Buying guide

Buying a yacht in Florida: the $18,000 sales tax cap, the nonresident exemption, and the licensed broker who holds your deposit

Updated October 29, 2026 · Written by the House of Biz & Company Editorial Team · General information, not legal or financial advice

Few purchases announce arrival quite like a yacht chosen on the docks at Fort Lauderdale. The vessel is the pleasure; the paperwork is where the discerning buyer keeps the advantage. Florida caps the tax on a boat at $18,000, exempts qualifying nonresidents who take the yacht away on time, and requires the broker holding your deposit to keep it in trust. Here is how each rule works, where your home state comes in, and what to have in writing before you sign or wire.

We don’t sell, broker, or consign yachts or any other vessel, and we never hold deposits. Only for the Wealthy is a publisher. This is general information drawn from the statutes and agency publications cited below, not legal or tax advice; for a purchase of this size, confirm your own facts with a Florida tax professional, your attorney, and the agencies themselves. We are not affiliated with the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, any builder, dealer, or broker, or any agency named here, and we earn nothing from them.

Why this matters now

This week the 67th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is open, from October 28 through November 1, 2026, at venues including the Broward County Convention Center, Bahia Mar, Pier Sixty-Six and the Superyacht Village, with brokerage yachts of 100 feet and more along the docks; the organizers describe it as the largest in-water boat show in the world [1]. Their own preview promises a 305-foot exploration yacht, a 223-foot Feadship, and likely more than fifty debuts, from a 100-foot hybrid flagship to new sportfishing models [2]. Contracts get signed at shows like this, and deposits change hands.

Florida also has a tax rule that draws buyers from everywhere: the total sales or use tax on a boat sold or used in the state may not exceed $18,000 [3][4]. That cap is real, but it is only one part of the bill. Where the yacht will actually live, who sells it to you, and how you take delivery decide whether you pay Florida, your home state, or both. And in Florida the person holding your deposit is regulated by a specific law. Here is what the primary sources say, so you can negotiate like an owner who has read the fine print.

1. The $18,000 cap: what it covers and how it’s figured

Florida’s statute is short: notwithstanding any other provision of the sales tax chapter, the maximum tax imposed and collected on each sale or use of a boat in the state may not exceed $18,000, and on each repair of a boat may not exceed $60,000 [3]. The Department of Revenue’s guidance adds the details that matter at the closing table:

It includes the county surtax. The $18,000 is the combined total of the 6% state tax and any local discretionary sales surtax, not a state figure with county tax on top [4][8].
The county surtax reaches only the first $5,000. By statute, the sales amount above $5,000 on any single item of tangible personal property is not subject to the surtax [5]. Since July 1, 2024, a boat and its matching road trailer sold together on one invoice count as a single item, and the surtax rate is the one for the county where the buyer resides, as shown on the registration or title documents [5][6].
Trade-ins come off first. The value of a traded vessel is deducted from the price, tax applies to the net, and the $18,000 maximum still applies [4]. Between private individuals, the trade must be a boat, motor vehicle, mobile home, or aircraft, in a single transaction [8].
Leases are capped per payment. The Department’s example: a bareboat lease at $400,000 a month owes no more than $18,000 on each monthly payment [4].
Repairs have their own cap. Each separate repair is capped at $60,000 [3][8].

The Department’s worked example shows the mechanics: on a $1,000,000 boat in a county with a 1% surtax, the surtax is $50 (1% of $5,000), the state tax is limited to $17,950, and the total is $18,000 [4]. A hypothetical illustration on the same published rules (arithmetic, not a quote): 6% of a $2,000,000 yacht would be $120,000; under the cap the Florida tax is $18,000, an effective rate of 0.9%.

2. Where the yacht will live decides whose tax you owe

All boats sold, delivered, used, or stored in Florida are subject to Florida sales and use tax unless exempt, and registered Florida dealers and brokers collect it at the sale [8]. But a buyer from Illinois, or from any other state, should read the home-state rules before celebrating the cap. Illinois taxes the use of watercraft brought into the state, and Illinois does not cap it.

Your plan	Florida	Illinois (for an Illinois resident)
Buy from a Florida dealer or broker and keep the yacht in Florida	6% plus surtax on the first $5,000, capped at $18,000 total [3][4][5]; register in Florida within 30 days, or within 90 days if it is documented or registered in another state [8]	None while the yacht stays outside Illinois; the Illinois returns are tied to bringing it into the state and titling or registering it there [16][17]
Buy from a Florida dealer or broker and take it home to Illinois	Exempt only if you qualify as a nonresident and meet every removal and paperwork deadline (section 3) [3][7]	Form RUT-25 within 30 days of bringing it into Illinois, at the rate for your address: 6.25%, or 7.5% for a Cook County address from Aug. 1, 2026 [16]; a dealer registered with Illinois files Form ST-556 instead [19]
Buy from a private owner (no dealer)	Use tax due if the sale or delivery occurs in Florida [8]; the nonresident exemption applies only to sales by or through a registered dealer [3]	Form RUT-75, 6.25% watercraft use tax on the purchase price, within 30 days of the purchase or of bringing it into Illinois, whichever is later [17][19]

Two Illinois details deserve your attention. First, the credit for tax paid elsewhere is narrow: on Form RUT-25 the state allows credit for tax previously paid to another state or through a retailer only if that tax was properly due and is separately stated on the proof you attach [16]. Second, Illinois will not title or register the boat until you show payment or proof that no tax is due, and the Department of Natural Resources notes that skipping title or registration does not stop the Department of Revenue from imposing the tax [18].

