Need some help from GA boaters

[njmr2fan]

Need some help from my fellow GA boaters.
In todays mail I received a tax bill for my 3 year old boat... err well more of a tax questionnaire. Its a personal property tax return. They want information on the boat, its current value (I listed Low Retail NADA) and whether it purchased new or used. When I bought my boat from out of state and brought it back to GA I registered the boat with GA DNR, and the trailer with the DMV. I pay registration of the boat to GA DNR, and Registration of the trailer to DMV.

Since the boat sale was a "casual sale" between two private parties with no broker involved, am I required to pay sales tax on the purchase?

 

[Mtschelling]

I’ll let the Georgia residents chime in on the property tax, but I work in indirect tax and can shed some light on your sales tax question.

Generally yes, all states will require sales tax to be paid on a purchase regardless of who the two parties are. This can be done in two ways 1) charged by a dealer/seller registered to collect and remit sales tax in a given state upon sale of the property or 2) collected by the state themselves upon registration, often referred to as use tax. I know in CT if a boat is sold between two private parties you must show proof of sales tax paid to the seller or they will require a use tax at the time of registration (sale price agreed to between parties x tax rate). Pretty sure all states are going to operate in this same way. All states assess a tax on tangible property. If they didn’t raise the issue of sales or use tax when you registered the boat chances are they won’t raise the issue in the future.

 

[MattFX4]

No you don’t have to pay sales tax. What they are inquiring about is personal property tax. Basically they want you to report the value of your boat and you will receive a bill based on the value of the boat. I forgot to send this back and they sent me a tax bill for around $450 on my ‘15 242 ls. This is due every year and will go down some as the Boat loses value. You’re going to pay the tax either way if you ignore the form or send it back. I think I got hit with a failure to file fee. They look up boats value using guides.

 

[MattFX4]

I’m in Cobb county, but it is taxed by the county where the boat sits 51% of the time. I keep my boat in a slip in Bartow county so they are who I pay the tax to

When did you buy the boat? I purchased mine from a seller in South Carolina in March of 2016. I received the form you are talking about in early 2017 and then received bill in Q3 of ‘17. Tax was due in December of 2017.

 

[Scottintexas]

in TX we have to pay a sales tax on vehicle/boat private sales and it's collected at the time of registration.

Yearly Personal property tax, what a scam!

I remember when I was young visiting Ireland and them telling me they had to pay yearly tax on their TV's because they were "luxury" items, I couldn't believe it.

I have a friend from Switzerland, her parents had a little chalet in the mountains since the early 60's, they had to sell it because the gov't imposed a "2nd home" surcharge tax and it was to much for them to afford, they had to sell it.

 

[njmr2fan]

I’m in Cobb county, but it is taxed by the county where the boat sits 51% of the time. I keep my boat in a slip in Bartow county so they are who I pay the tax to

When did you buy the boat? I purchased mine from a seller in South Carolina in March of 2016. I received the form you are talking about in early 2017 and then received bill in Q3 of ‘17. Tax was due in December of 2017.

Bought the boat in NJ and hauled it back and registered it in June of 2015. Paid for the trailer registration twice so far, then got this tax paper in the mail. Apparently GA DNR is located in a different county than where I live so thats what caused the delay in finding me. Oh well, I actaully thought earlier this year that I had won one small battle in the tax war, if it seems to good to be true it usually is.

 

[Rod5]

We’re in Cobb county too and got hit with a $600 something property tax bill on our 242x last year. But now we store it in Bartow county so I’m curriouse to see if Bartow co has a similar property tax when I tell Cobb co it’s no longer in Cobb co...

 

[Rod5]

I’m in Cobb county, but it is taxed by the county where the boat sits 51% of the time. I keep my boat in a slip in Bartow county so they are who I pay the tax to

When did you buy the boat? I purchased mine from a seller in South Carolina in March of 2016. I received the form you are talking about in early 2017 and then received bill in Q3 of ‘17. Tax was due in December of 2017.

Does Bartow county have the same Property tax as Cobb co or are you waiting to see since it sounds like you reciently moved it out of Cobb? I was assuming this was only a Cobb county property tax thing...

 

[Papa]

njmr2fan, I'm in Fayette County. I have lived in 3 different counties and it is the same in all three. I save my questionnaire from each year and devalue each year. I was still paying $100.00 as of last year on a 2005 SX230! It was close to fading out. I went to the tax office and asked how long and she said once it valued under the $100.00 tax it would end. I bought a 2013 242LS in 2017 and will probably pass out when the send the tax bill. It starts when you register the boat with DNR to get your numbers and sticker.
Papa

 

[MattFX4]

Does Bartow county have the same Property tax as Cobb co or are you waiting to see since it sounds like you reciently moved it out of Cobb? I was assuming this was only a Cobb county property tax thing...

I’m not sure if Cobb has same tax rate as Bartow. I’m pretty sure they are all fairly close. Actually I just moved to Marietta/East Cobb from Cherokee county. I have never had the boat in Cobb since we keep it wet slipped at Park Marina. This is actually a Georgia thing, and you pay the tax to whatever county the Boat resides in more than half the year.

 

[MattFX4]

You can deduct this on your income tax return. You could for 2017 anyways. Not sure about new tax law. I need to read up on it.

 

[MattFX4]

Here’s my bill from Bartow if you want to get the tax rates. They valued my 2015 242 at $37,461.

 

[njmr2fan]

Man, I hate taxes....

 

[Rod5]

Awe man what a bummer. I was hoping it was just a Cobb county tax. Thanks all for sharing your perspectives.
Anyone ever tell them you keep it out of State like at the beach inFL or up in TN more than 50% of the time? Wondering what that process is...

 

[MattFX4]

Awe man what a bummer. I was hoping it was just a Cobb county tax. Thanks all for sharing your perspectives.
Anyone ever tell them you keep it out of State like at the beach inFL or up in TN more than 50% of the time? Wondering what that process is...

That may work. Where do you keep your boat? I know the county assessor walks the docks at park marina looking at boats. They put notices on boats who haven’t filed or paid.

 

[MattFX4]

@Rod5 where do keep your boat?

 

[Rod5]

Some times at home in Cobb some times in PCB but 2018 will be mostly in drystack on Allatoona.

 

[njmr2fan]

Fl has a use tax too.