Legislative Alert - April 29, 2025 - Boat Tax Legislation H. 3858

Boat Tax Legislation (H. 3858) Moving Quickly through the House in Final Two Weeks of Session

H. 3858 provides a 50% property tax reduction to boat owners and eliminates the titling of outboard motors. The bill is scheduled to be taken up by the Ways and Means Committee at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, April 30. SCAC believes that the committee intends to move the bill forward to the floor, and there is tremendous pressure on the full House to pass the bill.

The large exemption in this legislation, approximately $60 million, will create a substantial impact on many counties, most of which will be forced to shift the burden to other taxpayers. There are fewer than 250,000 taxable boats that will receive a benefit under this bill, and there are around 5.4 million residents in South Carolina.

See this chart for the yearly fiscal impact on your county.

There may be an amendment offered at full committee to reduce the assessment ratio on boats to 6%. This change would still create an over $40 million impact and be particularly burdensome on rural counties.

Please communicate to your House members that they should not vote for a bill that benefits so few on the backs of so many. This is bad tax policy!

Contact Owen McBride at (803) 252-7255 or omcbride@scac.sc with any questions or concerns.