I have shamelessly pilfered the thread of messages below from the "Great Loop" list. If you will take long enough to read through this somewhat lengthy text, you can find a neat, LEGAL way TO AVOID PAYING ANY FLORIDA USE TAX ON YOUR BOAT, EVEN IF YOU ARE IN FLORIDIAN WATERS LONGER THAN 90 DAYS!!!! DO NOTE in the discussions below that the "Sojourners Pass" is designed ONLY for NON FLORIDA RESIDENTS! If this describes you, READ ON!!!

I've been reading all the emails referencing the tax issue in Florida. The bottom line is if you are going to stay in Florida longer than 90 days, and I believe [that] is the trigger point of possible taxation and not being an attorney my suggestion is simple. We went to the tax office in the county in which we were staying, this was Tampa St. Pete area and obtained a sojourner's pass. The cost for our boat, which is 44' in length, and I am not sure if that was a basis of tax or not, was around $75.00. I then put the decal on the boat and was not bothered and we left there within five months to start the loop last year.
I do hope that this will help a lot of Loopers.
Bob Levine Sandpiper

Bob
We will be in FL for over 90 days starting a week ago. So I was surprised when I asked Hillary, the office staff of Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville, about the Florida extended cruiser permit, and she had never heard of it, and had never passed on their transient customer list to any taxing entity. I definitely want to be in compliance, but I'm having trouble locating a good resource to follow through. I will try to find a phone number of the county tax office. Anybody on the east coast of Florida who has dealt with the "sojourner's pass"?
Dave

Cruising permit, aka Sojourner Pass, I obtained one 7 months after I purchased the Bay Pelican in 1999. Since my residence was Illinois I paid no sales tax on the transaction and was going to be in Florida for a year. Paying sales tax on a Krogen was not a pleasant thought. Before the boat entered Florida I called the county department in charge of sales tax or boating registration for the Fort Walton area and after faxing them an application and a copy of my Illinois registration they issued the cruising permit over the phone. My suggestion is to call your local county and ask who issues these.
Marty Campanella
Bay Pelican KK42

Dave,
The Sojourner's Permit is issued at any Florida State Motor Vehicle Agency office; however, you may find that rather few of the employees in these agencies know of it, so you may have to be persistent with your representative. In Florida, a boat is just another vehicle, as is an airplane, and all vehicles can be registered – and tax paid – at Motor Vehicle offices anywhere in the state. Call the office you choose to visit first, as we also discovered that Florida DMV offices do not always provide all services M-F during regular office hours. Some have windows open late on weekdays and on Saturdays, and are closed on selected weekdays to manage their 40 hr workweek (or 36, or whatever). Just call ahead to be sure they'll be able to serve you on the day you go in.
The Sojourner's Permit is specifically for non-residents of Florida. If you are a Florida resident but keep the boat in another state, technically, it's not for you. That said though, I do know of at least one case where the permit was issued to a Florida resident in Tarpon Springs a month ago. In that case, the permit was issued in November and carried a March expiration date, more than 90 days. So, it's also a crap shoot.. Florida is an interesting place. The liveaboard law and regulations are equally interesting, but I digress..
Hope this is helpful.
Good luck.
Peg and Jim Healy
aboard Sanctuary,
currently at Punta Gorda, FL

A client just forwarded this email to me and I would like to add my 2 cents if it might help spare some trouble down the road for someone not specifically informed on the details. Firstly, I suggest calling Charles Martin at the Florida Department of Revenue: (850) 487-6757 (or a Fl. maritime attorney) for specific and accurate information or advice.
My understanding is that the Sojourner's Permit is for a boat owner, non-Florida resident, who has his boat registered in another state. That boat can then come to Florida, buy a Sojourner's Permit at DMV, and spend either 90 continuous days in the State of Florida or up to 183 days in a 12 month period. So for example, a boat that has a NY registration can come to Fl., purchase a Sojourner's Permit and stay here for 89 days and then go to Bahamas or another state, and then return for another 89 days and then can come back for an additional 5 days; or the vessel may stay for 90 continuous days but not return within the 12 month period. NOTE: this is related to the USE tax and is not at all applicable to the SALES tax on a vessel purchased in the State of Florida. The purchase of a boat in Fl. by a non-resident has 3 exemptions that allow the boat to remain in the state for particular time periods, the most common being the 90 day exemption.
Hope this helps.
Judy Waldman
Yacht Broker
JW Yachts

I have shamelessly pilfered the thread of messages below from the "Great Loop" list. If you will take long enough to read through this somewhat lengthy text, you can find a neat, LEGAL way TO AVOID PAYING ANY FLORIDA USE TAX ON YOUR BOAT, EVEN IF YOU ARE IN FLORIDIAN WATERS LONGER THAN 90 DAYS!!!! DO NOTE in the discussions below that the "Sojourners Pass" is designed ONLY for NON FLORIDA RESIDENTS! If this describes you, READ ON!!!

