Taxes on Boats in Missouri

by Boat Alert / Last Updated: August 11, 2026 / Boat Buying

Taxes on Boats in Missouri: A Complete Guide

Missouri handles boat taxes differently than a lot of neighboring states — there’s a one-time sales tax at titling, an ongoing local personal property tax most owners don’t expect, and a completely separate tax track for U.S. Coast Guard-documented vessels. This guide walks through what the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) and Missouri statutes actually require, from registration fees to exemptions.

Key Takeaways

• Registration fees run $25–$150 for 3 years, based on boat length, plus a $9 processing fee.
• Missouri charges a 4.225% state sales tax on boat purchases, plus a local tax rate that depends on where the buyer lives (not where the boat was bought).
• Unlike many states, Missouri does not broadly exempt private, non-dealer boat sales from tax — titled property is taxed at titling regardless of who sold it, with only specific statutory exemptions (true gifts, trade-ins, the 90-day nonresident rule, and a few others).
• Missouri boat owners also pay an annual local personal property tax, separate from the one-time sales tax, and must show proof of payment every time they register or renew.
• U.S. Coast Guard-documented vessels skip the standard sales tax entirely and instead pay a flat, purchase-price-based “in-lieu” tax.

What Needs to Be Titled and Registered

Missouri requires titling and registration for all motorized boats and vessels, and any sailboat longer than 12 feet. Amphibious vehicles count as boats. Outboard motors must also be titled and registered, with one exception: trolling motors and electric outboard motors are excluded.

Not required to be titled or registered:

• Boats owned by out-of-state residents and kept, stored, or operated in Missouri for less than 60 consecutive days
• Boats owned by the U.S. government
• Foreign-flagged boats using Missouri waters for less than 60 consecutive days
• Boats propelled solely by paddle or oars, regardless of length
• Sailboats or sailboards 12 feet or less
• A ship’s lifeboat used solely for lifesaving

U.S. Coast Guard-documented vessels are the one exception in the other direction: they don’t need a Missouri title, but they do need to be registered.

Registration Fees

Registration fees are based on the boat’s length and cover a 3-year period. A separate $9 processing fee applies to each transaction.

Outboard motors: $2 registration plus $9 processing.

Homemade wooden boats (at least 16 feet but under 28 feet, made of wood, with a beam of 5 feet or less) fall into their own category: $55 registration plus $9 processing, regardless of the standard length brackets.

Registration must be renewed every 3 years and expires June 30 of the year shown on the decal. There’s no late penalty for a late renewal itself, though late titling has its own penalty (below).

Titling Fees

• Boat or vessel title: $7.50, plus $9 processing
• Outboard motor title: $5, plus $9 processing
• Replacement decal or pocket card: $8.50, plus $9 processing
• Lien filing: included with title processing (a notarized lien release is required if a lien is being removed)

You have 60 days from the date of purchase to title a newly purchased boat, vessel, or outboard motor. Miss that window and there’s a $10 penalty on the 61st day, increasing by another $10 every 30 days you’re late, up to a $30 maximum.

Sales Tax on Boat Purchases

Missouri’s state sales tax rate on boats is 4.225% — a 4% base rate under state statute, plus additional statewide conservation and parks/soils levies that bring the effective rate to 4.225%. On top of that, a local sales tax applies, and Missouri calculates this a little differently than most states:

• For Missouri residents: the local rate is based on where you live, not where you bought the boat.
• For out-of-state residents titling in Missouri: the local rate is based on where the boat or vessel is housed.

Because local rates vary significantly by city, county, and special taxing district, Missouri publishes an online sales tax calculator rather than a single statewide local rate — it’s worth using before you buy.

Notably, Missouri taxes the boat, the outboard motor, and the trailer as three separate items if you’re buying a package deal. Each is taxed individually based on its own purchase price.

Trade-ins reduce the taxable amount. Under Missouri’s trade-in statute, the value of a boat, trailer, or outboard motor traded in is subtracted from the purchase price before tax is calculated — and if you sell your old boat privately rather than trading it in, you can still get the same treatment as long as you buy the new one within 180 days before or after the sale and provide a bill of sale. If the trade-in and any rebate together exceed the purchase price, no tax is owed at all. This trade-in credit does not apply to documented vessels.

Annual Personal Property Tax

This is the part of Missouri’s system that catches a lot of new boat owners off guard: in addition to the one-time sales tax, boats are subject to Missouri’s annual local personal property tax, assessed by the county assessor (or the City of St. Louis) where the boat is kept. You’re required to bring a paid personal property tax receipt — or a statement of non-assessment if none was due — for the previous year every time you title, register, or renew a boat’s registration. If the boat isn’t listed on your tax receipt, you’ll need a corrected receipt or a letter from the county collector confirming payment before the DOR will process your paperwork.

U.S. Coast Guard-Documented Vessels and the “In-Lieu” Tax

Documented vessels are handled entirely differently. Rather than the standard 4.225% state sales tax plus local tax, a documented vessel owner pays a flat “in-lieu” tax based on the boat’s purchase price bracket at the time of registration:

This in-lieu tax does not apply to a documented vessel purchased for marine construction purposes — barges, dredges, marine cranes, and similar equipment — if the owner submits a statement declaring that exemption. Documented vessel owners still owe the standard length-based registration fee, plus a $7.50 certificate fee and $18 in processing fees ($9 for the certificate, $9 for registration).

