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Boat appraisals in Missouri for donations, insurance, estate tax, and divorce, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises fishing boats, pontoons, sailboats, personal watercraft, and motorboats across Missouri, including Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield.
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT BOAT APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, MISSOURI COURTS, LENDERS, INSURERS, AND MORE.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Vehicle Appraiser
CAGA Certified Appraiser since 2014, covering vehicles, boats, equipment, fine art, and collectibles. A classic-car restoration background informs her vehicle work, with reports prepared for insurance, divorce, and charitable contributions.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsAppraiseItNow provides professional boat appraisals in Missouri for a wide range of purposes, including charitable donations, insurance coverage, estate tax reporting, and divorce proceedings. Whether you own a powerboat docked at Lake of the Ozarks, a houseboat moored along the Missouri River, or a personal watercraft stored at a marina, our credentialed appraisers deliver accurate, well-documented valuations that satisfy IRS requirements, insurance carriers, probate courts, and legal counsel.
AppraiseItNow offers both remote and onsite boat appraisal services throughout Missouri, giving clients the flexibility to choose the format that best fits their situation and timeline. Remote appraisals are completed efficiently using photos, documentation, and market data, while onsite inspections are available for complex vessels or cases requiring physical verification. We offer Fair Market Value (FMV), Replacement Value, Orderly Liquidation Value (OLV), Forced Liquidation Value (FLV), and Actual Cash Value (ACV) appraisals for various intended uses.
Our appraisers evaluate a broad range of watercraft found across Missouri's lakes, rivers, and marinas, including:
Missouri's waterways, from the Lake of the Ozarks to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, support a wide variety of vessel types and sizes. Whether your boat is a modest aluminum fishing boat or a large houseboat used as a primary residence on the water, our appraisers have the expertise to assess it accurately and thoroughly.
AppraiseItNow serves individual boat owners, estate attorneys, insurance professionals, financial advisors, divorce attorneys, and nonprofit organizations throughout Missouri who need credentialed, court-ready appraisals for legal, financial, or tax-related purposes.
Understanding Missouri's rules around boat taxation and assessment is essential to obtaining an appraisal that holds up to scrutiny. Missouri taxes boats as tangible personal property, assessed annually at 33 1/3 percent of market value, with owners required to file assessment forms by April 1 listing boats owned as of January 1. Several important distinctions apply depending on how and where a vessel is stored.
In Missouri, most personal property is assessed in the owner's county of residence, but boats follow different rules based on storage location. A motorboat stored at a marina outside the owner's county, and not regularly trailered home, is assessed in the county where it is stored rather than where the owner lives. Houseboats and cabin cruisers used for lodging are taxed where they are located, treating them similarly to real property for assessment purposes. Missouri law strictly prohibits assessing the same boat in more than one county, so accurate documentation of storage location is critical when preparing for a property tax appraisal or appeal.
When a boat is donated to a qualifying nonprofit organization, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal for non-cash charitable contributions exceeding $5,000, reported on Form 8283. For boats that are part of an estate, Fair Market Value must be established as of the date of death, which may be reported on Form 706 if the estate exceeds the federal exemption threshold. Coast Guard-documented vessels in Missouri are exempt from state and local sales and use tax on purchase, but they remain fully subject to annual personal property tax, so a documented appraisal remains necessary for estate and tax purposes.
AppraiseItNow combines national reach with local expertise, providing Missouri boat owners and their advisors with appraisals that are accurate, timely, and built to withstand scrutiny from the IRS, courts, insurance carriers, and county assessors. Our appraisers are credentialed, our reports are USPAP-compliant, and our process is designed to make a complex task straightforward for every client we serve.
What clients say we are known for
Across 80+ published AppraiseItNow reviews the picture is consistent: every one is from a client who paid us for an appraisal, and the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and how much research is visible in the report.
I love the online appraisal format to give me a good idea of what my boat is worth without showing the boat. The appraisal fee is more than reasonable, and I love your professional service!
Boat Appraisal for Charitable Donation
We recently used AppraiseItNow for one of our clients and couldn’t be happier with the experience. The customer service was excellent, and Joe was quick to respond to all of our questions. He provided everything we needed promptly and made the process smooth from start to finish. Thank you!
Boat Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
AppraiseItNow delivered a fair, well-supported appraisal that met all required standards. Their team was professional, responsive, and fast throughout the process. I would gladly use them again.
Boat Appraisal for Charitable Donation
AppraiseItNow helped us appraise a very unique set of propulsion boats. Service was top notch and provided incredible value for the cost!
Boat Appraisal for Loan Collateral
AppraiseItNow was excellent to work with. They delivered exactly what I needed and were incredibly responsive throughout the process. I’d definitely recommend them!
Boat Appraisal for Insurance Claim
Very straightforward and efficient way to gain a quality certified boat appraisal. I will suggest AppraiseItNow to all my boating friends!
Boat Appraisal for Loan Collateral
Given the USPAP-compliant nature of AppraiseItNow’s appraisal reports, we prepare our deliverables for major legal, tax, and financial reporting purposes for individual and commercial clients.
Popular uses of our appraisal reports include:
Yes. Boats are named in Missouri's personal property statutes alongside vehicles, trailers, and RVs: owners declare what they held on January 1, and assessors assess at one-third of true value under section 137.115. Documented market evidence helps when the assessed figure exceeds what the vessel would actually sell for.
The J.D. Power (NADA) Marine guide, the ABOS Marine Blue Book, and sold-boat databases such as SoldBoats, reconciled against recent sales of comparable make, model, year, and engine hours. The guides can diverge materially for the same hull, so triangulation beats any single report.
Through a salvage or residual-value analysis: the sum of salvageable components less disposal or scrapping costs. Appraisers shift to this approach when restoration would cost more than the restored vessel would be worth, which keeps the conclusion honest for insurers, courts, and buyers.
Within 30 days after letters are granted, unless the court allows more time. Missouri probate requires an Inventory and Appraisement describing all of the decedent’s property with fair market values as of the date of death, and a vessel belongs on it at that date-of-death value with any encumbrances noted.
Generally the date of dissolution or trial rather than when the boat was purchased. Missouri divides marital property under equitable distribution, in proportions the court deems just, so a current market appraisal near the hearing carries more weight than an old purchase invoice or an insurance schedule.
