New Mexico does not put Gross Receipts Tax on a titled 22-foot runabout. Powerboats and sailboats 10 feet and longer that must be registered pay a separate 5% Boat Excise Tax on the sale price minus trade-in. On a $40,000 22-foot boat that excise is $2,000. Add the published title of $10 and Class 1 registration of $36 and the first-cost budget is $2,046 if you title on time. Miss 90 days and the excise is multiplied by 1.5 — $3,000 instead of $2,000. Motorboats under 10 feet take Gross Receipts Tax, not this 5%. Taxation and Revenue writes the tax; Motor Vehicle Division collects it at title.
How much is New Mexico boat excise and registration?
Boat excise is collected when MVD titles the vessel. It is not a county Gross Receipts add-on stacked on top of 5%. Pay within 30 days of ownership. If a New Mexico title is not transferred within 30 days, MVD adds a $20 late transfer fee. If the boat is not titled within 90 days, the excise itself is increased by 50% (5% becomes an effective 7.5% of the same base).
| Deal (10 ft or longer unless noted) | Boat excise | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000, 22 ft, no trade-in | $2,000 | Plus $10 title and $36 Class 1 registration in the published example |
| $40,000 with $10,000 trade-in | $1,500 | 5% of $30,000 |
| $40,000 titled on day 100 | $3,000 | $2,000 × 1.5 |
| Gift with notarized MVD-10018 | $0 | Title/registration fees may still apply |
| USCG documented | $0 | No New Mexico title or registration required |
| 8-foot motorboat | GRT, not 5% | Use TRD Gross Receipts tools for the location rate |
Example 1: $40,000 22-foot boat, titled on time
Scenario: New Mexico resident buys a 22-foot powerboat for $40,000. No trade-in. You title and register with MVD within 30 days.
The $2,000 is Boat Excise Tax. The $10 and $36 are the title and Class 1 registration used in Taxation and Revenue / MVD worked figures. Other registration classes, if they apply to your hull, are on MVD-10003 — this page does not list class dollars that were not published in that example.
Example 2: Same $40,000 boat titled on day 100
Scenario: Same purchase. You wait until day 100 to title.
Skipping the 90-day clock is the expensive myth. The penalty is half of the excise, not a flat $20.
- NM Taxation and Revenue — Boat Excise Tax (5%; gift; military; new resident; USCG)
- MVD-10003 — fees; 5% excise; Gross Receipts under 10 feet; penalties
- MVD Chapter 20 Vessels — 66-12-6.1 procedures; credit; 50% penalty
The tax rule: 5% excise versus Gross Receipts Tax
Two different taxes share the word “boat” in New Mexico, and mixing them is the usual mistake.
Boat Excise Tax (5%) applies to a powerboat or sailboat — not a sailboard or windsurfer — that is 10 feet or longer and requires registration. The base is the sale price minus trade-in. If the stated price does not represent the boat’s condition, the statute uses 5% of reasonable value minus trade-in. MVD collects this at title. It is a state excise, not a local Gross Receipts stack.
Gross Receipts Tax is the path for motorboats under 10 feet. All motorboats propelled by machinery or sail (except windsurf/sailboard) must still be registered. Under 10 feet you register, but you do not pay the 5% boat excise. Local Gross Receipts components can apply on that under-10-foot path. This page does not assign a city or county Gross Receipts percentage — use Taxation and Revenue’s rate tools for that location.
When boat excise is paid on a qualifying sale, Gross Receipts Tax does not also apply to those boat sale receipts (3.2.110 NMAC). Accessories sold separately may still be Gross Receipts. Do not assume a depth finder rung up on its own line is inside the 5%.
Example 3: 22-foot boat — excise, not GRT
Scenario: Dealer in Albuquerque or Las Cruces sells a 22-foot boat for $40,000. You will title it in New Mexico.
The city name does not change the 5% on a titled 10-foot-or-longer boat. Boat excise is statewide at MVD.
Example 4: 8-foot motorboat — Gross Receipts, not 5%
Scenario: You buy an 8-foot motorboat. It must be registered. It is under the 10-foot excise threshold.
Open Taxation and Revenue’s Gross Receipts rate tools, enter the seller’s location, and let that office name the rate. Then register with MVD.
