Florida Sales and Use Tax on Yacht Purchases: The $18,000 Cap and Other Rules

All boats sold, delivered, used or stored in Florida are subject to Florida's sales and use tax, plus any applicable discretionary sales surtax, unless an exemption applies. Registered Florida boat dealers and brokers collect the tax at the time of sale or delivery.

When you buy from someone who isn't a registered dealer, or you bring a boat into Florida, use tax at 6% (plus any surtax) applies instead. It's generally paid when you register or title the boat with the county tax collector.

Most Florida counties add a local discretionary sales surtax, but it only applies to the first $5,000 of the price of a single item such as a boat. Current county rates are published on the Department's Form DR-15DSS.

The maximum tax on the sale of a boat or vessel in Florida is $18,000, and that cap includes both the state sales or use tax and the discretionary surtax.

In practice, because the state rate is 6%, the cap starts to matter on yachts priced around $300,000 and up (slightly lower once the county surtax on the first $5,000 is included). Above that, the tax doesn't keep climbing with the price.

Florida also caps the tax on a boat repair at $60,000 per repair. Each separate repair has its own cap.

Florida use tax is due on a boat that is used or stored in Florida when:

• it was bought from someone who isn't a registered dealer and the sale or delivery happened in Florida;
• it was bought in another state, U.S. territory or the District of Columbia and brought into Florida within six months of purchase; or
• it was bought in a foreign country and brought into Florida at any time.

If you already paid a like tax to another state, Florida allows a credit for it. The Department's example: buy in a state with a 4% rate and you'd owe the 2% difference, plus any applicable surtax, still subject to the $18,000 maximum.

Trade-ins can reduce the taxable amount when they're part of a single transaction with a registered dealer or broker. Between individuals, the trade must be a boat, motor vehicle, mobile home or aircraft.

A boat sold by or through a registered dealer or broker to a buyer who isn't a Florida resident when taking delivery in Florida can be exempt, as long as the boat leaves the state and the paperwork is filed on time:

• The buyer signs an affidavit for the selling dealer or broker, who files it with the Department within 30 days of sale.
• A boat under 5 net tons must leave Florida within 10 days of purchase, or go straight into a registered repair facility and leave within 20 days after the work is done.
• A boat of 5 net tons or more can get Department decals from the selling dealer or broker that allow her to stay in Florida waters up to 90 days after purchase. A 90-day extension decal set ($425, requested within 60 days of purchase) extends that to a maximum of 180 days.
• After she leaves, the buyer sends proof of departure within 30 days, and proof of registration or documentation outside Florida within 90 days.

This exemption doesn't apply to a Florida resident, to an entity whose controlling person is a Florida resident, or to a corporation with any Florida-resident officers or directors.

An untaxed boat can stay at a registered Florida dock or marina for up to 20 days in a calendar year without owing use tax. Time at a registered repair facility for repairs or modifications pauses that clock. Simple storage at a repair yard does not.

Foreign-flagged vessels and boats holding a valid U.S. Customs cruising license aren't subject to Florida use tax.

If a nonresident buyer claims the exemption but the boat overstays its decal, stays past the 10- or 20-day windows, returns within six months and stays more than 20 days outside a repair facility, or the paperwork isn't filed, the tax becomes due with interest and penalties, including a mandatory penalty equal to the tax. A fraudulent affidavit carries a 200% penalty and possible criminal charges.