Ezel / Tax Rulings / CA

Did rebuilding a pleasure-boat cabin into a larger cabin with sleeping space fabricate a new vessel?

Short answer No, provided the vessel remained a pleasure boat. The work was repair or reconditioning, so tax applied only to the parts and materials used.
State
CA
Ruling
Annotation 435.1320
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1951-02-02
Issued by
California State Board of Equalization
Requested by
Board staff asking whether rebuilding and enlarging the cabin on a pleasure boat fabricated a new vessel
Topics
pleasure boats cabins rebuilding repair labor materials
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1951. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1951
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is a California State Board of Equalization tax-counsel memorandum dated February 2, 1951, published by CDTFA as support for a sales and use tax annotation. Its result depends on the rebuilt vessel remaining a pleasure boat despite a larger cabin and added sleeping facilities. Another taxpayer should not treat it as binding and should check current boat, vessel, cabin, conversion, repair, materials, marine, and sales-and-use-tax rules. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Completely rebuilding a pleasure boat's cabin did not fabricate a new vessel when the boat remained a pleasure boat after the work.

The result stayed repair or reconditioning even though the new cabin was larger and added sleeping facilities. Tax applied only to the sales price of parts and materials used in the repair under the source's analysis.

Citations and references

  • California Sales and Use Tax Regulation 1546 (as cited in the official annotation summary)

Source

Original ruling text

State of California

Board of Equalization

Memorandum

To:

Mr. H. P. Kerrigan (JPG)

From:

R. G. Hamlin

Subject:

Rebuilding of Cabin on Pleasure Boat

435.1320

Date:

February 2, 1951

In your memorandum of January 25, you ask whether a complete rebuilding of a cabin on a pleasure boat constitutes a fabrication of tangible personal property. It is our opinion that the rebuilding of a cabin on a pleasure boat constitutes a repair or reconditioning operation, if the boat remains a pleasure boat following the completion of the operation. The fact that the rebuilt cabin is larger and that sleeping facilities have been added does not, in our opinion, constitute the work a conversion of the boat so that it may be said to be the fabrication of a new and different vessel. Therefore, the tax will apply only to the sales price of the parts and materials used in repairing the boat.

RGH:HB

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