US Boat Purchase/Resale

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alant

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If you bought a boat on the West Coast US, say Seattle etc, sailed it down & through the Panama Canal, Caribbean & up the East Coast US & resold, how much of your purchase cost could you recover.

Would there be a resale market?

What boat would you buy for this purpose?

PS How about the opposite route as an alternative?
 
If you go to Panama, you will find all sort of boats for sale at give away price....

Couple buy boat and sail south of SoCal, have a few waves, SWMBO barfs, they sell boat in Panama. Flooded market in Panama.

SAd but true:D
 
alant said:
If you bought a boat on the West Coast US, say Seattle etc, sailed it down & through the Panama Canal, Caribbean & up the East Coast US & resold, how much of your purchase cost could you recover.

Would there be a resale market?

What boat would you buy for this purpose?

PS How about the opposite route as an alternative?
Click to expand...

USA boats are more expensive in both the Pacific North West and the North East. Cheaper boats are usually found in Florida because 80% of the boats that are for sale are there. Be aware that if you buy a boat as a Brit it cannot be USA documented and if you un-document it and register it as British it then it cannot be re-sold in the USA without 'importing' it and paying import duty. I think you can un-document it and State register it (and fly a US flag) however but others I'm sure can advise better. You sometimes see boats for sale that 'cannot be sold to a US Citizen', these being boats put up for sale in the USA by non US citizens. Also note that all US used boat prices will be subject to State Sales Tax, the amount depends on the State (Florida is 6%, capped at max $18,000), Virginia is 6% (capped at max $2,000). If you buy in one State and move to another you get liable to a 'Use Tax' in the new State, same as Sales Tax different name, if you are there more than a certain period which varies from 90 days to 180 days. Usually if you have paid Sales Tax in one State you will only be charged the difference if the new State has a higher rate. It is not easy to avoid! We paid Sales Tax on our boat in Florida so can pretty well go anywhere else without extra charge, but if we had bought in Virginia and later moved to Florida we would have had to pay the difference in the two amounts. On a new (new or used boat) purchase you are usually given 30 days to escape if you are taking it to another State, sometimes extendable with a fee charged,, as long as you can prove it will be registered and tax paid there. The tax is paid by the broker BTW and many will ask you to pay it upfront and refund it only when you have left the State and can prove it with a copy of a marina or fuel bill etc.
 
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Robin said:
USA boats are more expensive in both the Pacific North West and the North East. Cheaper boats are usually found in Florida because 80% of the boats that are for sale are there. Be aware that if you buy a boat as a Brit it cannot be USA documented and if you un-document it and register it as British it then it cannot be re-sold in the USA without 'importing' it and paying import duty. I think you can un-document it and State register it (and fly a US flag) however but others I'm sure can advise better. You sometimes see boats for sale that 'cannot be sold to a US Citizen', these being boats put up for sale in the USA by non US citizens. Also note that all US used boat prices will be subject to State Sales Tax, the amount depends on the State (Florida is 6%, capped at max $18,000), Virginia is 6% (capped at max $2,000). If you buy in one State and move to another you get liable to a 'Use Tax' in the new State, same as Sales Tax different name, if you are there more than a certain period which varies from 90 days to 180 days. Usually if you have paid Sales Tax in one State you will only be charged the difference if the new State has a higher rate. It is not easy to avoid! We paid Sales Tax on our boat in Florida so can pretty well go anywhere else without extra charge, but if we had bought in Virginia and later moved to Florida we would have had to pay the difference in the two amounts. On a new (new or used boat) purchase you are usually given 30 days to escape if you are taking it to another State, sometimes extendable with a fee charged,, as long as you can prove it will be registered and tax paid there. The tax is paid by the broker BTW and many will ask you to pay it upfront and refund it only when you have left the State and can prove it with a copy of a marina or fuel bill etc.
Click to expand...

Very detailed, thanks.

Is the State tax based upon the purchase price or 'value'?

How does the 90 days work if non-US & your voyage takes 90 days +?
Is a 90 day visa just 90 in the whole US, or can you move state-state?

Also, is any "use" tax only charged if you land in any state, rather than transit their waters?
 
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The sales tax is based on the sale price.
Your visa is valid US-wide and is good for 6 months in any 12.
I believe that you would only pay the sales tax difference if you move your permanent address to the new state. Transit would not trigger this.
We have numerous out of state boats in "our" marina which stay for months each winter season and then go back to their home states. I doubt that they pay additional sales tax. Anyway, who would check?
I think it's a non issue.

p.s. I think it's the same situation as with a car. In Florida and Georgia, for example, where we have lived, you have 30 days from setting up residence to register it and pay any sales tax due, plus a reg fee (and get a new licence). If you are visiting, even for an extended period, you do not have to do this.
 
alant said:
Very detailed, thanks.

Is the State tax based upon the purchase price or 'value'?

How does the 90 days work if non-US & your voyage takes 90 days +?
Is a 90 day visa just 90 in the whole US, or can you move state-state?

Also, is any "use" tax only charged if you land in any state, rather than transit their waters?
Click to expand...

Sales Tax is on the total purchase price paid.

If you mean a 90 day visa as in from US Immigration for a non-US citizen, that is for anywhere in the USA, just don't overstay it as there are vacancies at Guantanemo Bay I believe...

