SDG9
FERRETTI 720 M/Y SDG9 is a highly compelling 2024 Ferretti Yachts 720, offering buyers the opportunity to acquire a virtually new example of one of
THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Spain
Identify the transaction's VAT route, understand the new-transport test and check the calculation and invoice evidence.
Boat VAT Spain questions begin with the transaction, rather than the flag or the age printed in an advertisement. Who sells, where the boat moves and whether it meets the tax definition of a new means of transport affect the assessment. Ask a locally qualified tax adviser to identify the applicable route before agreeing the final payable amount. Keep the seller's explanation, invoice and movement evidence together so the proposed tax treatment can be checked against the actual purchase.
This guide covers domestic business supplies, qualifying acquisitions from another European Union member state and import calculations. It explains the general VAT rules without asserting an exemption for a particular yacht. Canary Islands transactions need a separate territorial assessment. Matriculation tax and regional transfer tax are different questions and are not calculated here. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
Law 37/1992, Article 3 excludes the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla from the relevant Spanish VAT territory, in the consolidated version checked 3 October 2026.
BOE – Spanish VAT Act ·Law 37/1992, Article 13(2), includes vessels with maximum length greater than 7.5 metres in the new-means-of-transport definition, except the qualifying ship exemption identified there, in the consolidated version checked 3 October 2026.
BOE – Spanish VAT Act ·Law 37/1992, Article 13(2), treats qualifying vessels as new where delivery occurs before 3 months after first entry into service or the vessel has not navigated more than 100 hours; either condition suffices, in the consolidated version checked 3 October 2026.
BOE – Spanish VAT Act ·AEAT's current rate page checked 3 October 2026 states the general Spanish VAT rate is 21%, consistent with Law 37/1992, Article 90.
AEAT – current VAT rates ·Law 37/1992, Article 83 adds specified taxes and charges other than VAT, plus incidental costs including transport and insurance to the first destination in the Community where not already included, to customs value, in the consolidated version checked 3 October 2026.
BOE – Spanish VAT Act ·Section 1
Begin by recording the actual seller, buyer, location and proposed movement. The VAT Act's domestic supply rule concerns paid supplies by businesses or professionals in the course of their activity. A private domestic disposal therefore needs a different assessment from a business sale, while cross-border new-transport acquisitions and imports have their own rules. Ask the tax adviser to classify your transaction before relying on a description such as tax paid. This is a practical preparation recommendation, not a new statutory certificate requirement.
Spain's VAT territory is not identical to every place within the country. The Act excludes the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla from the territory relevant to these provisions. Do not apply a mainland calculation automatically to a boat located or moving there. Give the adviser the actual origin and destination and ask which taxes and formalities apply. The guide does not establish the Canary Islands' local tax rates or a relief for movements involving those territories from an assumed analogy.
An import is also a separate taxable event under the VAT Act, regardless of the importer's status or intended purpose, subject to the applicable regime and exemption assessment. Being a private buyer does not by itself settle that question. As a recommendation, ask the adviser to distinguish the sale from the movement and customs procedure. This guide does not promise that historic VAT evidence, foreign registration or a seller's residence automatically removes a tax charge arising from the transaction you propose.
Broker tip: As a practical preparation step, describe the seller, buyer, location and intended movement in writing. Ask a qualified tax adviser to classify the actual transaction before accepting an unexplained statement that the boat is tax paid. A related question is answered in our guide on how to import a boat into Spain.
Boat insurance and tax paperwork on a desk.
Domestic business supplies
Section 2
The tax definition of new transport is not the same as a seller's description of the boat as used. The VAT Act and tax-authority guidance identify qualifying vessels by length and the newness tests. The tests are alternatives, so a yacht that fails the age test can still qualify under the navigation-hours test. Ask the adviser to review the dates and use evidence before deciding the treatment of a purchase moved from another member state to mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands.
Obtain evidence that relates to the statutory tests, rather than relying only on a model year. As a recommendation, ask for the first-service information and records supporting the stated navigation hours, then preserve them with the purchase file. This guide does not identify one universally conclusive document for those facts. If evidence is incomplete or inconsistent, ask the tax adviser how to resolve it before payment. Do not replace a missing record with an assumption based on how clean the boat looks.