- TRD Boat Excise Tax — 5% on boats requiring registration at the 10-foot threshold
- MVD-10003 — Gross Receipts Tax for motorboats under 10 feet
- 3.2.110 NMAC — GRT exemption for boats subject to excise; accessories may remain GRT
Trade-in, dealer sales, and private titles
Trade-in allowances come off the sale price or the reasonable-value base before the 5% is applied (66-12-6.1). A $40,000 boat with a $10,000 trade is $1,500 of excise, not $2,000.
Dealers and private sellers use the same 5% when a New Mexico title is issued. The dealer path also triggers the Gross Receipts exemption on boat sale receipts once excise is paid. Private and subsequent titles are presumed to owe excise unless the transfer is a legitimate gift on notarized Affidavit of Gift MVD-10018, an operation-of-law transfer, or another listed exemption. A handshake “family deal” without the affidavit is still an excise event at title.
Example 5: $40,000 boat, $10,000 trade-in
Scenario: Dealer takes your old boat for $10,000 on a $40,000 purchase. Both boats are in the 10-foot-or-longer excise program.
The trade must be a real allowance on the documents MVD sees. A cash discount labeled “trade” without a traded vessel is a different story — ask MVD how they will treat the numbers.
Example 6: Private sale, $40,000, no gift affidavit
Scenario: Neighbor sells you a 22-foot boat for $40,000. No MVD-10018. You apply for a New Mexico title.
Private does not mean occasional-sale zero. Excise is presumed on every original or subsequent title unless a listed exemption is documented.
- NMSA 66-12-6.1 — sale price less trade-in; reasonable value; procedures (MVD Chapter 20)
- TRD Boat Excise Tax — gift affidavit; presumption at title
- 3.2.110 NMAC — dealer GRT exemption when excise is paid
No local stack on boat excise
Boat Excise Tax is a state tax MVD collects. It does not pick up Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, or county Gross Receipts add-ons. You do not shop counties to cut the 5% on a 22-foot titled boat.
The only local-rate conversation is the under-10-foot Gross Receipts path. Those rates change by location. This page does not publish a city percentage because the local-rate file does not assign one. Use TRD’s Gross Receipts tools, then register the short motorboat with MVD.
Example 7: 22-foot boat titled in two different counties
Scenario: Same $40,000 22-foot boat. One buyer titles from a Bernalillo address. Another titles from a Doña Ana address.
County of residence does not change the 5% boat excise. It can change Gross Receipts on an under-10-foot motorboat or on separately sold accessories.
Example 8: Accessories rung separately
Scenario: Dealer sells a 22-foot boat for $40,000 plus a separately stated electronics package.
3.2.110 NMAC is why the hull can be excise-only while the extra boxes on the invoice are still Gross Receipts.
- TRD Boat Excise Tax — state MVD-collected excise; not a local GRT stack
- 3.2.110 NMAC — accessories sold separately may be GRT
Title, registration, 30-day, and 90-day clocks
Powerboats and sailboats 10 feet and longer (not sailboards or windsurfers) are titled, registered, and hit with boat excise. All motorboats propelled by machinery or sail — except windsurf/sailboard — must be registered, including hulls under 10 feet.
Pay within 30 days of ownership. Miss the New Mexico title transfer in 30 days and MVD adds $20 late transfer. Miss 90 days to title and the Boat Excise Tax is increased by 50%. Those are two different clocks. The $20 does not replace the 50% penalty.
Published companion fees used with the $40,000 example are $10 title and $36 Class 1 registration. Read MVD-10003 for other class lines before you budget a longer or shorter hull. This page does not fill in unpublished class amounts. Lien recording, if MVD charges it, belongs on that form — not as a made-up extra here.
Example 9: On time at day 20
Scenario: $40,000 22-foot boat. You title on day 20.
Day 20 clears both the 30-day transfer fee and the 90-day excise penalty.
Example 10: Day 45 versus day 100
Scenario: Same $40,000 boat. Compare a 45-day title with a 100-day title.
The 90-day penalty is the one that turns a $2,000 tax into $3,000. Put the title appointment on the calendar when you sign the bill of sale.
