Vessel sales tax in South Carolina, is capped at ($300), and the corresponding use tax is at the same rate. Boats in South Carolina, therefore, are most at risk for the imposition of personal property tax. Liability for South Carolina’s personal property tax arises when a boat is in the state for 60 consecutive days or 90 total days in a calendar year.

Eds. Note: This article appeared in The Law Clerk, a publication of the Maryland State Bar Association, in May, 2005. Its author is Michael J. Jacobs, an attorney from Easton, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and the opinions expressed in this article are his. At Baylaw, LLC, we believe that many of the concerns with the [...]

Thankfully for 2010, there have been very few changes to Maryland’s boat tax provisions.  The overall scheme remains the same: boats purchased in or principally used in Maryland are subject to a one-time tax of 5% of their fair market vale.  There are, of course, myriad exceptions, traps and defenses of which boaters should be [...]

Boaters coming in to Maryland regularly ask us how long can they stay without owing tax under the State Boat Act. The answer to this question is somewhat difficult to give, because there are a lot of factors both future (repairs) and past (location of purchase), that may affect the answer to the question. There [...]

Eds. Note: This article originally appeared in the Waterway Guide as a feature for cruisers. http://www.waterwayguide.com/resources.php.  In my last article, I wrote about Maryland, specifically Maryland’s boat tax, and while Maryland and the Chesapeake are fantastic cruising grounds, I do recognize that there are other states in the union. Since many of you readers and [...]

Boat Tax 2007 Maryland Overview from Waterway Law Eds. Note: This article was published in the online Waterway Guide, December, 2007. It is reproduced with thanks to Dozier’s Waterway Guide and Skipper Bob Publications. Maryland’s winter of discontent (because that’s when the taxman comes) Editor’s note: With controversy roiling over South Carolina’s boat tax policy, [...]

Dirk Schwenk’s note, December, 2009: On April 1, 2005, the Ocean City Dispatch picked up the story on the Kushell v. DNR decision. Boat owners should be aware that the statute was changed after this decision and no longer requires that a boat be purchased with the intent that it be used in Maryland waters.  [...]