Taxation

lslavick

Member
Apr 8, 2018
71
Pickwick Lake
Boat Info
2003 460 Sundancer
Engines
Cummins 480CE
I live in Tennessee, buying a boat from a private seller out of state and going to moore it at a marina in Mississippi. Is the mooring state where I consider my taxation? From my research Mississippi does not tax boats purchased out of state from a private seller. Are there any property tax implications to consider? The boat will be USCG documented. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Generally the state you live in (if there is sales tax) will tax the boat reguardless of the state you purchased it, basically via the county tax your zip code is in. If it needs to be registered then they gotcha! Bring your bill of sale with you to the DMV and a check!
 
I lived in Virginia and bought a boat in Virginia. I paid Virginia sales tax on the purchase. I immediately moved the boat to South Carolina where it stayed full time while I lived in Virginia. I registered it in SC and paid annual SC personal property tax on it. Check your state laws, but generally the state where the boat is kept for more than 50 percent of its time is where you are required to register it and pay any annual state taxes on it. I know in SC the county tax folks walk around the marinas regularly to determine if a boat is there 50 per cent of the time.
 
ZZ, is that 50% a written law or is it what they tell you. In NC they try to tell us the same thing, but the written law as I understand it, is, where is the the boat Jan 01 of the year?
 
Not an answer to your question, but in NY, they want the tax no matter what...

Not a boat, but a few years ago my mother traded in her Motorhome in FL for an upgrade. The dealer registered it in FL for a short term (I Think it was 90 days or so) and when she came back to NY, The DMV wanted the 8% sales tax (our combined state/county rate) to register it. Unfortunately, she had to pay that in cash, as it was not something financed with the purchase.

When I purchased my 1994 200OVOB last year from a private individual and went to register the boat, NYS DMV wanted 8% of NADA because I paid the private seller roughly half the bluebook and they were not a relative, so no exemption for below value purchase.
 
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Not an answer to your question, but in NY, they want the tax no matter what...


When I purchased my 1994 200OVOB last year from a private individual and went to register the boat, NYS DMV wanted 8% of NADA because I paid the private seller roughly half the bluebook and they was not a relative, so no exemption for below value purchase.
The reason they don't take a buyer's word for what they paid for the boat from a private seller (even with a receipt) is collusion between the two could get the seller to report a much lower sales price so the buyer could save some sales tax. I thing the majority of states work this way.

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The DMV wanted the 8% sales tax (our combined state/county rate) to register it. Unfortunately, she had to pay that in cash, as it was not something financed with the purchase." That was smart. Why would you want to pay interest for many years on the sales tax?
 
I live in Tennessee, buying a boat from a private seller out of state and going to moore it at a marina in Mississippi. Is the mooring state where I consider my taxation? From my research Mississippi does not tax boats purchased out of state from a private seller. Are there any property tax implications to consider? The boat will be USCG documented. Any help would be appreciated.

Title it in Missippi if that is where you are mooring it and it is more favorable tax wise !!! TN. doesn't need to know a thing about it... You have 2 different residences.
 
The reason they don't take a buyer's word for what they paid for the boat from a private seller (even with a receipt) is collusion between the two could get the seller to report a much lower sales price so the buyer could save some sales tax. I thing the majority of states work this way.
Quite true. At my request, the owner and I both completed the DMV forms DTF-802 as well as the DMV downloaded receipt of sale form. Part of the DTF-802 asks if the purchase is below fair market value, and the seller must fill out an affidavit section to that effect and why. Seems pointless to take the time to do that instead of just getting a hand written receipt and signed registration card when they ignore the affidavit. After my costs to date for repairs to a 23 year old boat I'm fairly close to 72% of the NADA they used, while also paying the sales tax on those repairs and parts. Taxed for the potential value, taxed for costs to get it to that value.

"
The DMV wanted the 8% sales tax (our combined state/county rate) to register it. Unfortunately, she had to pay that in cash, as it was not something financed with the purchase." That was smart. Why would you want to pay interest for many years on the sales tax?
Understand what you are saying, merely meant she was not anticipating a $4000 registration/sales tax cost to bring a registered vehicle in from one state to another. Neither she, nor I have made a transaction that had previously dealt with bringing a DMV item from a lesser taxed state to NY.
 
I can shed light on this. Yes, the mooring state in your situation is the Tax state. And I don’t believe MS has tax if you are buying it from MS. I live in TN, bought a boat in MS. Kept it at Grand Harbor. I am like 99% sure I did not pay taxes on the boat because I did not bring it into MS or move it out of MS. After a year or so, I moved the boat TN. Had to pay tax on a depreciated amount in TN when I registered it. They wanted the bill of sale, but I argued it was two years old at that point. Paid a lower tax amount as a result. Call pickwick yacht brokers and talk to Davis or Rodney. They will help you out.
 

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