Boat Registration Issues
 

I have a new boat that was purchased this year.

It was purchased in NY, I live in Canada and the boat is used in NY/PA and Canada.

The closest dealers are in NY.

Malibu has told me that if the boat is registered in Canada I will have no warrenty. I did not consider this an issue since the closest dealers are in NY state anyways. I was planning on registering in PA (state of use not residence). Sales tax will be paid in Canada when brought over the boarder.

The issue is that PA requires the boat to have been purchased 6 months prior in order to be exhempt from paying sales tax there. NY wants sales tax if it is registered there since it was purchased in NY. Canada wants sales tax as soon as it is brought over the boarder.

Normally I would register it in Canada and that registration is fine for use in the US. But due to warrenty issues, I need to have it registered in the US (PA).

Does anyone have any suggestions how to get the boat registered and not have to pay tax on it twice. I have no issue paying the tax as I have to with anything I purchase in the states when I briong it over the boarder.

Thanks

Tell Malibu to stand by their boat and not screw you on a technicality.

I knew the warrenty could be an issue when I purchased the boat, but thought I would have been ok since I could register in PA. I didnt know about the 6 month rule. Trust me, I will post my whole story about Malibu/Axis which I am sure will open a few eyes if Malibu dosent step up. Poeple cant beleive I still purchased one after what happened.

Pay the sales tax, easy as that. You bought it in the US, you are going to use it in the US, pay for the taxes in the US.

I was waiting for that insightful reply.

The issue isnt wanting to pay the sales tax, hell I wish I could pay your low 6-8% sales tax vs our 13% sales tax but it will be used in both places.

If it wasnt for the warrenty issue I would register in canada, pay the taxes here (like I have already) and use it legally in the US and the US wouldnt want any taxes. The issue is the warrenty not allowing me to register it in my own country.

I can use a Canadian registered boat in the US and not have to pay tax with no issues. The boat will be used 5 days in the US and 20 in Canada.

I just dont want to have to pay the sales tax twice, once is fine and I have paid the 5 grand on a 40k boat, just dont want to pay another $2500.

was just chatting with a friend and he say's there is an Axis dealer in Montreal, I would think...but I don't know, really don't have a boat in this fight but still....interesting

It seems really unusual for PA to charge sales tax for an out of state registration. You should be able to show proof of sales tax paid in Canada with the purchase in New York, PA doesn't have any claim to sales tax - they can't make you pay it twice (if it were 2 US states and you happened to pay sales tax twice on the same purchase you would be entitled to a refund on your state taxes in your state of residence.

Another thought is talking with the dealership about how they could help. If you special ordered you may be able to convince the dealership to back date the purchase to the time of ordering, might get you closer to 6 months. You did just drop a big amount of change on them, the least they could do is try to help you out with this...

If rationale doesn't work with the govt beaurocrats, you can always risk it and keep your head down and run for the summer without registration (better make sure you are in compliance with all other laws at all times). I'm sure you will be way ahead even if you get dinged 3 or 4 times for no registration (not sure what the penalty is in PA)...

The warranty issue is common to all vehicles. I have talked to quite a few people who thought about purchasing cars, ATVs, and snowmobiles from either Canada or the US when living in the other. It is always the same, no manufacturer warranty once it goes across the border. The 2 vehicles could be exactly the same or there could be some weird little resistor or some other thing different between the 2 that we as the consumer would never know. Purchase agreements and warranties are based upon the laws of the country they originate in...

Good luck with whatever you work out, and don't forget to enjoy the boat! Let's see some pics!

Yes Matt, but as I understand with cars, you can still register them in Canada but can still take them back for Warranty to the US should any be required.

PA only wants their sales tax (even if paid elsewhere) if the boat is 6 months or newer. The dealer cant sell out of territory till after March 31, 2012 so I had him date the receipt for the date of delivery. I may have to see if he can do that.

The fines as I understand will be between $40 and $75 so I will chance it and see how often I get caught.

A followup question is, how would Malibu know if the boat was registered in Canada?

Thanks

Hull ID number would be my guess. I'm sure they can run that and find out where it's registered.

OK, wasnt sure if Malibu had access to government databases.

I would think they could access info via a HIN. I mean hell you can jump on carfax with a VIN and get a lot of info. It could be something as simple as them asking you for a copy of your registration in order to complete any warranty repairs since you were told it needed to be registered in the states. Not something I'd want to risk with the price of boat repairs. Say your engine goes out. You are going to wish you'd just paid the taxes.

I still think you need to talk to PA some more. Registration and sales tax are mutually exclusive. Registration is for the right to uses boat in that state! Sales tax is state tax collected based upon a p,urchase transaction. Say for example you lived in NY, purchased a boat and paid tax in NY (without ever registering it in NY) Then 3 months later you move to PA and want to register it. You think PA will try to collect sales tax again? Nope! You would just need Tom provide proof of tax paid.

The only thing I can think of is if PA or any other state doesn't recognize your GST as a sales tax and if that were the case NY should have charged you sales tax probably...

By the way, I don't know your lake, But of it were me and I couldn't get it figured out I'd run it without registration until the 6 months passed and risk it (not to mention if you bring the paperwork out with you you might find a sympathetic warden or 2.

I run on a river 80% of the time and have never come across the police. The other 20% is spent between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. We do see the police there often but have never been stopped (but the previous boat had always been registered).

If Malibu didn't have access to boat registrations, I would just pull the numbers and tell them it was never registered but I suspect they may have access.

I had been in contact with Malibu but when I sent a 2nd email to their response they didn't reply which is typical for past queries I have had. I wish I didn't like the boat so much but my experiences with the higher up people in Malibu has been nothing short of horrendous.

I might approach Indmar and see what their position is and at least hope they step up and then at least the engine would be under warranty.

How do you plan on bringing the boat across the border initially? I imagine there would be some pretty hefty fines/possibly impounding of your boat by the Canadian border guards if they found you were trying to import it illegally.

At a crossing. Tax has been paid on the boat in Canada at 13%. I just havent registered it in Canada. Its only in the process of being titled. I want to register it in the US so that I can keep the warrenty.

The issue I am facing is that the US states (PA) want me to pay more tax on it again since it is under 6 months old.

Are there any other states in the area that do not charge sales tax on a used boat purchase? I bought my boat in CA, but registered in AZ as a non resident, no sales tax on a used boat. Maybe if one of the neighboring has something similar, you can get away with that, then re register down the line. Paying the registration fee twice will certainly be less than the sales tax

Get a boat dealers license.