Exemptions and Special Situations

True gifts: If a boat is transferred with no money or other consideration changing hands, it’s exempt from Missouri sales tax — but this requires proper documentation (a signed gift affidavit or written statement) at the time of titling. If any value is exchanged, even informally, the DOR can treat it as a taxable sale regardless of how it’s described.

Family transfers are not automatically exempt. This is a common misconception: selling a boat to a relative for money is taxed the same as any other private sale. Only a true, documented gift — which can be to a family member or anyone else — avoids the tax.

Casual or private-party sales are generally still taxable. Unlike states that broadly exempt occasional, non-dealer sales of personal property, Missouri collects sales tax on titled property — including boats — at the time of titling regardless of whether the seller was a dealer or a private individual, unless a specific exemption applies.

Estates: If an administrator, executor, or personal representative applies for title in the estate’s name as part of settling it, no sales tax is due at that step.

Nonresidents moving to Missouri — the 90-day rule: If you already owned the boat and it was titled and operated in another state for at least 90 days before you bring it to Missouri, no Missouri sales tax is due when you title it here.

Tax paid to another state: If you bought a boat elsewhere and paid that state’s sales tax, Missouri credits it against what you owe here — bring proof of payment. If the amount owed elsewhere was less than Missouri’s rate, you’ll typically owe the difference; if it was more, you generally won’t owe additional Missouri tax on top of it.

Not exempt, despite common assumptions: Missouri does not offer a sales tax exemption for veterans on a boat or vehicle purchase, and it doesn’t exempt older or lower-value boats based on age or condition.

Out-of-State Residents Titling in Missouri

If you’re not a Missouri resident but plan to keep a boat in Missouri more than 60 consecutive days, you have 60 days from bringing it into the state to title it (same late-titling penalty structure as residents). You’ll pay the same state and local tax structure as residents — with local tax based on where the boat is housed — unless the 90-day rule above applies.

Paying the Tax

Sales tax is paid directly to the Department of Revenue at the time of titling — not to the dealer at the point of sale, unlike many other states’ vehicle sales. Bring your bill of sale or Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin showing the purchase price, along with your personal property tax documentation, to a Missouri license office to complete the transaction.

Conclusion

Missouri’s boat tax system has more moving parts than a flat sales-tax-plus-registration model: a one-time state and local sales tax calculated on the buyer’s home address rather than the point of sale, a recurring local personal property tax you’ll need to document at every renewal, and an entirely separate flat-tax system for documented vessels. The exemptions that exist — true gifts, trade-ins, the 90-day nonresident rule — are real, but narrower than “any private sale” or “any family transfer,” so it’s worth confirming your specific situation with a Missouri license office or the DOR’s online tools before you buy.

FAQ

What are the registration fees for boats in Missouri? $25 for boats under 16 feet, $55 for 16 feet to under 26 feet, $100 for 26 feet to under 40 feet, and $150 for 40 feet and over — each plus a $9 processing fee, covering 3 years. Non-motorized paddle or oar-powered boats and sailboats 12 feet or under don’t need to be registered at all.

What sales tax applies when buying a boat in Missouri? A 4.225% state rate, plus a local rate based on where the buyer lives (or where the boat is housed, for out-of-state titlers) — not where the boat was purchased. Use the DOR’s online sales tax calculator to estimate your specific rate.

Do I have to pay tax if I buy a boat from a private seller instead of a dealer? Generally yes. Missouri taxes titled property like boats at titling regardless of whether the seller was a dealer or a private individual. The main way to avoid it is a documented true gift with no consideration exchanged.

Is there a personal property tax on boats in Missouri, separate from sales tax? Yes. Missouri assesses an annual local personal property tax on boats, and you must show proof of payment (or non-assessment) every time you title, register, or renew.

How are U.S. Coast Guard-documented vessels taxed? They skip the standard sales tax and instead pay a flat “in-lieu” tax based on purchase price, ranging from $500 for boats under $15,000 up to $10,500-plus for boats over $1.25 million.

Are there sales tax exemptions for boat transactions in Missouri? Yes, but they’re specific: true gifts with no consideration, trade-ins and rebates that reduce or eliminate the taxable amount, estate transfers during probate, and the 90-day rule for nonresidents who already titled and used the boat elsewhere. Ordinary family sales involving payment, and most private “casual” sales, are still taxable.

Do I need to pay tax when registering a boat brought in from another state? Yes, unless the 90-day nonresident rule applies or you can show proof of an equivalent tax already paid to another state, in which case Missouri credits that amount against what you owe.

Sources: Missouri Department of Revenue, Boat/Vessel/Outboard Motor Titling and Registration; Missouri DOR, Motor Vehicle Fees; RSMo § 144.025 (trade-in and rebate); RSMo § 306.016 (in-lieu tax for documented vessels).

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