Continue the hypothetical $2,000,000 example (arithmetic on published rates, not tax advice): for a Chicago owner who brings the yacht to Lake Michigan, the RUT-25 figure at 7.5% is $150,000. If $18,000 of Florida tax was properly due and separately stated, the credit could bring the Illinois balance to $132,000; if the Florida tax was avoided through the nonresident exemption, there is nothing to credit [16]. The cap is a genuine advantage for a yacht that stays in Florida waters. It is not a discount on a yacht headed home.

Moving into Illinois is a different case. An individual who was an out-of-state resident and used the item outside Illinois for at least three months may claim an exemption on RUT-25; the exemption does not apply to businesses relocating, or to anyone who used it outside Illinois for less than three months [16].

3. The nonresident exemption: generous, and unforgiving

Florida exempts a boat sold by or through a registered dealer to a buyer who, at the time of delivery, is not a Florida resident, does not make a permanent home in Florida, and does not use the boat in a Florida business. A corporation qualifies only if none of its officers or directors is a Florida resident, and another entity only if no one with management authority is [3]. The registered dealer can be the seller, a broker for the seller, or a broker for the buyer [3]. The conditions, from the statute:

Requirement	Deadline
Remove a boat under 5 net tons (or one without a decal) from Florida	Within 10 days of purchase, or within 20 days after repairs or alterations are completed [3][7]
Remove a qualifying boat of 5 net tons or more that carries Department of Revenue decals affixed by the selling dealer	Within 90 days of purchase; an extension decal, applied for through the dealer within 60 days of purchase, allows 90 more days, never more than 180 in total, and costs $425 [3][7]
Send proof of removal: out-of-state receipts for fuel, dockage, slippage, or similar that clearly identify the boat	Within 30 days after removal [3]
Send written proof the boat was licensed, registered, titled, or documented outside Florida (or proof you applied)	Within 90 days after departure [3]
Dealer sends the invoice, closing statement, bills of sale, and your signed original affidavit	Within 30 days of the sale [3]

The affidavit is a sworn statement that you qualify and will supply the documents; the Department’s suggested format, revised in July 2024, lists the three removal options and asks you to attest to the 30-day and 90-day proofs, identifying the boat by its hull identification number [7].

The consequences are spelled out. If the boat isn’t removed in time, returns to Florida within 6 months of departure (subject to a statutory exception the section cross-references), or the paperwork is late, the buyer owes use tax on the cost price plus a penalty equal to the tax, and the 180-day maximum may not be tolled for any reason [3]. For purchases since July 1, 2010, the Department says the tax due on a failed exemption is still limited to the $18,000 maximum, plus penalties [4]. Removing or altering a decal before the boat leaves for good is treated as a fraudulent act, with a mandatory 200% penalty [3], and the Department warns that a fraudulent affidavit can also bring a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 5 years in prison [8].

Plan the season before you sign. A yacht bought tax-free for removal can’t simply winter in Fort Lauderdale. The Department’s older owner brochure also lists a 20-day allowance for a boat on which Florida tax hasn’t been paid to stay at a registered Florida marina in a calendar year, a pause of that clock while a registered repair facility works on the boat, and an exemption for foreign-flagged vessels holding a U.S. cruising license [8]; ask the Department to confirm how those rules apply to your yacht today.

4. The broker: licensed, bonded, and holding your deposit in trust

Florida’s Yacht and Ship Brokers’ Act defines a yacht as a vessel more than 32 feet long, propelled by sail or machinery, built or operated primarily for pleasure or chartered to others for their pleasure [9]. A broker is anyone who, for compensation, sells, buys, lists, or negotiates yachts for other people [9]. The protections that follow are among the most useful in yachting:

A license is required. No one may act as a broker or salesperson without a Florida license, and a broker may not trade under a fictitious name unless the license is issued in that name [10]. Brokers post a $25,000 surety bond or letter of credit; salespersons, $10,000 [10].
Your money goes into a trust account. A broker must place funds received in a transaction into a trust account at a Florida financial institution with a net worth above $5 million, keep a separate record of it, and hold it until disbursement [11]. An intentional failure is a third-degree felony [11].
You get an itemized closing statement showing the price and every charge and credit [11].
No secret dual agency. The regulator may suspend or revoke a license for acting for both buyer and seller without the knowledge and written consent of both, for commingling a client’s money, for misrepresentation or false warranties, and for violating sales and use tax collection laws [12].

