Sam's is your source for Hatteras and Cabo Yacht parts.

Enter a part description OR part number to search the Hatteras/Cabo parts catalog:

Email Sam's or call 1-800-678-9230 to order parts.

Florida Sales Tax

  • Thread starter Thread starter Freestyle
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 69
  • Views Views 26,797
No state income tax But if your in bussiness you pay Tangibal property tax. Every year I have to pay the state a tax based on the value of our equitment and machinery. It includes everthing office chairs signs copy machines not just major equiptment everything. Which in my case comes out to about 12K per year. Now remember I paid the sales tax when I bought it the 12K is just for the privilage of owning it.


Brian
 
Brian, TN is the same way in that we have no state income tax but I pay personal property tax on all my business assets.

The topic of documentation came up today as we're dealing with inpsected vessels in class. I guess now I can see how the state of Florida would be able to get info when a resident documents a vessel which was purchased in another state as their state of residency would show up as the home port regardless of where the vessel was purchased.

That being said, I still don't know how they could have any knowledge of a boat purchase out of state that was simply registered in that state. I'm guessing it's just a matter of picking the lesser of evils in this particular situation.
 
Is a "home port" different than a "hailing port"? [Hey, that's a serious question - I really don't know. :D ]

I do know that the hailing port for USCG documentation purposes can be any city/state or terrigory of the USA, not necessarily where you live. Mine is St. Thomas, USVI - I was hoping to save a paint job on the stern. :) Then, the economy tanked and I'm still here.
 
"I guess now I can see how the state of Florida would be able to get info when a resident documents a vessel which was purchased in another state as their state of residency would show up as the home port regardless of where the vessel was purchased."

state of residency has nothing to do with "home port"... you can basically pick any hailing port you want when you file the USCG paperwork. ever seen boats with Atlanta GA or Denver CO as a hailing port?
 
Angela said:
Is a "home port" different than a "hailing port"? [Hey, that's a serious question - I really don't know. :D ]

I do know that the hailing port for USCG documentation purposes can be any city/state or terrigory of the USA, not necessarily where you live. Mine is St. Thomas, USVI - I was hoping to save a paint job on the stern. :) Then, the economy tanked and I'm still here.
Click to expand...


same thing, the correct wording used in USCG paperwork is Hailing Port
 
Pascal said:
"I guess now I can see how the state of Florida would be able to get info when a resident documents a vessel which was purchased in another state as their state of residency would show up as the home port regardless of where the vessel was purchased."

state of residency has nothing to do with "home port"... you can basically pick any hailing port you want when you file the USCG paperwork. ever seen boats with Atlanta GA or Denver CO as a hailing port?
Click to expand...
You're wrong about this one Pascal. Residency has EVERYTHING to do with home port as the home port is listed as the office closest to the owner's home. Granted, the home port most likely won't be the same city or even state, but it is determined by the residency of the owner. The owner can choose any hailing port they want.
 
I've got my documentation in front of me. It has "Hailing Port". There is no "Home Port" listed. And yes, you can choose any US city/state or US territory for your hailing port on USCG documentation.
 
What office???
 
The only office I know of for vessel documentation is in Falling Waters, West Virginia.
 
Why would some one from CA mind taxes, the people they elect are allways trying to raise them. With some sucess I might add.

Myself, I'd be happy to take the CA star off of the flag and push the state out so sea.

JM
 
I think the Bird may have found the Goose.

I cannot find anywhere at the NVDC where "home port" is even in their vocabulary. And there is but ONE "office" in the country - in West Virginia. It must be a Tennessee thing! :)

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvdc/default.asp

Bird, if you know of something that overrides the regulations of the NVDC as it relates to documentation and the boat's designated city/state, please share.
 
When you document a vessel the address of the owner is part of the record. That's how they send you renewals.
 
Boatsb said:
When you document a vessel the address of the owner is part of the record. That's how they send you renewals.
Click to expand...


this is why i brought this up in my first post... if a Florida resident document a boat under their name and address, regardless of Hailing Port, FLDOR will come after them to collect.

"Residency has EVERYTHING to do with home port as the home port is listed as the office closest to the owner's home. Granted, the home port most likely won't be the same city or even state, but it is determined by the residency of the owner."

this statement makes no sense whatsoever and just makes it hard for anyone to understand how it works. I believe randy stated in another thread that he never had documented a boat, so maybe that's why he is not familiar with how it works.
 
I can tell you with certainty that if your a FL resident or Corp and you document a boat showing your address as a FL address the state will contact you regardless of what hailing port you selected.

Gongradulations on the purchase of your boat we hope it brings you many years of enjoyment. Now where's our money?

FL is diffrent that many states. In NY a documented boat was not required to be registered and no one from the state ever asked for sales tax. Technicaly is was due but they didn't go after it.


Brian
 
Documentation may indeed havelimited value if you don't travel outside the US and indeed even the Bahamas accept a regular registration

Documentation is cheap and doesn't cost anything to renew.

The point wasn't missed, the original post stated that the buyer wasn't going to bring the boat to florida so at that point it s critical that their address dowsnt appear on the documentation

if a boat doesn't stay in the state where it is purchased, if it is not brought in the owner state of residence and as long as you follow the rules of the states it visits, it is pretty easy to avoid paying sales tax, legally.
 
Craig said:
It seems everyone is missing a point here. Even if your vessel is documented, if you live in Florida, a Florida registration is required if the boat is in Florida. If they monitor your activities and find the boat never leaves Florida, they may get you. As for documentation, if you never plan to leave US waters, it's a waste of money. If a vessel is documented it gives certain abilities to recover a stolen vessel located in a foreign country. Aside from the banks requiring it, that's about all it gives you.

Documenting a boat in a place like Denver, that obviously has no port, is something that I don't quite get.
Click to expand...

Documentation only has an intial cost about $200 if you do it yourself there is no anual fee to stay current. (I hope BO doesn't read this forum he'll change that in a hurry LOL) If you choose not to document you may limit buyers when it comes time to sell becuase some banks will not finance an un documented boat. It can be difficult sometimes not possible to document a used boat that has never been documented or has been taken out of documentation for more than 5 years. I don't see a down side to it.

Brian
 
Two things... I have indeed owned a documented vessel from back in 1984 to be exact, so sorry to disappoint you Pascal. The office I referred to is the CG district office closest to the residence of the owner. That being said, it could be that the listing of the closest office as the home port may only apply to inspected vessels that are documented. I brought this topic up in class today, and the instructor said he would verify this.

Pascal, I'm assuming you took the same test for your master that I'm taking, and it is clearly stated in our study guides that the home port is defined as the port with a documentation office closet to the owner's home. The hailing port is any port designated by the owner. We were told to make note of this as it would be on the test.

I'll later look at my copy of the documentation on my 58 (which I didn't document after I bought it) and see if it lists anything other than the hailing port. I don't have a copy of the documentation on my first boat. Another classmate mentioned he considered changing his hailing port and it was the only one shown on his documentation. He decided against that when the CG said he would have pay some $600 to do that, so it would seem there is some area of confusion here. Again, I'm assuming since the master's class deals only with inspected vessels, that's where the difference comes in.
 
Sounds like your classmate got some misinformation. Change your hailing port and it's only $84. There is no NVDC fee of $600 for anything.
 
Angela said:
Sounds like your classmate got some misinformation. Change your hailing port and it's only $84. There is no NVDC fee of $600 for anything.
Click to expand...


Right, and it all goes to Falling Waters, WV. I just did this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
38,156
Messages
448,741
Members
12,482
Latest member
UnaVida

Latest Posts

Trending content

Back
Top Bottom