USCG Vessel Documentation. Anyone do it?

Bruceflinch

Bruceflinch

Older Swabbie, Younger Boat
GOLD Sponsor
Oct 6, 2023
109
Bay Point, CA
Boat Info
1986 340 Sedan. Twin 340 Mercruiser
Maintenance is harder when you’re old..
Engines
Twin Mercruiser 340 inboards
Looked at a 34 foot express cruiser today. Owner was telling me it was a US Coast Guard documented vessel. Talked about right offs , tax advantages, registration costs, etc.

so does anyone here do it?
 
I have documented all of my past boats including this one. My wife is a CPA and we have zero write offs as a result. You need to put it in a corporation name and actually do something with it. Possibly use it as an office if you have a bis. But that is pushing it. You really need to have captains license and do charters etc. or commercially fish it.

Now there are other benefits but non are tax related.
 
mrsrobinson said:
I do not, see/find no value in it.
Click to expand...
Here in South Carolina you don’t register your boat with the state if it’s documented. So it saves you a few bucks in registration fees and eliminates the ugly stickers and numbers on the side of the boat. But that’s it. Still gotta pay personal property taxes annually.
 
Thank you All
 
Mine is documented. In some states you still have to register it with the state, but not in California if you are documented.

I really appreciate not having to send money to the DMV and put those ugly stickers on the boat.

Regardless of documentation, you may get some write-off benefits since your boat would qualify as a second home.
 
In Michigan you still have to pay registration and display the sticker.
It’s a bit of a cost up front then $25 a year. You have to make sure your boat name and hailing port are always visible on the transom, because that’s what it’s registered to. The only advantage is not having to put the ugly registration numbers on the bow in my opinion. Otherwise no money savings. The bank made me do it.
 
In most states, you still need to register your boat, but it's a tax thing and you get a registration sticker with your documentation number on it, but no state numbers are required.

It used to be only commercial vessels were documented and the boat name was placed where the state numbers were supposed to go.
 
bobeast said:
Mine is documented. In some states you still have to register it with the state, but not in California if you are documented.

I really appreciate not having to send money to the DMV and put those ugly stickers on the boat.

Regardless of documentation, you may get some write-off benefits since your boat would qualify as a second home.
Click to expand...
I am not a tax expert and I can be corrected bellow but you can take the interest portion of your payment of the loan as a deduction regardless of how it is registered. The IRS does require that the boat be the collateral for the loan and the boat has a bed / bathroom and kitchen I believe to qualify as a second home.
 
One of my good friends is a CPA and owns his own accounting company. You're correct, if you have a loan, and you have a bathroom, you can write off the interest, regardless of documentation. He's one of the ones I consulted when I thought about paying cash for the current boat.

A couple on here will say that's not accurate and I'm wrong, I'm just quoting what my good friend told me, I'm not the expert.
 
There are some limits. You can only write off the mortgage interest on a combined total of $750,000 of mortgage. ($1,000,000 if the loans were taken out before 2017). Documentation status makes no difference. If you meet the income requirement to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax, you may lose all or part of the second home deduction.

RV's also qualify as a second home.
 
I agree with @Chris-380. It's worth doing to keep the stupid numbers off the bow. I do still have to keep it registered in Michigan but those stickers can be displayed on the windows.
20230927_130152.jpg
 
Since we're on the subject of vessel documentation, be advised that it is vessel documentation SCAM season. If documented, you will receive all of these offers to renew your documentation from companies that will only charge your $125-$300 dollars. They do all of the work for you. BE AWARE!

The only place to renew your documentation, from my experience, is https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organi...s-DCO-D/National-Vessel-Documentation-Center/

If memory serves, the annual fee is $26. You can now do multi-year.

Pro Tip: If you lose your certificate of documentation, they will replace it for $50. However, you can just chose to renew early for $26.

Jaybeaux
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,350
Messages
1,430,885
Members
61,197
Latest member
Larry Hogg
Back
Top