albion wrote: ... I only paid tax on $17,000 for the boat, motor and trailer the way I got the invoice written up.
This point about taxation receives very little discussion,
but depending on the procedures in your locality, it can be significant.
My Mac dealer wrote my Bill of Sale the same way ... boat plus trailer was registered with the State at about $18,000, back then. That became the basis for my personal property taxes. The same Mac dealer installed my outboard and a lot of "options" a week later ... the options and the Suzuki outboard never appeared in the official records. Boat US insured the whole package at $30,000, Agreed Hull Value.
NOTE: This thread created from a series of posts that went "off-topic" during a Suzuki-70 discussion thread.
Last edited by Frank C on Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
albion wrote: ... I only paid tax on $17,000 for the boat, motor and trailer the way I got the invoice written up.
This point about taxation receives very little discussion,
but depending on the procedures in your locality, it can be significant.
My Mac dealer wrote my Bill of Sale the same way ... boat plus trailer was registered with the State at about $18,000, back then. That became the basis for my personal property taxes. The same Mac dealer installed my outboard and a lot of "options" a week later ... the options and the Suzuki outboard never appeared in the official records. Boat US insured the whole package at $30,000, Agreed Hull Value.
FRANK, I,M GLAD YOU AGREE WITH ME.THATS WHAT I AM TRYING TO TELL THESE SAILORS. ALTHOUGH I SUSPECT EACH STATES TAX SYSTEM IS DIFFERENT. I KNOW IT SAVED ME QUITE A FEW $$$. ITS GOOD TO GET ONE OVER ON THE I.R.S .... I HOPE THEY AINT LISTENING. TO THIS.[/quote]
Dimitri-2000X-Tampa wrote:3. My insurance company was not going to insure my boat for more than I paid for it as this is considered its "natural value" as a used boat. I guess I don't understand how you can get an insurance company to insure a boat for 30K when the bill of sale was for 18K? Regarding engines and trailers, they seem to insure those for very little...and outboards lose their value pretty rapidly.
You need a different insurance company.
Boat US offers a premium policy (IIRC it's called Yachtsman's Policy, maybe for new boats only?) in which they insure Agreed Hull Value (their term). It's like getting a full replacement policy on your home fire insurance. As for the bill of sale, I have several to show them ... the boat/trailer, the dealer options, and the outboard/installation.
Yeah, I've also got agreed value on my vintage cars... fortunately never had to use it, but the rates are pretty good... I think the 3 cars together cost me only around $250/year.
I'm pretty sure I've seen other folks post this too but it seems BOAT US does not offer very good rates in Florida. I think when I got a quote from them, it was about 80% higher than what I ended up getting...yet in other parts of the country, they offer very low rates. Discrimination I tell ya...
Maybe this is the time to discuss how much we are paying to insure our MACs. I checked out a few companies and for me, Progressive was the best deal. $230 to cover the boat for $28000.
When I purchased my 2007 Mac, I first called Boat US since they had been insuring my bowrider for almost 10 years. I don't remember the exact number, but they wanted something around $2K per year. I then called Progressive and received the same coverage for $458. I live in central Florida, and the agreed value of my boat is shown as $35,000. This coverage is good up to 75 nm offshore.
I have either $26 or $28k (can't remember the exact amount) insured through BoatUS that costs me about $300 for year. The exact same coverage through Progressive was over $700.
Back when I set up my Boat US agreed upon value it had nothing to do with purchase price. You just tell them how much you want to cover the boat and all the stuff you have in it, and that's what you pay for. Mine is $25,000 agreed value for the 26x I bought used for $19,000 but have added many things to. It costs $170 a year. Covers the boat year round in US and Canadian waters.
Up here in Washington there is no legal requirement to carry insurance on a boat. Now if you have a boat loan it will be a different story as the lender will require insurance.
Try Seahorse. Insured mine for $35k (price paid for boat, engine & options, incl tax but before all the mods.) Paying around $350/year and the motor coverage is great, full replacement value with no depreciation the first 5 years. Downhilll after that. The only limitation is you can't go more than 15 miles off the coast.. not a problem so far, but may need to change when I take the Farallon Islands trip... probably an extra $35-$50/yr.
Chances are that if you have your boat in a slip at a marina they will require insurance coverage. Check your contract. Many of them will even spell out the minimum coverage required.
