PA-OOS 01 / Out-of-state buyers
Buying an Airboat Out of State: Taxes, Titles, Registration and Delivery
Updated October 3, 2026. Written at the Patriot Airboat Corp. shop in Vidor, Texas.
Out-of-state buyers usually pay no Texas boat tax. Your home state collects when you register the boat.
Delivery routes from the shop
Tax and paperwork finder All 50 states
Boat and motor only. The trailer is taxed on its own.
Estimated home-state tax
$5,000plus parish tax
Louisiana: 5% state tax plus your parish rate, capped at $20,000 combined if paid within 90 days. Credit for tax paid in another state. File Form R-1331 by the 20th of the month after you buy.
Sign the destination statement at the sale and leave Texas within 10 days, or buy the $150 permit and leave within 90 days.
A new boat leaves with its statement of origin from the builder (MSO). Your state titles the boat from it.
State rates from the Tax Foundation, July 2026; boat rules from each state’s revenue or boating agency. A buyer’s guide, not tax advice.
The finder needs JavaScript. The state table below carries the figures for the busiest states.
PA-OOS 02 / The Texas side
Do you pay Texas sales tax on a boat if you live in another state?
No, as long as you follow the nonresident rule: give the seller a signed statement naming your home state, then take the boat out of Texas within 10 days.
Texas gives out-of-state buyers three ways to leave without paying it.
Route A
Sign and go
10 days
- Sign a statement at the sale naming your home state.
- Have the boat out of Texas within 10 days.
Route B
Buy the permit
90 days
- $150 temporary use permit, TPWD form PWD 1434.
- No renewals, and no more than two in a calendar year.
Route C
Let Patriot deliver
$0 expected
- Texas taxes boats handed over inside Texas. Delivery completes the sale in your state.
- Confirm that reading for your deal with the Texas Comptroller at 1-800-252-5555.
$6,250
Miss the window
That is the full 6.25% Texas tax on a $100,000 airboat, due within 45 working days of delivery. Paid Texas tax you didn’t owe? File Form 57-200 for a refund within four years.
Sources: 34 Texas Administrative Code 3.741; Texas Tax Code 160.0246 and 160.0247 (House Bill 4032, effective September 1, 2019); Texas Comptroller boat and boat motor tax page and FAQ.
PA-OOS 03 / The trailer
How is the boat trailer taxed?
Texas taxes the trailer as a motor vehicle, apart from the boat, so it needs its own line on the invoice.
An out-of-state buyer skips the Texas trailer tax with Comptroller Form 14-312, as long as the trailer only hauls the boat straight out of Texas and is never registered here. Patriot’s airboat trailers page covers the trailers themselves.
The boat and motor01
- Texas tax
- 6.25% boat and motor tax, capped at $18,750 each
- Skip it with
- The signed destination statement or the $150 permit
- Texas title
- Texas Parks and Wildlife
- Louisiana
- Inside the $20,000 combined cap
- North Carolina
- 3%, capped at $1,500
The trailer02
- Texas tax
- 6.25% motor vehicle tax
- Skip it with
- Comptroller Form 14-312
- Texas title
- County tax office
- Louisiana
- Taxed in full, outside the cap
- North Carolina
- Its own 3% highway use tax
Sources: Texas Comptroller publication 96-254, Motor Vehicles Transported Out of State (March 2026); Louisiana Revenue Information Bulletin 25-024 (September 20, 2025); MDWFP; North Carolina Department of Revenue.
PA-OOS 04 / Your home state
Boat sales tax by state for an out-of-state purchase
Your home state collects its sales or use tax when you title or register the boat, and most give credit for tax already paid in another state.
The table covers states with official published figures. Rates are state-level; local tax can add to them.
| State | Boat tax | Cap | Where you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 5% state plus parish tax | $20,000combined | Form R-1331 to the Department of Revenue, due the 20th of the next month |
| Mississippi | State sales tax; proof required on dealer purchases | No cap found | County tax collector |
| Alabama | 2% state on boat, motor and trailer sold as a unit, plus local | No cap found | County office, at registration |
| Arkansas | Dealer sales taxed; private sales exempt | No cap found | Department of Finance and Administration, at registration |
| South Carolina | 5% casual excise tax, less tax paid elsewhere | $500max | SC Department of Natural Resources |
| North Carolina | 3%, no local tax | $1,500max | NC Department of Revenue |
| Minnesota | 6.875% plus local, with credit for other-state tax | No cap found | MN Department of Revenue, through DNR registration |
Arkansas legislation in 2025 addressed used-boat rates, and Oklahoma’s tax commission figures couldn’t be confirmed. Get the current number from either state before you budget. The airboat price guide works through Texas and Louisiana tax on a full purchase.
Sources: Louisiana LDR Form R-1331 (rev. 1/25) and RIB 25-024; MDWFP vessel application (fees effective August 1, 2024); Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-6-2-.46.01; Arkansas DFA; SCDNR; NCDOR; Minnesota DOR (May 2023).
PA-OOS 05 / Title and registration
What paperwork do you need to title and register an airboat from another state?
Bring these five papers to registration in your home state. Patriot hands over the boat’s side of the stack at the sale.