Know where the Act stops. No license is required for an owner selling his or her own yacht, an attorney, a court-appointed seller, a foreclosure, an out-of-state broker who closes entirely through a Florida-licensed broker, or a transaction involving the sale of a new yacht [10]. Many show-floor contracts are new-build or new-boat sales, so the broker trust-account rule may not be what protects that deposit. Ask in writing who holds the money, in what kind of account, and on what terms it comes back.

The bond is a backstop, not insurance for a seven-figure deposit: the surety’s total liability in any one year is capped at the amount of the bond [10]. The licensing regulator is the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation [9][13]. It investigates unlicensed activity, escrow violations, misrepresentation, fraud and dishonest acts, but it says it has no authority over commission or contract disputes [13]. Before you wire a deposit, look up the broker and the salesperson by name in the Department’s online licensee search [14], and confirm the wiring instructions by calling a number you found yourself; our guide to fake escrow and wire fraud explains why.

5. Signing at the show: the three-day rule, and its limits

The FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule covers consumer sales of $130 or more made away from the seller’s permanent place of business, and its definition expressly names facilities rented on a temporary basis, such as convention centers and fairgrounds [15]. Where it applies, the seller must give you a written notice of your right to cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale [15]. But the rule exempts sellers of automobiles, vans, trucks or other motor vehicles sold at temporary places of business when the seller has a permanent place of business; it does not apply to goods bought primarily for business purposes; and it excludes sales that follow prior negotiations at the seller’s permanent retail location [15]. The text doesn’t say how a yacht sold at a marina show is treated, so don’t assume either way. If the contract gives you no written cancellation notice, treat the deposit as committed and negotiate your exits into the agreement itself.

Those exits are the survey and the sea trial. Make acceptance subject to a survey by a surveyor you choose and a sea trial, with a clear deadline and a full return of the deposit if you reject the vessel. For the title side, from the Coast Guard abstract to unrecorded maritime liens, see our guide to buying a pre-owned yacht.

6. Financing: a yacht can count as a second home

For federal income tax, a qualified home for the mortgage-interest deduction includes a boat with sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities, and it can be your main home or the one second home you choose [20]. IRS Publication 936 for 2025 limits the deduction to interest on the first $750,000 of home acquisition debt incurred after December 15, 2017 ($375,000 married filing separately), combined across the main and second home, with a higher limit for older grandfathered debt [20]. The loan must be secured by the yacht. Whether your yacht and your loan qualify is a question for your tax adviser, and if the yacht will be chartered, the rental rules in the same publication come into play [20].

Before you sign or wire: a checklist

Decide where the yacht will be kept for the first six months and beyond, and price the tax both ways: Florida’s capped tax [3][4] and your home state’s use tax [16][17].
If you’re a nonresident, confirm the seller is a registered dealer and get the affidavit, the decals (5 net tons or more), and the deadlines in writing [3][7].
Calendar the removal date, the 30-day proof of removal, the 90-day proof of out-of-state registration or documentation, and the 6-month no-return window [3].
Ask that every tax be separately stated on the bill of sale, so any credit at home can be claimed [16].
Verify the broker’s and salesperson’s Florida licenses by name [10][14].
Get written confirmation that the deposit goes into a Florida trust account, or, for a new yacht, exactly who holds it and on what refund terms [10][11].
If both sides use the same brokerage, insist on the written dual-agency consent [12].
Write the survey, sea trial, and refund deadline into the contract; don’t rely on a three-day cancellation right [15].
Confirm wiring instructions by phone with a number you found yourself, and expect an itemized closing statement [11].

A yacht bought this carefully arrives home with nothing left to chance: the tax settled, the deposit accounted for, the paperwork complete. For paying safely by card or wire, see our guide to paying for a five- or six-figure purchase.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum Florida sales tax on a yacht?

Florida law caps the sales or use tax on each sale or use of a boat in the state at $18,000, and each separate repair at $60,000 [3][8]. The $18,000 includes the 6% state tax and any county surtax [4][8].

Does the county surtax apply to the full price of a boat?

No. The discretionary sales surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of a single item, such as a boat [5].

Can a nonresident buy a yacht in Florida without paying sales tax?

Yes, if the boat is sold by or through a registered dealer to a qualifying nonresident who removes it from Florida on time and files the required affidavit and proofs. A boat under 5 net tons must leave within 10 days; a qualifying boat of 5 net tons or more with dealer-affixed decals may stay up to 90 days, extendable to 180 [3][7].

Does the $18,000 cap help if I keep the yacht in another state?

Not necessarily. Your home state may charge its own use tax when you bring the boat in. Illinois, for example, does not cap watercraft use tax, and credit for tax paid elsewhere is limited [16].