Home > Boats for sale Spain > Buying a Boat in Spain: Taxes, Registration and Berths
Buying a boat in Spain brings three separate charges that buyers often meet only at the end: tax on the sale, a registration tax, and the berth. The registration tax is 12 percent of value on a private boat over 8 m the first time it is registered in Spain, according to the Ministry of Transport. A used boat already registered in Spain carries no VAT, and the buyer pays transfer tax at a rate set by the autonomous community. This guide is for buyers from the EU and beyond. It follows the purchase in the order it happens, names the offices and documents involved, and says what we do at each stage.
In this guide: what the price really includes; how the purchase works, stage by stage; the figures in one table; reading the condition of a used boat; why appoint EYB; questions buyers ask.
The asking price is only the start. The tax depends on whether the boat is new, already registered in Spain, or coming from abroad.
A new boat carries VAT at 21 percent in Spain outside the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, according to the Ministry of Transport. In those territories the indirect tax is IGIC at 9.5 percent in the Canary Islands, and IPSI at 10 percent in Ceuta and 7 percent in Melilla.
A used boat already registered in Spain is not subject to VAT, IGIC or IPSI, because that tax was borne when the boat was first acquired. The buyer pays transfer tax (ITP) instead. ITP is ceded to the autonomous communities, which set the rate, so the figure depends on where the tax is due. A buyer not resident in Spain files model 620 on the State tax agency page for non-residents at 4 percent, within 30 working days of the contract, on the higher of the real value and the average-price tables. The Catalan tax agency states 5 percent for a buyer habitually resident in Catalonia, due within one month of the transfer. In Andalusia the buyer files model 621 within two months. A sale by a VAT-registered business seller is not subject to ITP, so ask the seller in writing whether the sale is private or by a business.
The registration tax (impuesto de matriculación) is the figure that surprises buyers. A private boat over 8 m pays it on first registration in Spain, new or used: 12 percent of value, 11 percent in the Canary Islands and nil in Ceuta and Melilla. Boats of 8 m or less are not subject to it. A used boat from another EU country that is not registered in Spain can bear this tax on top of VAT and, in some cases, ITP. Boats used effectively and exclusively for rental are exempt, but the State tax agency’s instructions for model 576 set a period of two years for the rental exemption, so a former charter boat needs a clear history.
The smaller charges are fixed. The navigation-aid fee T-0 is paid once a year by motor craft of 9 m and over and sailing craft over 12 m based in a Spanish port, and Port Ginesta quotes EUR 9.12 per square metre per year. The 2023 registry amounts include EUR 19.08 as the minimum inscription fee and EUR 76.13 for the navigability certificate of a CE-marked boat. Liability insurance is compulsory for motor craft and for craft without motor over 6 m, so ask an insurer for a quote on the specific boat.
The berth is the large variable. The Port Olímpic 2026 tariff page shows EUR 70.04 per day in high season for a berth taking boats up to 13.2 m, and EUR 59.24 in low season. For 12 m, Port Ginesta in Sitges lists EUR 620 per month, Puerto Sherry EUR 4,792 per year plus a maintenance fee of EUR 476, Puerto Banús EUR 10,971 per year and Puerto Portals in Mallorca EUR 20,109 per year. All of these exclude VAT. Get your preferred berth priced in writing before you buy.
What we do: we handle enquiries and negotiations in your language, and the head office coordinates with a local broker, so the questions on tax, fees and berth reach the seller and the marina before you make an offer.
Stage one: offer, deposit and contract. Once the offer and the sale terms are agreed, the buyer pays a 10 percent deposit into escrow, and the balance goes to the seller when the contract conditions are met. Those conditions should name the tax documents, the registry papers, the navigability certificate and the survey result, so you are not committed before you know the boat. What we do: a lawyer prepares the sale contract, and we ask that it carry the document list and the survey condition.
Stage two: tax and customs status. For a boat in free circulation in the EU, the European Commission’s guidance of 30 April 2026 says it has Union goods status, and proof can be an original invoice or sales contract showing that VAT was paid, or a T2L issued by customs of the country of berthing. Proof is asked for only in rare cases, so keep the invoice and the VAT proof in the file from the start. The Canary Islands are in the EU customs territory but not the EU VAT territory: a boat brought from the Canary Islands to the VAT territory, for example to Madrid, is an import, and VAT is payable unless an exemption such as re-importation by the exporter applies. A boat registered outside the EU and owned by a non-EU resident can be under temporary admission with total relief from duty for 18 months, and EU duty and VAT become due if it does not leave. Ask a tax adviser to confirm which route covers this boat and your residence. What we do: the head office coordinates with the local broker, and a lawyer prepares the sale contract.