- 01
Title or MSO
New boat: the builder’s manufacturer’s statement of origin (MSO). Used boat: the signed title.
- 02
Bill of sale
Signed by buyer and seller, with the price and the hull ID number (HIN).
- 03
Invoice, itemized
Boat, motor and trailer priced on separate lines. Several states use that split to figure the tax.
- 04
Trailer title
The trailer titles on its own. In Texas that’s the county tax office, not Texas Parks and Wildlife.
- 05
Proof of tax paid
Most states credit tax paid elsewhere, so keep the receipt or the Texas destination statement.
Patriot’s busiest delivery state
Louisiana
- Chain of ownership. An invoice or notarized bill of sale, plus proof of ownership from the titled owner to the dealer. Without a complete chain, the state may require a court order.
- Registration. $57 for a 16 to 25 ft 11 in boat, cheap next to the tax.
Skip it
Coast Guard documentation
It requires a vessel of at least five net tons, so airboats register with the state instead.
Sources: LDR Form R-1331; LDWF fee schedule (November 15, 2021); Texas Parks and Wildlife; National Vessel Documentation Center FAQ (October 2025).
PA-OOS 06 / Where it can run
Are airboats legal where you live?
Yes, but some states close certain waters to airboats by law. Pick your state before the boat ships.
Texas
Parks and Wildlife Code 31.070; 50 CFR 32.62
2rules
- ExhaustA muffler or exhaust water manifold on every motorboat, airboats included.
- Federal refugesOn Aransas and Brazoria national wildlife refuges, hunters may run airboats in open tidal waters.
Louisiana
LAC 76:III.113
2rules
- State landsBanned on all department-run lands: wildlife management areas, refuges and habitat conservation areas.
- ExhaustAn efficient muffler or underwater exhaust is required.
Arkansas
AGFC Code, Addendum B1.08
2rules
- Duck seasonBanned on many WMAs during duck season, including Henry Gray Hurricane Lake, Seven Devils and Sheffield Nelson Dagmar.
- Lake MaumelleBanned on the whole lake.
Missouri
3 CSR 10-11.160
2rules
- Conservation areasBanned on Missouri Department of Conservation areas, lakes and ponds included.
- Federal riverBanned on the Missouri National Recreational River.
Minnesota
Minn. R. 6230.1600
1rule
- Wildlife lakesBanned at all times on designated wildlife management lakes, such as Swan Lake in Nicollet County and Heron Lake in Jackson County, unless posted or permitted.
South Carolina
S.C. Code 50-21-860
3rules
- Salt waterFrom the freshwater-saltwater dividing line seaward.
- Waterfowl seasonLake Marion and the Santee Swamp west of I‑95.
- After darkParts of the Broad River and Stevens Creek.
Sources: Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 31.070; 50 CFR 32.62; Louisiana Administrative Code 76:III.113; Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Code, Addendum B1.08; 3 CSR 10-11.160; Minnesota Rules 6230.1600; S.C. Code 50-21-860; NASBLA boating contacts directory. State rules change, so confirm with the agency before you run.
PA-OOS 07 / Pickup or delivery
Should you pick up the airboat or have it delivered?
Either works. Patriot delivers to all 50 states and quotes delivery once it knows where the boat is going.
Patriot hulls are 8 ft wide, under the 8 ft 6 in legal width in Texas.
Quoted once Patriot knows the destination.
Sign the destination statement at the sale and plan the drive home inside the window.
List delivery as a separate charge after the sale. Texas leaves post-sale transport out of the taxable price.
Holds a boat on the used airboat lot while the paperwork moves. Each gets the same final check sheet and water test as a new boat. See the inspection guide.
Sources: TxDMV size and weight limits; 34 Texas Administrative Code 3.741(a)(16).
PA-OOS 08 / Questions
Out-of-state airboat buying FAQ
01Do you pay sales tax where you buy a boat or where you register it?
You pay where you register it. A Texas sale to an out-of-state buyer is exempt from Texas boat tax when the buyer signs a destination statement and removes the boat within 10 days, or within 90 days with a $150 permit. The buyer then pays home-state sales or use tax at registration, usually with credit for tax paid elsewhere.
02How long do you have to get a boat out of Texas?
Ten days from the sale under the Texas nonresident exemption. A $150 temporary use permit stretches that to 90 days. The permit can’t be renewed, and Texas issues no more than two in a calendar year, so plan the trip home before you close.
03Can you title a boat with just a bill of sale?
Usually not. Texas requires a title on every motorized vessel, and a new boat titles from its manufacturer’s statement of origin. Louisiana wants a complete chain of ownership and may require a court order without one. Mississippi accepts a bill of sale from a private seller only if it is notarized or witnessed.
04Can a boat and trailer be on the same title?
Not in Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife titles the boat, and the county tax office titles and registers the trailer. Check how your home state handles the trailer, and keep it on its own line of the invoice either way.
05Do airboats need Coast Guard documentation?
No. Federal documentation requires a vessel of at least five net tons, a volume measure that typical airboats don’t reach. Airboats are registered and titled by the state instead. A documented vessel operated in Texas still registers with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Buying from out of state? Talk with Patriot
Tell Patriot which boat you want and where it’s going. Delivery gets quoted once the shop knows the destination.