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Tool · F.S. 212.08(7)(t)

How many of my 20 use-tax days are left?

A visiting boat on which Florida sales or use tax has not been paid is exempt from use tax if it enters and remains in the state for no more than 20 days in a calendar year, counted from the date of first dockage or slippage at a registered facility. Time in a registered repair facility with documented work is tolled.

The figures and conditions this tool counts with, each with its statute.

Days in a calendar year
20 days
Maximum tax on a sale or use of a boat
$18,000
Maximum tax on a repair of a boat
$60,000
Use tax rate
6 percent of the cost price
Surtax reaches only the first
$5,000 of an item
“not to exceed a total of 20 days in any calendar year calculated from the date of first dockage or slippage at a facility, registered with the department”
The clock stops during documented repairs

If a boat brought into the state is placed in a facility registered with the department for repairs, alterations, refitting or modifications supported by written documentation, the 20-day period is tolled during the time the boat is physically in the care, custody and control of the repair facility, including the time spent on sea trials conducted by the facility.

“the 20-day period shall be tolled during the time the boat is physically in the care, custody, and control of the repair facility, including the time spent on sea trials”

The period runs from the date of first dockage or slippage at a facility registered with the department that rents dockage or slippage space in this state.Neither F.S. 212.08(7)(t)1. nor rule 12A-1.0071(1)(a) says whether the date of first dockage itself counts as the first of the 20 days. Both say only "calculated from" that date, and the rule carries no worked example. This tool therefore shows both readings as a range instead of picking one.

The fine print that matters

  • The 20-day period may be tolled only once within a calendar year, when the boat is placed for the first time that year in the care, custody and control of a registered repair facility. The owner may request, and the department may grant, one additional tolling for repairs arising from a written guarantee covering only the work of the first tolled period. F.S. 212.08(7)(t)1.
  • Within 72 hours after taking possession of the boat, the facility must hold an affidavit on the department's form stating that the boat is under its care, custody and control and that the owner does not use it while in the facility. F.S. 212.08(7)(t)1.
  • Within 72 hours after the date of release, the facility must hold a copy of the release form showing that date. The facility also keeps a log of all alterations, additions, repairs and sea trials. F.S. 212.08(7)(t)1.
  • The mere storage of a boat at a registered repair facility does not qualify as a tax-exempt use in this state. F.S. 212.08(7)(t)3.
  • During the repairs and during the 20-day period the boat may be listed for sale, contracted for sale or sold exclusively by a broker or dealer registered with the department without incurring use tax; the sales tax levied under chapter 212 still applies to such a sale. F.S. 212.08(7)(t)2.
  • Use tax, where it is due, is at the rate of 6 percent of the cost price of property that is not sold but used, consumed, distributed or stored for use in this state. F.S. 212.05(1)(b)
  • A county's discretionary sales surtax does not reach the amount above $5,000 on any single item of tangible personal property. F.S. 212.054(2)(b)1.
  • The tax collected on each sale or use of a boat in this state may not exceed $18,000, and on each repair of a boat may not exceed $60,000. F.S. 212.05(5)
The six-month presumptionF.S. 212.06(8)(a), (b)

Property used in another state, a territory of the United States or the District of Columbia for 6 months or longer before being imported into this state is presumed not to have been purchased for use in this state. Keep the proof. The statute names only other US jurisdictions – use abroad is not covered by this presumption. The presumption also does not apply to a boat for which a saltwater fishing licence fee is required to be paid under s. 379.354(7).

Not tax advice.

Sources & checks

Written by buoya editorial from the sources above. Every figure was checked against its source on 22 Oct 2026. Found something wrong? Report a correction.