shipping in used household goods--tax due?

I'm interested in the same question. I'm calling various companies for moving estimates.

I liked Door To Door but they seemed puzzled by how to get around the 4% tax. Otherwise, it would be easy for me to use them. I'm only shipping part of my stuff now and will ship the rest in six months, when I move to an unfurnished place (assuming I stay). Packing is tricky since I'm creating two piles. Getting an accurate estimate is even harder and will be nearly impossible until after I actually pack. I could pack slowly and take my boxes to the local DTD storage facility, so that aspect makes them attractive.

I called Viking (the local one on STT) and spoke with Agnes. They don't haven trouble with the excise tax. She just goes to the dock and declares the household items to be worth $1000.

My question: how do I insure my goods for more than $1000 during transit if they are going to be "valued" at $1000 upon arrival?

I really hate doing anything that skirts the law, but I can't imaging that anyone would move to STT if they had to pay 4% tax on their personal possessions.

I'll probably use one of the local movers (Viking or Tropical) since they deal with this all the time.

I was told by one source that you should place a depreciated value on your belongings. Let's say 20%. So if you purchased your stuff over time at around $20,000, you would declare a value of $4000. The four percent (4% ) tax would be $160. that doesn't sound too bad. What do you think?

These numbers are just an "example"....

Good Day,

I have been working with Lee Fleming with Managed Freight to coordinate my move to STX. I had asked him this same question.

His answer:
You will pay 4% tax on any item that is less than a year old. There is a form where these items need to be listed and, of course, they prefer a receipt to determine the value, if there is no receipt an estimate of the resale value is used. There is no tax on personal items more than a year old.

You can reach Lee Fleming directly if you have more specific questions. I have found him very patient with my many questions.

toll free : 888-820-8475
email : info@managedfreight.com
Yahoo IM : MANAGED340

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Dante

Well, the tax on $4000 isn't bad, but my stuff is insurable for way more than that. Guess I'll just do it however the local mover recommends.

Thanks to you all. Exactly the information I needed. We are sending a container of new building materials (obviously will be paying tax on this) and used household goods. I will stop by and try to get a specimen of the form if the gov't has a special one, and then will know how to list all our stuff. We're not using a shipper (other than to transport the container which we are packing), and will clear it through customs and the VI ourselves.

New stuff I do know about. You will need receipts or invoices and will pay 4%. Whoever is shipping your goods (VI Cargo, Tropical, etc.) will help you with the paperwork.

The tax on new stuff usually excludes the first $1000 of the value and you pay the 4% on the value in excess of $1K.

Please be sure and check into marine insurance - although the chances are slim that your vessel is going down, it's a little surprising what maritime law is if the worst happens and you are uninsured or underinsured. Lee can hook you up with someone to explain it all...and there is a thread from last summer you can probably search for - or do a search by my name and you'll find it.

This was not my experience purchasing commercially. The psoter should probably check with one of the shipping companies.

To beaches,

I cleared my own used household goods through customs. The customs guy asked me how much it was worth and I said around $2000 or so, and then he said "so $500 right" I said no $500 and then he said to come back in the office behind the window, he said "tell me $500 so I don't have to do paperwork" I think they are really more concerned about new stuff rather than depreciated old stuff.

But I wouldn't worry about paying taxes on old stuff if you consider the depreciated value not the replacement value or even the resale value.

Just my experience.

Stuscott--was this US customs or VI excise? Customs should only apply on new items manufactured outside the US--like all the things made in China these days. Excise is the one that collects the 4% for the VI... I went out there yesterday and spoke with the excise woman and she told me I wouldn't have to pay the 4% on anything that was used, period. Whether that will be actually true the day the container clears is another story.

Ah possibly Excise I don't remember exactly. I had to go to US Air get the Bill of Lading and then to 2 offices down on the docks and then back to US Air to pick it up. All in all it was about 3 hours of time. Not too shabby.

Wow, I've become way too obsessed about this excise tax issue. The value of the time I've spent on this is probably more than the cost of paying the 4% even if I put a high dollar value on the shipment. Billd's post gave good advice.

If I'm this obsessed about this issue, it doesn't bode well for my tolerance of life on STT, does it? This will be only one of dozens of inanities encountered in daily life.

Sigh. I'll just pay whatever I have to pay, which may vary by day and by who is working at that particular government office on that day.

That said, let me share some of the excise tax opinions I've been given by various shippers. Note that I've tried to find the written tax code without any success.

1. "you pay 4% tax on the value of new goods (less than a year old), excluding the first $1000. (from someone at Managed Freight)

2. "you pay 4% tax on the total value (no caveat for old or new) excluding the first $1000. (various sources)

3. "there is a schedule of taxes, which varies by item". (DoorToDoor). Most household goods are classified as "other" or some such catagory. That catagory is taxed at 4%. Certain other items have a different code and are taxed differently. Specific examples cited by Dave at DoorToDoor include clothing (taxed at 2%) and prescription drugs (also taxed at 2%). Dave described the form to me. There is a list of items and codes on the back of the form. It's form 721 VI, "Excise Tax Return". I found a copy of the front of that sheet online but do not have a copy of the back of the sheet.

4. "you pay 4% on the total value plus 5% (ie, 4% of 105% of the value), excluding the first $1000. (multiple sources).

I have found tax codes online that deal with excise tax for businesses, but I cannot find the actual code that deals with individuals/household goods.

OK. Done. I'll just label my contents, declare what I think is the real value, and pay what I have to pay. As Dave put it, think of it as just another cost of living in paradise.