We are in the process of closing out the sale of our home and all our un-needed items.(into storage go the items we love). For the last full year we have been searching and researching to find a suitable sailboat that will take us on a 7 to 10 year trip to anywhere we want. We plan to cruise the warmer areas of the world starting in the Caribbean and enjoying New Zealand trout fishing 7 years from now. We will move to wherever we find our new boat and reside there until we have refitted, outfitted and learned to sail this larger boat. We plan on no more than 6 months. We will probably also use this location as our home port to start with. Most of the better equiped boats are in California, the Eastern Seaboard, Fla, or the Gulf States. In Washington State there is a 7.8% sales tax (I think that was the last figure, subject to change) plus your yearly licencing fees and these were $70 for a lowly 95 H26. As you can see this mounts up to a large amount very fast. We are on a very fixed income (retired) and require very little in the way of services, if any, from any state we might locate temporarly in. We are searching for the best place to buy our boat that will save some money. Is this an un-American thing to do? Hell NO. We worked our asses off farming, working in foundries, managing health care clinics and putting our kids through college. Now that our bodies have failed us we have decided to go where it's warm. We do not have any knowledge about buying a boat out of country and selling our boat when we return will be a needed item. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Ray & Maria Speedy's parents.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
L
Len Fagan
Sales Tax
RI has no sales tax on boats. I assume you are looking for a larger (over 30+ feet). You would document with a home port in RI. Problem is that if you than move to another area which becomes your home port you might have problem. We live in MA and keep our boat in RI and intend to keep in FL during winter. Len Fagan "Tale Winds"
RI has no sales tax on boats. I assume you are looking for a larger (over 30+ feet). You would document with a home port in RI. Problem is that if you than move to another area which becomes your home port you might have problem. We live in MA and keep our boat in RI and intend to keep in FL during winter. Len Fagan "Tale Winds"
D
David
G
George Chamberlain
FL sales tax...
I did some research on this recently as I am a military Florida resident, stationed in RI. If you buy in RI there is no tax, as Len said. Registration is not expensive either. If you later take the boat to FL you will not pay tax as long as you have owned it for more than 6 months already. Fair winds on your voyage!
I did some research on this recently as I am a military Florida resident, stationed in RI. If you buy in RI there is no tax, as Len said. Registration is not expensive either. If you later take the boat to FL you will not pay tax as long as you have owned it for more than 6 months already. Fair winds on your voyage!
No sales tax....
in Oregon. Buy the boat and take delivery in Oregon. Leave it there while you are doing to refit. Save you money on the refit and the sales tax on purchase. You aren't going to get much closer to Washington than in Oregon!
in Oregon. Buy the boat and take delivery in Oregon. Leave it there while you are doing to refit. Save you money on the refit and the sales tax on purchase. You aren't going to get much closer to Washington than in Oregon!
R
Rick Webb
Mississippi no Tax or Registration
If you buy the boat from another individual, the brokers here will help you do that (wink). If a vessel is documented the state does not require a registration. The state also does not tax retirement income. As an added bonus it is warm almost too warm sometimes that is countered by the fact that there is only about three weeks of the year when it is too cold to sail. Let me know if I can help.
If you buy the boat from another individual, the brokers here will help you do that (wink). If a vessel is documented the state does not require a registration. The state also does not tax retirement income. As an added bonus it is warm almost too warm sometimes that is countered by the fact that there is only about three weeks of the year when it is too cold to sail. Let me know if I can help.
R
Robert
Tax
Louisiana is tax free on a used boat. Like Mississippi, if you document the boat, no state registration is required. Both are great jumping off points for the Caribbean and beyond. Good Luck!
Louisiana is tax free on a used boat. Like Mississippi, if you document the boat, no state registration is required. Both are great jumping off points for the Caribbean and beyond. Good Luck!
W
Wind Machine
Where you buy it
isn't as important as how you buy it and what you do with it after you take possesion. Pick up a copy of 48 North, Latitude 38, or The Log and you'll see ads for tax attorneys that can handle the transaction by taking an offshore delivery, then move the vessel to another state or country. The requirements are very strict so it's best to have some guidance through the process if legally avoiding local sales tax is your objective. California has a personal property tax on all boats berthed in the state, including non-residents, so if you're really trying to cheap out don't stay there for long. If you're cruising and have paid the boat off make sure you ducument the vessel with the Coast Guard rather then register it with the state.
isn't as important as how you buy it and what you do with it after you take possesion. Pick up a copy of 48 North, Latitude 38, or The Log and you'll see ads for tax attorneys that can handle the transaction by taking an offshore delivery, then move the vessel to another state or country. The requirements are very strict so it's best to have some guidance through the process if legally avoiding local sales tax is your objective. California has a personal property tax on all boats berthed in the state, including non-residents, so if you're really trying to cheap out don't stay there for long. If you're cruising and have paid the boat off make sure you ducument the vessel with the Coast Guard rather then register it with the state.
