Vessel use tax is based on the situs (location) county or on the registered owner's residence county, if no situs is shown. The minimum use tax in California is 8.25 percent. Those counties and cities which assess a greater or lesser tax percentage are shown in the use tax tables in Appendix 1A.
“All you have to do is register the boat outside of California and no tax is due,” one dealer told me. “If you register it anywhere outside of California the tax is avoided.