Sales tax in florida

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Mar 26, 2013
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I am looking at a used boat in Florida and the broker said that there is a 6% sales tax on the sale if I stay in Florida but the state rarely checks on older boat sales and that I shouldn't worry about paying the tax and just document it coast guard
Any thoughts or advice would be helpful?
 
Dude. Don't do that, you gotta pay sales tax. You also have to register your boat in FL even if it is documented with the USCG. Sorry.
 
Your broker is right. They have bigger fish to fry in FL. Never had a problem with mine, knock wood.
 
I think you should go on a well known internet site and ask if it's OK to commit tax fraud. The government doesn't read any of our private internet posts or emails.

Tax fraud is no big deal, hardly any penalty's or prison time involved.

The states nowadays are rolling in cash and really don't need or care about a few million in lost sales taxes, ask any store owner.
 
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I think you should go on a well known internet site and ask if it's OK to commit tax fraud. The government doesn't read any of our private internet posts or emails.

Tax fraud is no big deal, hardly any penalty's or prison time involved.

+1 Get a real broker
 
Dougcole is correct. If the boat lives in Florida it must be registered in Florida and display a registration sticker. To register the boat you have to prove you've paid the sales tax. It doesn't matter if the boat is documented or not.
Find a real broker.
 
?...but the state rarely checks on older boat sales and that I shouldn't worry about paying the tax and just document it coast guard?

I received the same advice when I purchased an airplane in Florida many years ago. The PO's were right...for the first year. When I received my letter from the state a year later the penalties and interest were significant. Deal with professionals.
 
You won't be able to register in Florida without paying the sales tax. Without registration and the receipt of the window sticker you will be a foreign boat in Florida and will be caught sooner or later. Florida has employees checking marinas and bridge traffic for foreign boats.
 
I am looking at a used boat in Florida and the broker said that there is a 6% sales tax on the sale if I stay in Florida but the state rarely checks on older boat sales and that I shouldn't worry about paying the tax and just document it coast guard
Any thoughts or advice would be helpful?

Are you a Florida resident?
 
Unless you are a Florida resident, you may be able to move the boat out of state for a few months and register it in RI for example where there is no sales tax on boats. Then if you return to FL, you would need a permit to keerp the boat there for an extended period. Not sure of the details.
 
Sales tax is what FL residents pay on the purchase of the boat.

The sticker and payment is required for boats from FL or elsewhere to use FL (float on) waters.

Passing thru is no hassle but being in FL for over XXX days requires the use tax regardless of State or US title.

Best deal is if the boat is over 30 years old , the use tax is very minor after a bit of ANTIQUE VESSEL paperwork, for a FL boat..
 
If you intend to keep the boat in Florida then tax is due.
If you purchase a boat from a seller direct without a broker or dealer then tax is due. If you are a non resident and purchase through a broker for $20 you can stay for 90 days with no tax due and for $425 you can stay for 180 days.
If you have a boat registered in RI or another no or low tax state and you bring the boat to Florida before you have owned the boat for six months then tax is due.
Florida is specific on the INTENTION of the owner. If you buy a boat here and intend to use it here tax is due.
 
I've been through this 24 months ago. Adding to Yachtbrokerguy's advice: Firstly, he is correct on the average cost but beware that some brokers are charging hugely inflated prices for the stickers. The 1st 90 and 2nd 90 day stickers (total 180 days) can "only" be purchased through the selling broker. If you buy the 90 day and want to stay longer, you must purchase the 2nd 90 day day sticker within 30 days of expiry of the 1st 90 day. The idea/intent is to give you time to prepare the boat for leaving Florida.... fair enough. Note however that Florida is anal & ruthless in enforcing the 90 and 180 day limit, they will not extend it for any reason including if your boat is unsafe for travel. Neither will they cut you any slack if you fail to purchase the 2nd 90 day sticker within the allotted time. In our case we arranged to buy both stickers from our broker but the broker missed the deadline for purchasing the 2nd 90 day sticker by approx 48 hours and despite pleading to the tax authorities by ourselves and the broker, they refused to issue it and demanded we be out of Florida by the 90th day.... or pay the tax. Since our vessel was not in a safe condition to leave yet, we had no choice and had to cough up many thousands of dollars that we had not budgeted for. We will now be faced with double tax when we finally bring it home to Canada. That said, we are now in no hurry and can legally leave our boat in Florida until the cows come home if we so choose.

Note, unknown to us at the time, there is some very small wiggle room with these stickers if you have a knowledgeable/creative broker. Unfortunately ours wasn't.

Incidentally, had we been in a position to simply go to another nearby state when the bureaucrats pulled the plug on us, Florida would have lost three to four times the value of the tax in local repairs, marina fees, supplies, fuel, etc, etc.

Also, I would like to make it clear I do not begrudge Florida the tax, if you want to enjoy keeping your boat there, it is only fair that boaters pay to help cover the costs of the great infrastructure they have in place for all of us to enjoy. I only resent the layer upon layer of vague, poorly thought out County/State/Federal regulations and their ruthless administration of these rules by bureaucrats who often put their own personal spin on them. This forum is a perfect example of how many boaters find these rules confusing, contradictory and complicated.
 
If you intend to keep the boat in Florida then tax is due.
If you purchase a boat from a seller direct without a broker or dealer then tax is due. If you are a non resident and purchase through a broker for $20 you can stay for 90 days with no tax due and for $425 you can stay for 180 days.
If you have a boat registered in RI or another no or low tax state and you bring the boat to Florida before you have owned the boat for six months then tax is due.
Florida is specific on the INTENTION of the owner. If you buy a boat here and intend to use it here tax is due.

Correct, Tucker. I have purchased two boats this way.
 
Hmmmmm .......wonder where he could find a better broker. I wonder.:confused:;)
 
If you intend to keep the boat in Florida then tax is due.
If you purchase a boat from a seller direct without a broker or dealer then tax is due. If you are a non resident and purchase through a broker for $20 you can stay for 90 days with no tax due and for $425 you can stay for 180 days.
If you have a boat registered in RI or another no or low tax state and you bring the boat to Florida before you have owned the boat for six months then tax is due.
Florida is specific on the INTENTION of the owner. If you buy a boat here and intend to use it here tax is due.

Makes sense to me.
 
You will have to pay the tax somewhere. Might as well be in Fl. where you are and the tax rate is relatively low.
We bought our boat in Fl. and had the 90 day green sticker for $20. We thought we might settle in Ms. again so we didn't pay the Fl. sales tax. half-way across the Gulf, we decided that we would go back to Kemah, Tx.
We registered in Tx. and a few weeks later we received a letter from Fl. It was to inform us that they sent a letter to Ms. letting them know we didn'y pay Fl. Tax. We then had to call Ms. and explain to them what happened. They informed us that they were looking for us via US mail. All we had to do was to send Ms. a copy of the Tx. registration and sales tax we paid in Tx.

I say go for it. beat the tax man. Maybe you will get lucky and get away with it. Then when you go to sell the boat, oh well, you figure that one out.
 
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I see boats, usually 60'+ very shiny sport fisherman, registered in Roadtown, which I assume is in Jamaica. I may be wrong but I don't think the owners are Jamaican, or the boats have ever even been to Jamaica.
 
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