (rather loose, at this point) would be do some island hopping/Gulf/eastern seaboard cruising first - not come straight back to Canada with her.

Thanks so much for any insight!

 

[dlochner]

Welcome to SBO.

The USCG documentation is only available to US Citizens. Thus, when you purchase the boat the current owner will have to notify the USCG to end the documentation.

If traveling internationally the boat should be documented (or the Canadian equivalent) to prove ownership. When arriving in a foreign port part of clearing in is to prove ownership.

One alternative is to have the boat fly a flag of convenience by registering off shore. There are countries that will allow this, however, there is usually a pretty hefty fee for the agent and registration.

 

[jviss]

I confess I know nothing about this, but find these situations interesting - like, a "stump the boat expert" question.

I would look into registering the boat in Rhode Island, as they have no sales tax for boats, and the fees are not too bad. I'm not sure if a non-citizen of the U.S. or of R.I. can do so, but a little research might answer that.

RI: Frequently Asked Questions: Boating Registration

 

[acrobatique]

Welcome to SBO.

The USCG documentation is only available to US Citizens. Thus, when you purchase the boat the current owner will have to notify the USCG to end the documentation.

Thanks for the welcome! For sure, I wouldn't expect to be able to use the current owner's documentation - provided that more for context in terms of what the boats origin/current status is. Having said that, I don't think it matters that they may ultimately "do the deal" so to speak outside their (US) borders, correct?

If traveling internationally the boat should be documented (or the Canadian equivalent) to prove ownership. When arriving in a foreign port part of clearing in is to prove ownership.

One alternative is to have the boat fly a flag of convenience by registering off shore. There are countries that will allow this, however, there is usually a pretty hefty fee for the agent and registration.

Yes, need to be registered somewhere, that's understood. I think registering it in my home country is probably best as it's only $250 and pretty simple to do. The importation, now thats another matter altogether, but I think no matter where in the world I register her, if I import to pretty much any country, I'll be faced with some costs.. like duty, taxes, etc. At least if I import to my home country I don't have to pay duties, just tax

 

[acrobatique]

I confess I know nothing about this, but find these situations interesting - like, a "stump the boat expert" question.

I would look into registering the boat in Rhode Island, as they have no sales tax for boats, and the fees are not too bad. I'm not sure if a non-citizen of the U.S. or of R.I. can do so, but a little research might answer that.

RI: Frequently Asked Questions: Boating Registration

I think you pretty much have to be a US citizen or resident of RI. Delaware used to be favourable for non-citizens, but as I understand it currently, they locked that down to only being allowed if the boat is going to be kept/operated out of that state. I'm not sure I would be able to commit to that per se..

 

[jviss]

I think you pretty much have to be a US citizen or resident of RI. Delaware used to be favourable for non-citizens, but as I understand it currently, they locked that down to only being allowed if the boat is going to be kept/operated out of that state. I'm not sure I would be able to commit to that per se..

Check Vermont:
Registering Your Motorboat

 

[dlochner]

Having said that, I don't think it matters that they may ultimately "do the deal" so to speak outside their (US) borders, correct?

Right, I don't there is any problem buying the boat outside of either country. Many boats are sold in the US that end up in Canada and vice-versa.

I can't really speak to the duty and taxes that might be owed. With that said, importing something built in one country and brought to another generally involves some kind of duty or tariff, how much and when it is due depends on the item and the countries involved. Taxes are another thing and those are usually involved with he sale and the price paid.

 

[acrobatique]

Check Vermont:
Registering Your Motorboat

Hmm.. don't think I could comply with this, as a non-resident (and non-US citizen) I wouldn't be able to show them the registration (and tax status) from another state, as per the list of exemptions here..

 

[acrobatique]

Right, I don't there is any problem buying the boat outside of either country. Many boats are sold in the US that end up in Canada and vice-versa.

I can't really speak to the duty and taxes that might be owed. With that said, importing something built in one country and brought to another generally involves some kind of duty or tariff, how much and when it is due depends on the item and the countries involved. Taxes are another thing and those are usually involved with he sale and the price paid.

Far as I know for Canada taxes (and any relevant duties, but for my specific case of an American built boat, there are none) are due at time of importation. So that's sort of grey area I'm trying to inquire about - that time period between registering the boat and actually importing it, because there could be some significant time in between. The original thread I quoted was pretty much the same use case, but admittedly that was back in 2007 - things might have changed since..

 

[Hollyberry]

We have friends who have had a Canadian registered boat in the Eastern Caribbean for the last 20+ years. They bought it new in Guadeloupe.They have not imported (nor do they intend to) however my understanding is that if they did they would be subject to import taxes at that time. Note also that if it's a euro-built boat there would be an additional 9.5% duty as well. If the Jeanneau was US built then that would not apply.

 

[acrobatique]

We have friends who have had a Canadian registered boat in the Eastern Caribbean for the last 20+ years. They bought it new in Guadeloupe.They have not imported (nor do they intend to) however my understanding is that if they did they would be subject to import taxes at that time. Note also that if it's a euro-built boat there would be an additional 9.5% duty as well. If the Jeanneau was US built then that would not apply.

Gotcha.. and that's my understanding of it as well. But...and it's a big BUT lol.. that was 20 years ago.. and this is now. Trying to evaluate if it's still the case.. appreciate your comment though!

 

[dLj]

Gotcha.. and that's my understanding of it as well. But...and it's a big BUT lol.. that was 20 years ago.. and this is now. Trying to evaluate if it's still the case.. appreciate your comment though!

I don't know now per se, however, 4 years ago that was still the case. I used to sail on Lake Champlain and there were many Canadian boats kept there under Canadian flags and were not being imported into Canada in order to not pay the import duties. They were not happy during covid...

I'd think you may wish to consult a lawyer in Canada familiar with how this works rather than rely on asking an on-line forum....

dj

 

[FastOlson]

It's entertaining and sometimes helpful to try to get complex legal information from strangers on the internet, but the OP really really (really) needs to talk to the CN customs folks. Record those calls with names, titles, etc. Keep copies of all correspondence, etc. This might get complex.
We all want to be helpful, but none of us will be appearing at his judicial proceedings if his vessel is being confiscated for some reason!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled entertainment!


(I once paid US Duty to import a used CN sailboat, several decades ago, when that was still a "thing." I made all the calls in advance and knew what size check to write when clearing US Customs. Later, creating a new title in my state did take several letters back-n-forth to our titling agency and that worked out just fine, as well.)