T&T: FL Taxes Redux

[Milt Baker]

Her hailing port of Newport, RI, notwithstanding, at last my boat is 
a legal Florida resident!

Larry Brown's post earlier this month about the ease of getting Florida 
registration without paying sales tax got my attention, and today I got 
around to investigating it myself.  But there's a difference between 
Larry's situation and mine: Larry is not a Florida resident and I am.

To make a long story short, I took delivery of the boat outside Florida, 
registered in in Rhode Island (a no-sales-tax state) and have almost 
entirely kept it out of Florida since taking delivery in Sept. 2005.  
With the boat is in the Mediterranean at the present time, I thought 
this would be a good time to ask the hard questions about bringing it 
into Florida; if I didn't like the answers my choice was to take it 
elsewhere.

All my research online and on the phone today led me to the conclusion 
that, as far as Florida tax collectors are concerned, if a Florida 
resident) bought a boat more than six months ago and it's either federally 
documented or registered in another state, it can easily be registered in 
the state of Florida with no sales tax due.  All that's required is 
completing the form noted in Larry's post below (form HSMV 87244) and 
showing up at the office of any Florida country collector of revenue with 
the appropriate paperwork: documentation papers and bill of sale showing 
where the boat was delivered (outside Florida).  Although the wait here 
in Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) was about 45 minutes, the actual 
transaction took only about five minutes and a check for $77.45, and I 
walked out with a red Florida registration sticker and a registration
card.  I'm sure one can accomplish this by mail, as Larry did.

I'll sleep better tonight knowing that I can legally bring my boat to my 
home state without looking over my shoulder to see if the tax man is 
looking for me!

--Milt Baker, Nordhavn 47 Bluewater


Larry wrote:

Not to pull the scab off a newly healed wound but here's some further info 
on the FL tax for documented, out of state vessels. We're preparing for a 
cruise to FL and didn't want to run afoul of their water police. Louisiana 
doesn't require registration of Documented vessels and I've not paid a dime 
in state tax on it. Owned it 5 years. Here's what I did.

I looked up the Escambia County Tax Collectors office on Google and found 
the office of Janet Holley. Called 1.850.438.6500 x 232 and after a 5 minute 
wait, had the pleasure of talking with Julia, the most courteous and helpful 
bureaucrat I've ever encountered. She informed me I needed a temporary FL 
registration and she walked me through it. Essentially FL wants you to prove 
you've owned your boat for over 6 months and bought it outside of FL.

They want a copy of your documentation, your boat length and your birth 
date, some proof that you bought the boat outside of FL , an application and 
a check for the amount. Julia walked me carefully through the process. She 
estimated my "registration fee" would be around $50 through my birthday in 
July. Turned out to be $45, based on my birthday which is 6 months off.

I made a color copy of my documention and got the application form here: 
http://tinyurl.com/yorr7l  I made a copy of my bill of sale ( I got when I 
bought the boat in Texas) and I sent a check for $60 just in case Julia had 
miscalculated the rate. Told them to put any excess in the oofice coffee 
mess.

Ten days later I got my Florida Vessel Registration and a bright red decal 
that says it expires at the end of July this year. Guess I could order 
another then if I wanted. No hassel and QUICK. Bring on the Venice water 
cop.

Regards,

Larry and Teri
M/V Cigano, 47' Prairie Sundeck Cruiser
Lying: Covington, LA
N 30 26.7
W 90 07.1