Sales tax question

[Don S/V ILLusion]

So if someone buys a boat in 2011 in RI and then decides to move it to Conn in 2013 they are going to pay sales tax on that "used" boat? There a lot of people that move boats from one location to another that must be filling the coffers in other states.

Yup! Truth is often stranger than fiction.

If I had moved my 1993 40.5 (which I bought in 2002 in CT but immediately moved to RI where we lived) to Florida when we moved in 2009, Fl would have required me to pay sales tax.

The government knows no limit in trying to raise more money to spend. We don;t even get a thank you note on April 15...

 

[MollyMaguire]

After some furious googling and the informed replies here, looks like I'll be paying CT tax unless I leave it in RI, which isn't a bad idea--really good cruising grounds there and in the surrounding areas

 

[rfrye1]

Like Calif I assume states will tax whatever they can. One time sales tax, and an annual "property tax". Ask Al Gore. He lives in one state, but keeps his yacht in another with little or no annual property tax on boats......

 

[dlandersson]

Yes, just like a car.

So, I live in Connecticut which has a 6% sales tax, but I'm buying a boat in Rhode Island, which has no sales tax on boats or marine gear. Will I have to pay Connecticut sales tax when I register?

I'll be keeping it on a mooring in CT.

Thanks

 

[lehighsail]

So, in NJ, if you trade in your boat at a dealer and buy a different boat from them you only have to pay sales tax on the difference in value. However, if you don't have a trade you of course pay the sales tax on the full purchase price. If you lost your boat in Sandy and have none to trade in, you pay the sales tax on the full purchase price (like being taxed twice). Should not be surprised about this in the Garden State, the Governor has specifically said, that if you need to raise your house to avoid future floods, you will pay sales tax on the cost of elevation (7% of approx. 80K). If you don't raise your house you can't get flood insurance, you then can't get a mortgage and you can't sell the house because the prospective buyer can't get a mortgage. Flood insurance on a non raised house can be as much as 30K per year. Did not mean to get off topic but NJ is truly the tax capitol of the country.

 

[jepomer]

So, I live in Connecticut which has a 6% sales tax, but I'm buying a boat in Rhode Island, which has no sales tax on boats or marine gear. Will I have to pay Connecticut sales tax when I register?

I'll be keeping it on a mooring in CT.

Thanks

Purchasing a boat and the accompanying taxes and fees are very similar to purchasing a car. The taxes and "user fees" will be the ones from the State that you register and moor the boat.

Since you live in Connecticut and will moor the boat in Connecticut, you will be assessed the Connecticut fees.

If you had property in Rhode Island (or another state) and moored the boat there, you could avoid the Connecticut fees but then be responsible for the other state's fees.

If you owned the boat for a year BEFORE transferring it Connecticut (and it was not a dodge to avoid paying taxes), you might avoid the sales tax.

No one really enjoys paying taxes, but you "chose" to live in Connecticut for some reason. Pay the tax. It will be cheaper than any legal entanglements that could occur.

 

[Phyrexii]

When I bought my boat a few years ago, I had to jump thru some legal hoops in order to obtain a title... Long story short, I was able to take advantage of the rule stating that you are supposed to register you boat in the state you use it in the most, regardless of where you live. I purchased my California registered boat from a MA resident, and registered it in CT - but I had to pay CT 'use' taxes based on the purchase price (which I had to pay again when I re-registered it again in MA, but only because it was easier to pay it again rather than to get all the necessary paperwork in order to get an exemption from MA).

 

[noanker]

if you move to ct and you own your boat....you will have to pay the difference in ales tax between the state you move from and the current ct tax rate....there is no property tax eg...if you live in a state where the sales tax is 3% and you paid the 3% when you bought your boat, to register it in ct you would have to pay 3.35%,which is the difference between the 3% and ct's 6.35%. they don't care how long you have owned it or where you bought it. they want the money