R
Ric Shultz
R
Ray Bowles
WOW. Thank you, your help will make a major
impact on our ability to buy and fit out a safe and comfortable boat. Simply put, we would be giving our home state 1 foot out of every 10 feet of our boat length. I doubt that they would pull 10% of the nightime watches. Phil responded to one of our earlier posts about putting together all the parts required to make this journey. He asked if we would post our progress and and pitfalls. Your help on just this question alone allows us to consider items such as inflatable lifejackets with safety harnesses built in vs. earlier style bulky jackets and add on harnesses. With the spare change left over, good cold water survival suits are possible, or even one of the new advanced EPIRB's....Darn! That would be one of those services I wish not to use. I guess it bites both ways. I'll gladly pay the taxes on the EPIRB. Again, Thank You. Ray & Maria. S/V Speedy
impact on our ability to buy and fit out a safe and comfortable boat. Simply put, we would be giving our home state 1 foot out of every 10 feet of our boat length. I doubt that they would pull 10% of the nightime watches. Phil responded to one of our earlier posts about putting together all the parts required to make this journey. He asked if we would post our progress and and pitfalls. Your help on just this question alone allows us to consider items such as inflatable lifejackets with safety harnesses built in vs. earlier style bulky jackets and add on harnesses. With the spare change left over, good cold water survival suits are possible, or even one of the new advanced EPIRB's....Darn! That would be one of those services I wish not to use. I guess it bites both ways. I'll gladly pay the taxes on the EPIRB. Again, Thank You. Ray & Maria. S/V Speedy
J
Jack Tyler
Don't think just 'tax'...
Ray & Maria: Were I in your shoes, here are the questions I would want to answer before I began boat-shopping: 1. Where will I find the best collection of used boats for sale *at the most competitive prices*? I'm not familiar with WA and OR but can assure you the answer is not CA nor the Gulf Coast nor the Annapolis area, for one reason or the other. If you're looking for the best mix of inventory and price, I'd consider the S Florida area tho' there may be other comparable choices. OTOH if I wanted the best preserved, newest-looking used boat, I'd shop in the Great Lakes. 2. Where can I most easily work on a boat for a 6-month period (which will of course grow to 9 or 12...trust me!) *and* subsequently depart from on my sked vs. Mother Nature's sked, without weather hassles when working or seatrialing. To me, CA aside, that says the Gulf Coast around to perhaps NC. Protected waterways for shakedown trials, relatively benign weather most of the time, and a U.S. infrastructure for all the mfgrs. and vendors you'll want to reach. 3. How do I want to begin my cruise and BTW, what do I want to see around or in the U.S.? To leave from WA, OR or Northern CA is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced, and is potentially a lousy way to begin experiencing cruising, IMO. OTOH some of the best cruising we've found so far is along the Atlantic Seaboard behind the barrier islands and on the historically rich, varied and beautiful Chesapeake. These areas can dish up a mixed bag of weather but distances are of your choosing, there are tons of protected anchorages, and unequaled sights to see everywhere. 4. Oh year, and also how much tax will I pay? (See how it shrinks in consideration?) It's a very personal decision but, again, were I asking the questions, I'd probably choose shopping for a boat in FL, getting it out of the state within 90 days (tax free) and then working on it in NC e.g., where the tax bite is relatively small. I'd also spend serious time with the local tax collectors in the states where I would be shopping and then working on the boat. I'd get the rules in writing and not ignore them, if only because I wouldn't want a surprising, costly hassle to spoil all the fun I'd be having. Jack
Ray & Maria: Were I in your shoes, here are the questions I would want to answer before I began boat-shopping: 1. Where will I find the best collection of used boats for sale *at the most competitive prices*? I'm not familiar with WA and OR but can assure you the answer is not CA nor the Gulf Coast nor the Annapolis area, for one reason or the other. If you're looking for the best mix of inventory and price, I'd consider the S Florida area tho' there may be other comparable choices. OTOH if I wanted the best preserved, newest-looking used boat, I'd shop in the Great Lakes. 2. Where can I most easily work on a boat for a 6-month period (which will of course grow to 9 or 12...trust me!) *and* subsequently depart from on my sked vs. Mother Nature's sked, without weather hassles when working or seatrialing. To me, CA aside, that says the Gulf Coast around to perhaps NC. Protected waterways for shakedown trials, relatively benign weather most of the time, and a U.S. infrastructure for all the mfgrs. and vendors you'll want to reach. 3. How do I want to begin my cruise and BTW, what do I want to see around or in the U.S.? To leave from WA, OR or Northern CA is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced, and is potentially a lousy way to begin experiencing cruising, IMO. OTOH some of the best cruising we've found so far is along the Atlantic Seaboard behind the barrier islands and on the historically rich, varied and beautiful Chesapeake. These areas can dish up a mixed bag of weather but distances are of your choosing, there are tons of protected anchorages, and unequaled sights to see everywhere. 4. Oh year, and also how much tax will I pay? (See how it shrinks in consideration?) It's a very personal decision but, again, were I asking the questions, I'd probably choose shopping for a boat in FL, getting it out of the state within 90 days (tax free) and then working on it in NC e.g., where the tax bite is relatively small. I'd also spend serious time with the local tax collectors in the states where I would be shopping and then working on the boat. I'd get the rules in writing and not ignore them, if only because I wouldn't want a surprising, costly hassle to spoil all the fun I'd be having. Jack
- Status
- Not open for further replies.