HELP! Brit buying boat to keep in the US

I am a newbie, but I believe you may have to be a US person to own a US-flagged vessel (or aircraft). It may be possible to finesse the ownership through trusts or corporations but you should talk to an expert.

You need to consult a maritime lawyer and an immigration lawyer. Do not take maritime advice from an immigration lawyer.

(AFAIK, many Americans register their yachts offshore anyway.)

You can buy a boat and do state registration, US citizenship is not needed like documentation.
Florida wants to collect sales and use tax on the boat if you intend to keep it here. If you intend to keep it in some other state, and are out of Florida for 180 days, (in a taxing jurisdiction, not Bahamas)you can bring it back here without a tax due.
If you do a foreign flag, you have to deal with the regulations of multible countries and may not be worthwhile.
For more details I can be reached through Yachtforum.

Tucker Fallon

Part of the reasoning of immigration regulations is to preserve jobs for US citizens. As a boat owner (who might spend money in the US) rather than a crew member (who might take a job away from a US citizen), you will be treated differently.
I was captain of a boat about 10 years ago (pre 9/11) owned by a German citizen, tax paid and registered in Florida, US flag. I had to clear US customs leaving the US, like a foreign flag or commercial vessel, and had to clear in the office on return, not just on the phone, but there were no immigration issues as the owner and his family did not work in the US. What will be important to you is the visa to visit, but not working permits.

This is probably a silly question... why can't it be treated like a regular US recreational vessel for customs purposes? Is it because it is foreign-owned?

Thanks.

This is probably a silly question... why can't it be treated like a regular US recreational vessel for customs purposes? Is it because it is foreign-owned?

Government regulations are never silly, they may not make sense, but we have to follow most of them. That boat that I worked on was owned by a Florida corporation, sales tax paid in Florida, Florida registration numbers on the bow. The folks at customs in Port Everglades said we still had to clear customs coming and going, as the corporation was owned by a foreign citizen. This might be debated in a court, but rather than ever having the possibility of problems with an insurance company I thought it was in the best interest of the owner to take the time to go to customs.

Things have changed after 9/11, but Captain Chris is correct, it is the working on yachts that is the issue, as the owner, it is a different story.

It is interesting that with government regulations, as yachts go into the Bahamas, all owners and guests on board a yacht, plus the crew, are listed as "CREW," not passengers.

Tucker Fallon

Chris,
A non-US citizen can own a US corporation. You can elect to have either yourself or a trustee appear on the document. The US corp can own the boat, register and document the boat. Delaware is a good choice as you also avoid sales tax on the boat and the Delaware corp is not subject to US taxes (although you have to file) unless any income is earned in the US, in which case all world-wide income of the corp is subject to US taxes. There is, however, a limit of time a non-FL reg boat can be in FL in any given year (90 or 120 days??) and they can get ugly about this.
NB Confirm all this with your lawyer (oops, solicitor).