Stage three: ownership, charges and the navigability certificate. The Registro de Bienes Muebles has a section for ships and records ownership and charges such as attachments, reservation of title, prohibitions on disposal and chattel mortgages, according to the Colegio de Registradores. Ask the seller for the boat’s registry documents and have the register checked for charges before the deposit. A Spanish boat must also carry a navigability certificate issued by the maritime administration. For private boats of 6 m to under 24 m the periodic inspection comes at most every 5 years. If an inspection is missed the certificate lapses, and sailing with an expired or missing certificate can be a serious or very serious infringement. What we do: the head office coordinates with the local broker, and a lawyer prepares the sale contract.
Stage four: registration and change of ownership. Under Royal Decree 1435/2010, registration is requested by the owner or an authorised representative at the maritime district of the chosen port of registry, and may be electronic; the Sede Electrónica registration page describes the registration regimes. The resolution is due within one month, and silence counts as refusal. The documents include the title of ownership, the deregistration certificate from the previous register, customs clearance for third-country boats and proof of payment of the registration tax. CE-marked craft of 12 m or less may use a special regime and hold a certificate of inscription. The certificate of Spanish registry is renewed every five years. For a boat already on the Spanish register, the seller communicates the change of ownership within three months, and the buyer may do so too, with the documents proving it. What we do: the head office coordinates the file with the local broker so the originals are ready before the sale closes.
Stage five: insurance and handover. Insurance is arranged before you sail, and proof of cover is carried on board. At handover, collect the registry certificate, the navigability certificate, the tax and ownership papers, the service history and the manuals. What we do: a sea trial can be arranged at your expense before the balance is paid to the seller.
| Item | Figure | Applies to, and whose figure |
|---|---|---|
| VAT on a new boat | 21 percent | Spain outside the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla; Ministry of Transport |
| Used boat already registered in Spain | no VAT; ITP paid by the buyer | Ministry of Transport |
| ITP, non-resident buyer | 4 percent, within 30 working days | State tax agency, model 620 |
| ITP in Catalonia | 5 percent, within one month | Catalan tax agency |
| ITP in Andalusia | model 621, within two months | Andalusian tax agency |
| Registration tax | 12 percent of value | Private boats over 8 m, first Spanish registration; 11 percent Canary Islands; nil Ceuta and Melilla; Ministry of Transport |
| Rental exemption period | 2 years | State tax agency, model 576 instructions |
| Registry certificate renewal | every 5 years | Royal Decree 1435/2010 |
| Periodic inspection | at most every 5 years | Private boats 6 m to under 24 m; Ministry of Transport |
| Liability insurance | compulsory | Motor craft; craft without motor over 6 m; Royal Decree 607/1999 |
| Temporary admission | 18 months | Non-EU boat, non-EU owner; European Commission, 30 April 2026 |
| Berth, Port Olímpic, up to 13.2 m, high season | EUR 70.04 per day | Port Olímpic, 2026 tariff, excluding VAT |
| Berth, Port Ginesta, 12 m | EUR 620 per month | Port Ginesta, March 2026, excluding VAT |
| Berth, Puerto Sherry, 12 m | EUR 4,792 per year, plus EUR 476 | Puerto Sherry, 1 January 2026, excluding VAT |
| Berth, Puerto Banús, 12 m | EUR 10,971 per year | Puerto Banús, 2026, excluding VAT |
| Berth, Puerto Portals, 12 by 4 m | EUR 20,109 per year | Puerto Portals, 2026/27, excluding VAT |
Figures as of 28 October 2026 unless dated, from the sources listed below.
Use the table against the boat you are looking at. The tax route comes first, because it changes the price.
A used boat in Spain is judged on its papers and its survey. Start with the history. Charter boats are entered in list 6 of the register and private boats in list 7, and charter is a large part of the market: ANEN counts 1,041 charter registrations in the first half of 2026, within 3,105 registrations in all. Ask the seller whether the boat was ever on the charter list, for how long, and whether the exemption from the registration tax was used, because the two-year rental period in the tax agency’s instructions affects the tax on a boat that leaves charter.
Then read the certificate. The navigability certificate records the inspections and the date of the next one. The Ministry of Transport lists six collaborating inspection entities, including Aldamar, Applus Norcontrol and SGS, and says the owner goes at least 15 calendar days before the certificate expires.
Appoint your own surveyor, independent of the seller and of any broker, and agree in the contract what happens to the findings: a price reduction, repair before delivery, or the right to withdraw. Ask for a lift-out, so that hull, keel, rudder and running gear are inspected out of the water, and compare engine hours with the service records.