I've been reading all the emails referencing the tax issue in Florida. The bottom line is if you are going to stay in Florida longer than 90 days, and I believe [that] is the trigger point of possible taxation and not being an attorney my suggestion is simple. We went to the tax office in the county in which we were staying, this was Tampa St. Pete area and obtained a sojourner's pass. The cost for our boat, which is 44' in length, and I am not sure if that was a basis of tax or not, was around $75.00. I then put the decal on the boat and was not bothered and we left there within five months to start the loop last year.
I do hope that this will help a lot of Loopers.
Bob Levine Sandpiper

Bob
We will be in FL for over 90 days starting a week ago. So I was surprised when I asked Hillary, the office staff of Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville, about the Florida extended cruiser permit, and she had never heard of it, and had never passed on their transient customer list to any taxing entity. I definitely want to be in compliance, but I'm having trouble locating a good resource to follow through. I will try to find a phone number of the county tax office. Anybody on the east coast of Florida who has dealt with the "sojourner's pass"?
Dave

Cruising permit, aka Sojourner Pass, I obtained one 7 months after I purchased the Bay Pelican in 1999. Since my residence was Illinois I paid no sales tax on the transaction and was going to be in Florida for a year. Paying sales tax on a Krogen was not a pleasant thought. Before the boat entered Florida I called the county department in charge of sales tax or boating registration for the Fort Walton area and after faxing them an application and a copy of my Illinois registration they issued the cruising permit over the phone. My suggestion is to call your local county and ask who issues these.
Marty Campanella
Bay Pelican KK42

Dave,
The Sojourner's Permit is issued at any Florida State Motor Vehicle Agency office; however, you may find that rather few of the employees in these agencies know of it, so you may have to be persistent with your representative. In Florida, a boat is just another vehicle, as is an airplane, and all vehicles can be registered – and tax paid – at Motor Vehicle offices anywhere in the state. Call the office you choose to visit first, as we also discovered that Florida DMV offices do not always provide all services M-F during regular office hours. Some have windows open late on weekdays and on Saturdays, and are closed on selected weekdays to manage their 40 hr workweek (or 36, or whatever). Just call ahead to be sure they'll be able to serve you on the day you go in.
The Sojourner's Permit is specifically for non-residents of Florida. If you are a Florida resident but keep the boat in another state, technically, it's not for you. That said though, I do know of at least one case where the permit was issued to a Florida resident in Tarpon Springs a month ago. In that case, the permit was issued in November and carried a March expiration date, more than 90 days. So, it's also a crap shoot.. Florida is an interesting place. The liveaboard law and regulations are equally interesting, but I digress..
Hope this is helpful.
Good luck.
Peg and Jim Healy
aboard Sanctuary,
currently at Punta Gorda, FL

A client just forwarded this email to me and I would like to add my 2 cents if it might help spare some trouble down the road for someone not specifically informed on the details. Firstly, I suggest calling Charles Martin at the Florida Department of Revenue: (850) 487-6757 (or a Fl. maritime attorney) for specific and accurate information or advice.
My understanding is that the Sojourner's Permit is for a boat owner, non-Florida resident, who has his boat registered in another state. That boat can then come to Florida, buy a Sojourner's Permit at DMV, and spend either 90 continuous days in the State of Florida or up to 183 days in a 12 month period. So for example, a boat that has a NY registration can come to Fl., purchase a Sojourner's Permit and stay here for 89 days and then go to Bahamas or another state, and then return for another 89 days and then can come back for an additional 5 days; or the vessel may stay for 90 continuous days but not return within the 12 month period. NOTE: this is related to the USE tax and is not at all applicable to the SALES tax on a vessel purchased in the State of Florida. The purchase of a boat in Fl. by a non-resident has 3 exemptions that allow the boat to remain in the state for particular time periods, the most common being the 90 day exemption.
Hope this helps.
Judy Waldman
Yacht Broker
JW Yachts