Documenting a boat vs Registration with the state
 

Has anybody documented there boat instead of registering it with the state and did the state come back and say you still need to register it and pay the sales tax ? I am being told by the state of Michigan i still have to register it and pay the sales tax. I called there1-800 number , anonymously of course.This is a bunch of crap, I understand the state wants there sales tax , but to pay them every 3 years for there sticker is bull. Has anybody just documented there boat and just said screw the what ever state there in ?

I don't know how your state works, but in Indiana, you document the boat and register with the state. You regester with the state for the annual watercraft sticker, not for the title. we pay no sales tax on a documented boat. The sticker fee is the same wether titled or documented.

Why would this be a "bunch of crap"? Why would you even think for a moment that you would be exempted from the laws and tax rules that everyone else plays by? Coast Guard documentation is for proof-of-ownership only. You're still a MI resident, using it in Michigan. You've got to pay the same as every other Michigan boater if you want to use it on their waters.

If you tell Michigan to f- off, they'll send you a bill for taxes, interest and fines. They can also impound your boat if you operate it without proper registration. You can try a dodge like Delaware incorporation, but if Watercraft sees you regularly on the water or finds it docked/stored in a marina or they find it at your private storage, you're on the hook. The states all got smart on this. They have maximum numbers of use-days for boats registered elsewhere.

In virginia you are to either be documented, or registered - not BOTH.

I am documented. They will still catch up to you eventually on the taxes. I thought I would get away with it forever, but they snagged me a couple months ago.

P.S. - if you search on here there are literally hundreds of threads like this pretty much all with the same tone. "I am going to avoid the following tax implications by documenting". Hell, I was hoping for the same thing - as everyone is. It won't happen though. If you are lucky, you MIGHT be able to avoid the sales tax if you don't have to register with the state. But I guarantee they will catch you on PP taxes.

USCG Documentation does not exempt you from paying salestax. If you only USCG Doc the boat and you get caught, back taxes and penalties will apply.

in most states including michigan you need to be registered with the state even if you are documented. you do not place registration numbers on the boat, but you do need to have a current state registration sticker, along with the proper coast gaurd documentation numbers posted and proper hailing port and name of vessel.

you can register your boat in any state that you choose you do not need to be a resident of that state, but you do need to follow the rules of that state as far as number of days the boat is used there in order to be legal.

I believe falsely registering a boat in a state which you are not a resident is a crime. Your state of residency is the one in which you file your Federal taxes from. You can incorporate in another state and pay those sales taxes and registrations but that can be alot of hassle. Some states (I believe NJ is one) require local registration if you keep the boat there more than the prescribed number of days. If you incorporate the boat in another state and house it in another, you'll most likely have to register as a foreign corporation operating in that state. Alot of hassle unless you'rer talking about a yacht

In Illinois and Missouri, you still have to register the boat even if it is CG documented. In Illinois, you will pay the full sales tax. In Missouri, you pay an "in lieu" tax which is a fixed amount based on the purchase price of the boat. For example, on boats with a purchase price between $0 - $50,000 the tax is $1,000, $50,001 - $100,000 is $1,500, etc. Don't try to play the game of registering in a state with no or reduced sales tax if your state requires full sales tax. Your state will want the difference between what you paid in that state and what you should have paid in your state when they catch up to you. Bottom line, register the boat in the state you will operate it in and pay whatever tax is owed.

Yup, found this out the hard way... When we bought our boat, we were told since it was previously documented, it would be in our best interest to just document it again. Since the state was not involved there would be no sales tax due.

Guess what, two years later, the state of Maine requested a list of all Coast Guard documented boats listing Maine as the home Port of Call. We recieved a letter stating either send proof of sales tax paid or send tax and penalties immediately.

As for state reg and Documentation, in our state, documented only, no need for state reg.

Kurt

Missouri just changed their laws to where you cannot register or renew an existing registration without proof of property ownership within the state. Too many people where registering their boats there to take advantage of their "in lieu" tax and then avoiding the personal property tax that you owe on boats, cars, etc. Up until this year you could register without being a resident and without any type of incorporation. Like you said, states are getting smart and closing the loopholes. Not worth the hassel to try to avoid a few bucks.

Louisiana was the only state with the "loophole" where if you documented your boat you did not have to register it, hence, no sales tax. However, just last week they passed a new law that all boats must be registered with the Louisiana Department Wildlife and Fisheries, even if they were already documented.

Oh yeah, I was also told that the "Delaware Corp." is going away also.

If you are documented in VA you do NOT have to register.

Off the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries Website

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/boating.../procedure.asp



Documented Vessels
Vessels documented by the U.S. Coast Guard cannot be titled in Virginia. Though there is no requirement that documented vessels be registered, owners may register them if desired. The registration decals may be useful if traveling to another state that requires display of registration decals. Contact the Department for an application or use the application provided at this site and prominently write "Documented Vessel" at the top.

I assume that your vessel exceeds 5 tons?

In missouri the sales tax is about 1/2 when you document the boat. That means you have a boat name and a home port on the back. You still have to pay the state for the little square sticker every couple of yrs. But all in all you save money on the documentation over the state numbers.

No schit? Hadn't heard that. Gonna suck for a lot of people I know.

[QUOTE=seafordguy;2696908]If you are documented in VA you do NOT have to register.

Off the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries Website

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/boating.../procedure.asp


Here's where I ran into trouble when I bought my Powerplay. A little off-subject, but when I bought the boat it came from Georgia. Just like Virginia here, the DNR handles registration of PWC and watercraft and only issue's registration. In Michigan, where I reside, this is handled by the DMV (SOS). Two problems arose here. 1. The Michigan SOS does not recognise a registration issued by the DNR as a valid proof of ownership & 2. If the watercraft meets the criteria in the State of Michigan to be a titled watercraft, then you must have a title in hand to transfer. It took a few months, but we got it all figured out.

I remember when my friend bought his boat from LOTO. I remember the guy he bough it from had to pay taxes then, instead of when he bought it 3 years previous. When we brought the boat back to Michigan, he didn't mess around. Just paid the State sales tax and paid the standard registration fee's.

if you boat and your boat is mainly located in a state that you do not reside in as far as i know you had better have that boat registered in that state. i may be wrong but that is my understanding.

also hailing port as i know is anywhere you want it to be, as long as it is a u.s city, you dont have to have that be your home port.

The key word was "falsely". Registering as an individual in a state you don't reside in for the purposes of avoiding taxes is a no no.

Yes- hailing port can me anywhere in the U.S.

You will get hassled by the marine patrol with no sticker.

Just go to the Motor vehicle office in the most busted up ghetto neighborhood, and tell them you already have title, just need the sticker. Show them the coast guard documentation paperwork as proof.

Worked great for me, the worst neighborhoods have the incompetants as employees.

got it, thanks for the clairification. i have had 3 boats documented one that i do not use on my home waters and still get very confused with it. i guess just like the rest of my life.

I think the territories, too.

Colorado is a beautiful state to boat in if you decide to register it is cheap & they send you everything you need to your home in Michigan.
Good luck with your "temporary relocation".

If you do the majority of your boating in a state other than your home state you can register the boat in that state & be perfectly legal. Kansas folks do it all the time. Mostly in Oklahoma or Missouri where you can actually use your boat. If you store your boat in your home state you should register it there, but that is a grey area too.
My boat is Documented with the CG & I have it registered in MO per the MO laws & I lived in Kansas at the time & now live in Texas. My trailer is registered & titled in Texas & the boat in Missouri.

Same for SC, according to the DNR boaters registration department.