Ask about haul-out by name. Noonsite says good repair facilities exist in the majority of Spanish ports, the most comprehensive in the prime yachting centres such as Palma de Mallorca. The Port Olímpic yard in Barcelona lists a travel lift or crane at EUR 9.18 per metre of length. Port Ginesta lists its travel lift at EUR 3.45 per square metre per movement from July to February and EUR 3.90 from March to June. All exclude VAT. Ask each yard for the lift capacity, the date and the price in writing. A seller who cannot produce the registry papers, the navigability certificate and a lift-out date should not receive a deposit.
What we do: a survey, haul-out and sea trial can be arranged at your expense, and the head office coordinates them with the local broker.
We act for the buyer. The head office coordinates the purchase with a local broker, a lawyer prepares the sale contract, and you pay a 10 percent deposit into escrow after the offer and sale terms are agreed, then the balance to the seller when the contract conditions are met. A survey, haul-out and sea trial can be arranged at your expense. We handle enquiries, viewings and negotiations in your language, so you deal with one office instead of a chain of them.
We know where a purchase stalls, and in Spain that is the tax route, the registry papers and the certificate dates. You can see current listings among our boats for sale in Spain, or by region: the boats for sale in Catalonia, the boats for sale in Andalusia, the boats for sale in the Balearic Islands and the boats for sale in the Valencian Community. Our page on yacht brokers in Spain sets out how we work there. We do not rush buyers: a good boat survives a careful look.
Tell us the boat, or the kind of boat, you are considering, and we will explain how we would approach it and what our involvement as your broker would include. Write to info@europeanyachtbrokers.com.
Check five things before you agree a price. First, the tax position: a sale by a VAT-registered business is not subject to ITP, a private sale of a boat already registered in Spain is, and a private boat over 8 m pays the 12 percent registration tax on first Spanish registration. Second, the registry documents and any charges recorded in the Registro de Bienes Muebles. Third, the navigability certificate and the date of its next inspection. Fourth, an independent survey with a lift-out. Fifth, liability insurance, compulsory for motor craft and for craft without motor over 6 m. We coordinate these checks with the local broker.
A used boat already registered in Spain is not subject to VAT, IGIC or IPSI, because that tax was borne when the boat was first acquired, according to the Ministry of Transport. The buyer pays transfer tax (ITP) instead, at a rate set by the autonomous community: 4 percent within 30 working days for a non-resident buyer filing with the State tax agency, and 5 percent within one month in Catalonia. A sale by a VAT-registered business is not subject to ITP. A new boat carries VAT at 21 percent outside the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. Ask the seller in writing which tax applies.
The registration tax (impuesto de matriculación) applies on first registration in Spain to private boats over 8 m, new or used, at 12 percent of value, 11 percent in the Canary Islands and nil in Ceuta and Melilla. Boats of 8 m or less are not subject to it. Boats used effectively and exclusively for rental, and boats of recognised nautical schools, are exempt, but the State tax agency’s instructions for model 576 set a period of two years for the rental exemption. A used boat from another EU country not yet registered in Spain can bear this tax on top of VAT. We handle enquiries to the seller in your language.
Registration is requested by the owner or an authorised representative at the maritime district of the chosen port of registry, under Royal Decree 1435/2010, and may be electronic. The resolution is due within one month of the application, and silence counts as refusal. The certificate of Spanish registry is renewed every five years. For a boat already registered, the seller communicates the change of ownership within three months and the buyer may do so too. We coordinate the file with the local broker so the documents are ready.
Yes, for motor craft, jet skis included, and for craft without motor of more than 6 m, under Royal Decree 607/1999 on compulsory third-party liability insurance. The duty applies also to foreign craft entering or leaving a Spanish port. Sailing uninsured is a serious infringement, and proof of cover is carried on board. Ask an insurer for a quote on the specific boat, and for the minimum cover the law requires, before you commit. We coordinate the purchase, including these questions, with the local broker.
Yes, an independent survey belongs in every purchase of a used boat, and when buying a boat in Spain it also helps to know the certificate cycle. The navigability certificate records the inspections, the periodic inspection comes at most every 5 years for private boats of 6 m to under 24 m, and a lapsed certificate is a problem for the seller to solve. Appoint a surveyor independent of the seller and of any broker, ask for a lift-out and agree what happens to the findings. We can arrange the survey, haul-out and sea trial at your expense.
Facts retrieved and read on 28 October 2026. Author: European Yacht Brokers.