- MVD-10003 — $20 late transfer; 5% excise; Gross Receipts under 10 feet; fee lines
- MVD Chapter 20 Vessels — 90-day 50% penalty; 66-12-6.1
Gifts, military, new residents, and documented vessels
A legitimate gift pays no boat excise when both parties complete a notarized Affidavit of Gift (MVD-10018). Title and registration fees can still be due. Inheritance and operation-of-law transfers follow that gift/heir documentation path unless Taxation and Revenue tells you a different form applies. A bill of sale for $1 is not the affidavit.
Active United States military members (and Public Health Service officers detailed with the military) who are domiciled outside New Mexico are exempt from boat excise on the TRD boat excise page. Domicile is the test. A New Mexico-domiciled service member should not assume the same exemption.
Documented tax paid to another state credits against New Mexico excise, up to what New Mexico would have charged. If another state took $1,200 and New Mexico excise is $2,000, you pay $800. A new resident who acquired the boat out of state at least 30 days before becoming domiciled in New Mexico, for personal use, is exempt per the TRD page.
A vessel with a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Ownership / documentation need not be registered or titled in New Mexico and is exempt from boat excise. That is the opposite of states that still tax documented hulls at the tax office while skipping a state title.
Example 11: Gift with MVD-10018 versus a $40,000 “gift” without it
Scenario: Parent transfers a 22-foot boat to an adult child.
MVD-10018 is the switch. Family relationship without the form is not enough on this page.
Example 12: Out-of-state credit and the 30-day new-resident rule
Scenario A: You paid $1,200 sales tax in another state. New Mexico excise on the same boat is $2,000. You have proof.
Scenario B: You bought the boat out of state more than 30 days before you became a New Mexico resident, personal use only.
Credit is the difference when you still owe New Mexico. The 30-day pre-domicile rule is a full exemption when you meet TRD’s facts — not a partial credit.
- TRD Boat Excise Tax — gift; military (non-NM domicile); new resident 30-day acquisition; USCG exempt
- MVD Chapter 20 — credit for tax paid another state
- MVD-10018 — Affidavit of Gift (notarized, both parties)
How to calculate New Mexico boat tax
- Is the hull a sailboard or windsurfer? Those sit outside the powerboat/sailboat title-and-excise description — ask MVD how they treat yours.
- Length 10 feet or more (power or sail) that must be registered? Use 5% boat excise on price minus trade-in (or reasonable value minus trade-in).
- Motorboat under 10 feet? Gross Receipts Tax — look up the location rate with TRD. Still register.
- USCG documented? $0 New Mexico boat excise; New Mexico title and registration are not required.
- Gift with MVD-10018, qualifying military non-domicile, or new-resident 30-day personal-use facts? $0 excise if TRD’s page covers your case.
- Documented tax paid elsewhere? Subtract it from New Mexico excise, not below zero.
- Count days from ownership. After 30 days, budget $20 late transfer. After 90 days, multiply remaining excise by 1.5.
- Add $10 title and the registration class from MVD-10003 ($36 Class 1 in the published $40,000 example).
Example 13: Walkthrough — $40,000, $10,000 trade, day 20
Scenario: 22-foot boat, dealer, New Mexico resident, no documentation, no gift.
Trade-in is applied before the 5%, not after.
Example 14: Walkthrough — USCG documented $40,000 yacht
Scenario: Same dollars, Coast Guard documented, kept in New Mexico waters.
Documentation is an exemption, not a 90-day grace. If you later undocument and title in New Mexico, ask MVD and TRD what tax is due then.
- TRD Boat Excise Tax — branching exemptions
- MVD-10003 — title, class registration, under-10-foot GRT note
What this page does not estimate
This page estimates 5% boat excise, the 50% late-title penalty, the $20 late transfer, and the published $10 title plus $36 Class 1 example. MVD and Taxation and Revenue set the receipt.
- Gross Receipts rates by city or county for under-10-foot motorboats and for separately sold accessories. Use TRD’s rate tools.
- Registration classes other than Class 1 $36. Read MVD-10003.
- AIS / aquatic invasive species stamps if MVD later lists them on your form. Confirm at the counter.
- Resale, government, and commercial exemptions that need certificates. Do not treat them as automatic $0.
- Marina, insurance, survey, and trailer title — other agencies.
