The Assessor uses various approaches to arrive at the value, including the purchase price of the vessel, improvements or upgrades that have been made to it, and the recent sales of comparable vessels in the open market. A recent, arm's length purchase of a vessel is considered to be a good indicator of its true market value.
Yes, you still need to complete the Vessel Owners' Report (VOR) and return it to the Assessor. Providing information about your boat's condition, usage, and location ensures that it is accurately assessed.
If the boat is registered to you in Tulare County and the registration does not specify that it is docked in another county, then Tulare County will assess it. If your boat is habitually docked in another county, we will cancel the assessment and also notify the county in which your vessel is located of that action.
Liability for vessel property taxes attaches to its owner as of 12:01 a.m. on January 1 each year (the lien date). The bill for the coming tax year is then issued to the owner of record at that time, and that individual is liable for the taxes even if the boat was sold soon after that date. Where the boat was sold just before the lien date (December 30, for example), the new owner would be liable for the new bill. Please contact our office if you were not the owner on January 1 but received a bill in your name.
This may have happened because the Assessor relied on information provided by the state DMV about the sale. In some cases, the state DMV does not allocate the value between boat and trailer and reports it as a single number to the Assessor. The trailer is subject to a vehicle license fee that includes in-lieu property tax and should not be otherwise assessed. Please contact our iffice if you believe the Assessor may have inadvertently assessed your boat's trailer as part of your boat's value.
Yes, you still need to complete and return the Vessel Owners' Report (VOR) if you sold your boat. The Assessor requires details about the sale, including the date of sale and the name of the purchaser, to update their records and ensure the new owner is correctly assessed.
You are still required to complete and return the Vessel Owners' Report (VOR). While some military personnel may qualify for exemptions from vessel property taxes under federal law, such as the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act, the Assessor needs the information provided on the VOR to determine eligibility and process the assessment accurately.
Boats are subject to property taxes separate from the DMV registration fee. Unlike motor vehicles, where DMV registration fees include an "in-lieu fee" that replaces property taxes and is distributed to local governments, boat registration fees do not include property taxes. While it may appear that you are being taxed twice, this is not the case; the property tax is assessed separately by the Assessor.
A documented vessel is assessed at the "place of documentation" unless it is kept elsewhere and notice of this fact has been sent to the Assessor of the county in which it is documented. Temporary absences of a few months would not affect the situs of the vessel. Please contact our office if you feel your vessel is being improperly assessed.
If your spouse was awarded sole ownership of the boat in a divorce settlement before 12:01 a.m. on January 1 (the lien date), they would be solely responsible for the property tax bill for that year. However, if the transfer of ownership occurred after January 1, the bill would still be issued in the names of the owners of record as of that date. If ownership was transferred to your spouse before January 1 but the tax bill is still in both names, please contact our office. To update our records, you will need to provide court documents confirming the transfer of the boat to your spouse as part of the settlement.
Yes. The law does not differentiate between vessels registered with the DMV and those "documented" with the Coast Guard, and both are subject to property taxation.
Liability for vessel property taxes attaches to its owner as of 12:01 a.m. on January 1 each year (the lien date). The bill for the coming tax year is then issued to the owner of record at that time, and that individual, or their estate (if they are now deceased), is liable for the taxes. If the owner of record on the lien date is now deceased, you should contact the person or entity that is administering your relative's estate and bring the outstanding bill to their attention.
If you believe the market value of your boat is less than its taxable value on January 1, you can request a value review be performed by the Assessor’s Office. Our office welcomes any information and market data you have that can help us arrive at fair and accurate assessments. Your gross taxable value can be found in the upper right corner of your tax bill. Please compare this value to your opinion of market value before deciding if you would like to request a value review. Please include with your Request for Value Review application any information that supports your opinion of value. An application can be downloaded from the Assessor’s website, or you can call (559) 636-5159 to request one be mailed to you.
The California Constitution (Section XIII, Article 1) provides that all tangible property is taxable unless it is otherwise exempted by the Constitution or by the legislature. Household personal property was exempted in the 1950's, but privately-owned boats are still subject to property tax.
