Boat docks as personal property

[Joyce Potts]

Mike, you don't live in Florida! I pay pp taxes on the furniture in my rental properties and pp taxes on my business furniture and equipment both in my home office and real office! Regarding the docks, in Florida, They would find a way to tax it. It it were not real property, it would be taxes as PP most likely.

You best research any lake under 33 acres and who holds title to the lake bottom.

All waters in Florida are owned by the state. The land underneath any lake smaller than 33 acres is often a whole other story IF the adjacent lots are NOT platted into the center of the lake.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

No walls? I have seen many that are entirely enclosed...cept for the floor...LOL! Very few in Colorado.

 

[ETex2]

No walls? I have seen many that are entirely enclosed...cept for the floor...LOL! Very few in Colorado.

In Texas, a great many lakes are now only allowing semi-enclosed boat houses. Typically, it has no walls and only a roof, with an electric lift. Years ago on these same lakes fully enclosed boat houses were allowed, but no longer. Also, there is an assumption by many appraisers, esp. those in the frozen north, that boat docks and boat houses are easily removable. Either they are floating, or they must be removed in order to keep them from being destroyed by ice in the winter. Not so in Texas. While some lakes allow floating docks, many do not, and require them to be permanently anchored and attached to the lakebed. This means driving steel piers or digging down to set wood piers deep into the lakebed. Permanent; not removable. Not floating. That means when the lake gets low, it's hard to get into your boat.

That is the case here. A permanent non-floating dock and boat house. Typically considered real estate and not personal property. It's only due to the way that the water authority doles out annual permits is why the court ruled them to be "personal property".

I just talked to two underwriters with major lenders here. Appraisers need to exclude them in their valuations on this lake since they are now officially personal property.