You are deemed to be 'resident' and liable for the State 'Use Tax' if your boat stays in the State longer than their allowed period, which with Florida for non-Florida registered boats is 180 days. If you leave and don't come back for some time, like maybe another 180 days then you can return again FOC for another 180 days as a visiting craft without being liable. This is designed to stop people registering a boat in places like Delaware and Washington State (IIRC the States with no Sales Taxes) and then keeping them in Florida or wherever else. If you buy a boat, even a used one on which Sales Tax has been paid, you still have to pay it again on whatever you paid for the boat. In FL you are allowed 30 days to leave if you are going to register elsewhere (as we were originally), extendable to 90 days with a $48 fee and once more for a $480 fee by another 90 days to a maximum altogether of 180 days.

'Use Tax' is only due if you stay long enough in a State to be considered resident there, usually more than 180 days but I think Georgia and Maryland say 90 days.

In our case the only way we could comply and take our boat bought in FL to VA as planned would have been to return again from the UK and move the boat whilst then having a deadline of a return flight to work to. The boat would first need to be kitted out with all the living stuff like bedding, pots, pans, cutlery etc, not to mention tools, charts and stuff and lets say that would take a few days of the allotted time. Then there are the one way rental costs of cars to the start point and back from the end point to the airport, plus the need in VA to winterise the boat before leaving it since we may not get back for good until say March. Add to that an 800 mile delivery in hurricane season (quite doable because the weather is usually fine but might lose more time holed up for bad weather than allowed) plus for our timescale the flights and car rentals etc would have been in the UK school hols so more pricey. In the event it was as cheap to just pay the FL sales tax and avoid the hassle so we did! Having paid it we then decided why move in a hurry when we want to cruise FL and the Bahamas anyway, so why go away and come back later, why not do it first? Then we re-looked at the pros and cons of VA versus FL from first principles and realise one big pro (the Sales Tax amount) has now been taken away and FL has other good points of it's own like nice warm winters, no State Income Tax, no Property Tax on boats, plus plus plus. Did I mention Baywatch on the beach?:) Downside is it is costing us an extra $800 pa for 'named storm insurance' if we remain there south of 32N from 1st June through to 1st November, plus FL marinas are more expensive than VA ones albeit cheaper than UK ones. We are going to stay in FL for at least a year then may cruise north after that but we will remain FL residents with an FL address and can come and go as we wish. We will now have no problem with other State's Sales Taxes simply because none are higher than already paid and therefore no extra is due and we cannot be hit for the substitute 'Use Tax' because we are still Florida registered and still officially Florida resident! Our local taxes are due to Florida (but then they don't have any....:)). This also saves us messing with repeated changes to car registrations and Drivers Licenses as we move around.

Tax is very taxing on the brain is it not!
 
ArthurWood said:
The sales tax is based on the sale price.
Your visa is valid US-wide and is good for 6 months in any 12.
I believe that you would only pay the sales tax difference if you move your permanent address to the new state. Transit would not trigger this.
We have numerous out of state boats in "our" marina which stay for months each winter season and then go back to their home states. I doubt that they pay additional sales tax. Anyway, who would check?
I think it's a non issue.

p.s. I think it's the same situation as with a car. In Florida and Georgia, for example, where we have lived, you have 30 days from setting up residence to register it and pay any sales tax due, plus a reg fee (and get a new licence). If you are visiting, even for an extended period, you do not have to do this.
Click to expand...

I was warned that most States including FL are very strict these days and are checking. Of course a US documented boat displaying a home port of say New York could still be State registered n Florida As I understand it, Documented boats do not have to display the State Reg numbers so not obvious to a first glance? Our new boat is Documented (US flag via SWMBO) and is also Florida registered, but has no FL numbers stuck on because of that US Documentation. Oddly the dinghy which is not documented (too small to qualify) but also has to be FL registered DOES have to have FL numbers stuck everywhere unlike the big boat.

Lots of boats do the north south shuffle but are complying with the Sales/Use Tax rules anyway, that would have been us had we gone to VA as per plan A.

Are you a Brit in FL Arthur? I'm just applying for the Resident Immigrant Visa as I qualify since SWMBO is American, what a nightmare of beaurocracy! I will have a degree in small print by the time I get there!
 
Lived in the Caribbean for a number of years. It was common to hear of good boats being virtually given away i.n Panama

If I was looking for a bargain and did not mind a pickup at either canal entrance, I would do a Yachtworld.com search with "Panama". Could show some results...

Not easy getting a survey done though

GL
 
Lived in the Caribbean for a number of years. It was common to hear of good boats being virtually given away i.n Panama

If I was looking for a bargain and did not mind a pickup at either canal entrance, I would do a Yachtworld.com search with "Panama". Could show some results...

Not easy getting a survey done though

GL

http://www.apolloduck.com/regions.phtml?rid=pa
 
Monique said:
Lived in the Caribbean for a number of years. It was common to hear of good boats being virtually given away i.n Panama

If I was looking for a bargain and did not mind a pickup at either canal entrance, I would do a Yachtworld.com search with "Panama". Could show some results...

Not easy getting a survey done though

GL
Click to expand...

Looked for boats for sale in Panama, but no 'cheap' ones found.
Possible it was picking up Panama, Florida by mistake.
 
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