- A local “boat tax” on top of 5% for hulls 10 feet and longer. There isn’t one.
Example 15: Why this page will not quote an 8-foot GRT dollar
Scenario: 8-foot motorboat, $8,000, sold in a home-rule city.
Ask Taxation and Revenue for the combined Gross Receipts rate, then ask MVD what registration class the short motorboat uses.
Example 16: Military exemption is domicile, not the uniform
Scenario: Active-duty buyer titles a $40,000 22-foot boat.
Public Health Service officers detailed with the military are on the same TRD sentence as active United States military. Everyone else asks TRD.
- TRD Boat Excise Tax — military domicile test; under-10-foot is not on that 5% page
- MVD-10003 — class fees and GRT note
Two complete buying examples
Complete example A: Resident dealer purchase, trade-in, on time
Scenario: New Mexico resident. 22-foot powerboat $40,000. Trade-in $10,000. Not documented. Titled day 15. Ordinary dealer. No gift.
Pay MVD at title. If the dealer also sold electronics on a separate line, that line may still be Gross Receipts — ask to see it split.
Complete example B: Private $40,000 boat, day 100, prior $1,200 tax
Scenario: You buy a 22-foot boat privately for $40,000. You already paid $1,200 tax in another state and have receipts. You are a New Mexico resident (the 30-day new-resident exemption does not apply). You title on day 100. Not documented. No gift affidavit.
The $800 on-time remainder is the published credit example. The 90-day penalty is also published. How they stack is an MVD computation — get it in writing at the window rather than assuming an order.
Common questions
Is New Mexico boat tax Gross Receipts Tax?
Not on a powerboat or sailboat 10 feet or longer that must be titled. That hull pays 5% Boat Excise Tax at MVD. Under 10 feet, Gross Receipts Tax is the path.
What is the 90-day penalty?
50% of the excise. On a $2,000 tax, you owe $3,000. It is not the $20 late transfer fee.
Do private sales skip the 5%?
No. Excise is presumed on each title unless you have MVD-10018 or another listed exemption.
Are documented boats taxed?
USCG documented vessels are exempt from New Mexico boat excise and need not title or register here.
Can I deduct a trade-in?
Yes. Allowances reduce the sale price or reasonable value before the 5%.
I just moved to New Mexico with a boat I already owned.
If you acquired it out of state at least 30 days before domicile, personal use, TRD treats it as exempt. Otherwise, credit documented tax paid to the other state against New Mexico excise.
Example 17: $40,000 — 5% is not optional on a titled 22-footer
Scenario: A seller quotes “no tax, private sale.”
MVD collects when the title is issued. The private label does not erase the 5%.
Example 18: Documented versus undocumented at the same price
Scenario: Two $40,000 boats. One is USCG documented. One is not.
Check the Coast Guard papers. A hull number is not documentation.
Before you sign
- Write length on the contract. Ten feet is the excise/GRT split.
- Show the trade-in as an allowance, not a handshake discount.
- If it is a gift, complete notarized MVD-10018 for both parties before you visit MVD.
- Title inside 30 days to avoid $20, and inside 90 days to avoid the 50% excise penalty.
- Keep out-of-state tax receipts if you want a credit.
- Do not stack Gross Receipts on a 10-foot-or-longer titled hull that is paying boat excise.
- Do not treat a documented vessel as a $2,000 New Mexico excise event.
- Read MVD-10003 for registration class if you are not in the Class 1 $36 example.
Taxation and Revenue’s Boat Excise Tax page is the exemption list. MVD Chapter 20 and MVD-10003 are the collection and fee list. Those pages set the amount you pay.
Official references
- NM Taxation and Revenue — Boat Excise Tax — 5%; gift; military; new resident; USCG exempt
- NM MVD — MVD-10003 Application — fees; 5% excise; GRT under 10 feet; penalties
- NM MVD — Chapter 20 Vessels — 66-12-6.1 procedures; credit; 50% penalty
- 3.2.110 NMAC — GRT exemption for boats subject to excise; accessories
This page estimates New Mexico Boat Excise Tax and the published MVD title and Class 1 registration figures. Taxation and Revenue sets the tax. Motor Vehicle Division collects it at title and sets registration. Confirm the receipt at those offices before you close.