Do you need to pay any taxes if you buy a boat in Canada and bring to US?

[waterant]

Hi guys,

I posted my Canadian boat for sale and getting a lot more inquiries from US buyers. Do you know if the buyer have to pay any taxes to bring the boat across the border from Canada to US?
What documents the tracker will need to show on the border? Just the bill of sale?
And do you know how do I transfer ownership to a US buyer?

Thank you,

Ant

P.S. if anybody interested, it's Bayfield 32 - great shallow draft blue water cruiser completely reconditioned to a first class yacht.
Specs and photos at http://www.my-boat-for-sale.com

[F4d3d]

Beautiful boat! I'm sure you'll sell her in a hurry.

[JimsCAL]

Buyer will have to pay taxes in the state where the boat is kept and registered. Not sure about any import duty or the particular papers needed at the border crossing. Do you have a title for the boat? If so, follow the requirements for title transfer.

[Faster]

A member here - djodenda - has recently done just that; bought in Vancouver and imported to near Seattle.. perhaps send him a PM with your question.

[waterant]

Thank you for your reply. I guess state taxes will have to be paid regardless of the origin. Even if you bring a boat from PA to NY, you'll have to pay NY tax when you register the boat. Is that correct?

Originally Posted by JimsCAL

Do you have a title for the boat? If so, follow the requirements for title transfer.

I have a license transferred in my name by Canadian department of transportation. I guess I'll just ask them.

I mostly wonder about taxes to be paid on crossing the border. Someone told me there will be none because of the Nafta and boat origin (Made in Canada). Just want to confirm if this is correct to avoid any surprises for the buyer.

[waterant]

Originally Posted by Faster

A member here - djodenda - has recently done just that; bought in Vancouver and imported to near Seattle.. perhaps send him a PM with your question.

Great, thanks. I'll do that.

[djodenda]

Ant:

Yes, Faster is correct. I just imported a boat from Vancouver to the U.S.

It was surprisingly easy, especially since Faster drove me from the train station to the boat. Maybe he will do the same for you.

I will post a quick reply now and more later...


1) Because of NAFTA, as long as the boat is of U.S. or Canadian origin, there are no taxes or duties for importing the boat.

2) You do not need a customs broker, if you are bringing the boat across yourself.

3) The whole process cost me about an hour and around $30.

4) I was pretty anxious about it, but it was easy.

5) The most difficult part of the whole transaction was the conversion of funds from U.S. to Canada. It seems that everyone wants to take 2%, and they aren't exactly upfront about this. Part of the problem was that I was transferring money from my credit union, instead of a bank.

I used a Canadian escrow company and they converted funds without the surcharge. That more than covered their escrow fees.



I will dig up the documents I had, and repost later today.

David

[Faster]

Thanks for chiming in, David

btw Kyrie looks great!! (are you a still a two-boat owner??)

Oh.. Waterant - if you are in the Vancouver area and I can help let me know.

[blt2ski]

David,

Is the BIG kyrie on the E dock yet? or does the brother still have it out? I'm going to clean out my boat a bit today, thought I might try to check yours out a bit more than glancing at it as I took off for PL, and home soaking wet!

Marty

[waterant]

Thanks, David. This this a good news.

The only difference will be if the buyer will not be with the boat at the time of the border crossing but, I guess, the tracking company might be able to use their customs broker to clear it. Should not cost more than $70-100. I'll check with them.

Faster, thank you for help on this. I'm in Toronto and most of inquiries I'm getting are from FL and NC so might be too expensive for the buyer to drive with the boat.