When you buy and register a boat in Arizona, what's the state sales tax rate, and do they charge a yearly "luxury tax", like California does?

No.

If you buy a boat from a dealer then they charge the applicable sales tax for wherever city that deal is located. I think in Tempe and most of the Phoenix area it is in the low 8% range. There is no luxury tax that I am aware of and you simply register your boat with the AZ Dept. of Fish and Game every year and the cost is based uopn the length of your boat. I bought my boat used off a guy in CA and did not pay any sales tax when registering the boat. I personally did a private sale due to the fact that I did not want to pay sales tax even though I found a really nice Supra 22 SSV at a local dealer here that would have been a great boat. <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/watercraft_registration.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/watercraft_registration.shtml</a>

You should check in the <a href="http://www.hotboat.com/forums" target="_blank">www.hotboat.com/forums</a> under the Sandbar section for more information on registering your boat here in AZ if that is what you are wondering about. There a tons and tons of guys on that forum who live in CA and register ouf of AZ, most have a Havasu address for a friend or business that they can send mail to. I also think an actual business will do this for you in Havi.

5.4% for used for out of state people, so if you buy used from an AZ resident you will not pay sales tax, but if you buy from an AZ dealer you will, and no luxury tax in AZ. My boat from KS and reg'd in AZ, I bought from a dealer so I had to pay AZ the sales tax to reg. That year AZ tripled the boat reg fees for out of state people. Hope this helps you. Now pull the trigger! Oh and you need to reg your trailer in CA. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by slipknot on July 18, 2007)

I have a house in Havasu. If I buy a boat in AZ, I was thinking of registering both the boat and trailer using that address.

You are all set. No issues. You gonna go the SANTE rout?

I don't know what I'm going to buy. I'll be shopping for the best deal, to be honest.

Slipknot, so if i live in TX and buy a boat from a private party in AZ I do not pay sales tax in AZ but i do pay sales tax in TX? correct? <BR> <BR>(Message edited by biz on July 18, 2007)

I dont know about TX. Only AZ. Sorry.

TR, you will pay your tax on the boat in Texas, when you register it in Texas

I just bought a new boat in Vegas. I live in CA and have a double wide in Meadview AZ I had to send a check for 5.6% (tax rate in Meadview) of the purchase price and paper work provided by dealer to AZ dept of revenue. They sent me a receipt which I then have to take down to AZ dept of Fish and Game to register it and get my numbers. Lastly I have togo down to the AZ Motor Vehicle Division to register the trailer. <BR>Saved me a few thousand doing it in AZ over Ca + annual registration is cheap.

So is this how AZ has the most registered boats in the nation? <BR> <BR>Anyone have any data on that rumor? People bring it up from time to time, but never have the data to back it up.

<a href="http://phoenix.about.com/od/lakes/l/blboats.htm" target="_blank">http://phoenix.about.com/od/lakes/l/blboats.htm</a>

Nice find Ryan. I had a feeling FL and the midwest would rank up there. <BR> <BR>How did the widespread misconception form? weird.

I live in CA and my boat is registered in AZ. AZ has 2 types of registration, resident and non-resident. I am the later. If you boat 51% of the time on AZ waters then you can get a AZ reg. I boat in the Havasu area the most. When I boat my boat in November I registered it in AZ. In CA they charge a unsecured property tax on boats. Each county is different but it ends up being about 1.1% of the sale of the boat. It would cost me $600+ a year in unsecured property tax (can't write it off)and continues every year for about 5-8 years, and $13 to register the boat. So I register in AZ for $259. In 5 years I will re-register my boat in CA when my boat no longer has a value in the states eyes. In the long run it ends up being a huge savings. If you have property in AZ then you can register it as a resident and only pay $66 a year. AZ does not have an unsecured property tax like CA.

Yeah, I'm kind of peeved since I just received my unsecured property tax bill in the mail yesterday. $589 bucks for the privilege of having a boat in Cali. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/angry.gif" border=0>

Wow, I thought mine was bad at $498.....

What sales tax or registration tax would I have to pay if I bought a boat from CA but live in TX ?

craig, once you title in Texas you will pay 6.25% of the sales price to register first year, then it will be a standard fee subsequent years. I would advise not lying to TPW on the sales price, they have a local GW dedicated to investigating boat value, and the violation is a felony.