Md Tax on out of state boat

[KD3PC]

Guys and Gals,

I am all set to take a new job in MD, take my boat across the Potomac and voila no house payment.....

Until the lady at the prospective marina says, you do know you will have to pay MD "vessel use tax"....to the tune of $5K yearly on a $100K boat.

Is this real? I called DNR and the two folks I spoke with had no idea what I was talking about. The website does say if you "use" the boat more than 90 days in MD, you are liable for the tax and they will collect it, regardless of where it is documented or what.

Please advise, I really hate to decline a job offer in these times, but $525 for a liveaboard slip in St Marys county AND $425 for tax makes an apt almost a better deal?

btw, I live and pay tax in VA, the boat is documented and yes I pay tax on it in VA.

dave

 

[Phil Herring]

I know squat about MD or VA, but that sure sounds like a one-time tax to me. Are you sure it's annual?

 

[Brian D]

Dave, ask boat owners in the marina where you want to live. See what they say.

 

[Jim Seamans]

Its a one time tax

I live in VA and my boat is in MD. Over in VA you have to pay 4.5% personal property tax EVERY YEAR. In MD, its a one time shot they call it a excise tax but you only pay for it ONCE.

Dave, ask boat owners in the marina where you want to live. See what they say.

 

[Steve Christensen]

Sounds like what we had in Michigan. If you kept your US flagged boat in Michigan waters more than 30 days a season, Michigan insisted you register the boat there, regardless of its origin. And registration required a 6% use tax that could be met if you could show that you had paid Michigan sales tax or sales tax in another state of at least 6%. So if you came from another state where you had not had to register it, or pay sales tax, it could be quite a hit.

 

[Ross]

Guys and Gals,

I am all set to take a new job in MD, take my boat across the Potomac and voila no house payment.....

Until the lady at the prospective marina says, you do know you will have to pay MD "vessel use tax"....to the tune of $5K yearly on a $100K boat.

Is this real? I called DNR and the two folks I spoke with had no idea what I was talking about. The website does say if you "use" the boat more than 90 days in MD, you are liable for the tax and they will collect it, regardless of where it is documented or what.

Please advise, I really hate to decline a job offer in these times, but $525 for a liveaboard slip in St Marys county AND $425 for tax makes an apt almost a better deal?

btw, I live and pay tax in VA, the boat is documented and yes I pay tax on it in VA.

dave

Dave , Maybe this will help:
http://www.boatinglaw.com/document.cfm/maryland

 

[jaysweet]

Dave,

We're in MD. My understanding is that if you use your boat in MD (more than a certain threshold amount: the DNR website says "most in a calendar year", and in another place "a majority of the calendar year"), you need to have a MD registration sticker on the boat, whether it is documented or not. To get the sticker, you need to pay the excise tax once: it is 5% of the fair market value of the boat. Essentially, sales tax. After paying this once, you only renew it every 2 years for some nominal fee: maybe less for a documented vessel ($10). The web site seems pretty clear and easy to read. Good luck.

Jay

 

[jaysweet]

Dave,

We're in MD. My understanding is that if you use your boat in MD (more than a certain threshold amount: the DNR website says "most in a calendar year", and in another place "a majority of the calendar year"), you need to have a MD registration sticker on the boat, whether it is documented or not. To get the sticker, you need to pay the excise tax once: it is 5% of the fair market value of the boat. Essentially, sales tax. After paying this once, you only renew it every 2 years for some nominal fee: maybe less for a documented vessel ($10). The web site seems pretty clear and easy to read. Good luck.

Jay

Actually, reading more carefully, you might not have to pay the excise tax if MD has reciprocity with VA:

§8-716(f) of the State Boat Act allows reciprocity credit for excise or sales tax previously paid to another jurisdiction if:

The vessel was formerly titled or numbered in another jurisdiction; or
The vessel was formerly federally documented and principally used in another jurisdiction; and
The present owner paid a sales or excise tax on the vessel to the other jurisdiction (proof required – validated receipt, etc.); and
The jurisdiction to which the tax was paid would allow an equivalent exemption or credit for vessel excise tax formerly paid to the State of Maryland.

Certainly seems worth checking out more carefully.

 

[Mike B]

MD Tax Rules

If you've already paid another state sales tax on the boat and it meets or exceeds MD's 5% rate all you'll need to do is show them proof that it's been paid. If what you've paid is less than the 5% rate then they'll want the difference. Google MD's boating laws and it should be spelled out in there. I brought a boat in from NJ and didn't have to pay anything since I had already paid NJ. Check it out and go for it.
Good luck
Mike

Guys and Gals,

I am all set to take a new job in MD, take my boat across the Potomac and voila no house payment.....

Until the lady at the prospective marina says, you do know you will have to pay MD "vessel use tax"....to the tune of $5K yearly on a $100K boat.

Is this real? I called DNR and the two folks I spoke with had no idea what I was talking about. The website does say if you "use" the boat more than 90 days in MD, you are liable for the tax and they will collect it, regardless of where it is documented or what.

Please advise, I really hate to decline a job offer in these times, but $525 for a liveaboard slip in St Marys county AND $425 for tax makes an apt almost a better deal?

btw, I live and pay tax in VA, the boat is documented and yes I pay tax on it in VA.

dave

 

[Tom L]

I registered my Hunter 23.5 in MD last year. I live in PA but plan to use it in MD most of the time. MD requires you to pay tax (sales tax essentially) the first time based on sale price or fair market value. My sale price was less than the market value so I used the sale price and I had to have a notorized bill of sale. Then there is a small yearly registration fee. The MD DNR website gives the information about registration and the forms to use.

 

[Tom L]

Just found that I still had this link, it might help:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/boating/registration/