The tax-authority guidance explains the destination taxation of qualifying new-transport acquisitions for the persons described in its page. It expressly addresses movement to mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands regardless of the seller's and buyer's status. That is a specific cross-border rule, not a statement that every used-boat purchase has the same result. Ask the adviser to coordinate the proposed origin and destination treatment. The guide does not assert the full procedure or payment deadline for your individual acquisition.
Broker tip: As a practical evidence check, request first-service and navigation-hours information before classifying an EU purchase as used for tax. Ask a qualified adviser to resolve missing or inconsistent records rather than relying on the advertised model year. See also our guide on how to register a boat in Spain.
Port customs office at a harbour.
Qualifying vessel length
Buying or selling a boat in Spain and want a second opinion? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
The general rate and the taxable base are separate parts of the calculation. For a taxable domestic supply, the Act begins with the total consideration and addresses specified additions and exclusions. Ask the seller and adviser to show the actual base and tax treatment rather than only a combined figure. The current general rate is verified here, but the guide does not infer that every special yacht arrangement falls under it without assessment of the actual transaction and any claimed exception.
A simple assumed calculation can explain the arithmetic without claiming to be a market quote. The facts below use an expressly assumed taxable base and apply the verified general rate to it. Before using a real purchase total, replace the assumed input with the actual taxable amount and identify whether the seller's quotation already includes VAT. These are practical budget checks. They do not establish a quoted yacht price, an exemption or an automatic right for a company to deduct the tax.
Import VAT uses a different base rule. The Act adds specified charges and incidental expenses to customs value where they are not already included. Ask the customs representative and tax adviser to show those items distinctly. Do not simply apply the general rate to an advertised overseas asking price and assume the result is the final import bill. This guide gives no actual duty percentage or customs-agent fee and does not calculate a special relief or commercial-yacht treatment without supporting official evidence. Margin-scheme eligibility, commercial deductions, special ship exemptions and transaction-specific VAT recovery were not established. No universal acquisition payment deadline, customs duty percentage or processing time was verified. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Ask for the taxable base, rate and total to be shown separately in the proposed calculation. For an import, have the representative identify additions to customs value rather than using the overseas asking price as the whole base. Readers often go on to our guide on how to buy a boat in Spain.
Tablet showing a boat valuation beside a model yacht.
Current general rate
AEAT's current rate page checked 3 October 2026 states the general Spanish VAT rate is 21%, consistent with Law 37/1992, Article 90.
Source: AEAT – current VAT ratesLaw 37/1992, Article 78 sets the general taxable base at total consideration and includes specified ancillary charges while excluding VAT itself under its rules, in the consolidated version checked 3 October 2026.
Source: BOE – Spanish VAT ActFor an explicitly assumed taxable base of€100,000 and the separately verified 21%general rate, VAT is€21,000 and the combined amount is€121,000 ; this is illustrative arithmetic, not a yacht quotation or proof of transaction-specific tax treatment.
Source: BOE – Spanish VAT ActLaw 37/1992, Article 83 adds specified taxes and charges other than VAT, plus incidental costs including transport and insurance to the first destination in the Community where not already included, to customs value, in the consolidated version checked 3 October 2026.
Source: BOE – Spanish VAT ActSection 4
The VAT Act includes invoicing obligations for taxable persons, subject to the detailed regulatory requirements and limits. Ask the seller and tax adviser which invoice documents apply to the purchase. As a practical recommendation, compare the transaction description and boat identification with the agreed sale before releasing the balance. This guide does not prescribe a complete invoice template from memory. An invoice also needs to be read in its actual tax context rather than treated as a universal certificate of all historic liabilities.
For the qualifying new-transport acquisition described in the Act, payment evidence is linked to definitive matriculation. Ask the adviser how that requirement fits the intended registration sequence before arranging delivery. Keep the tax and maritime application work coordinated. This is a recommendation for managing the file, not a claim that a registration submission itself settles the tax treatment. No universal payment deadline, processing time or guarantee of acceptance for a particular acquisition was established by the opened sources used here.
Retain a coherent account of the proposed treatment and the documents on which it rests. As a recommendation, record what the seller says, what the adviser confirms and what the final invoice or import record shows. The Act also addresses authenticity, integrity and legibility of invoices. If the documents conflict, resolve the discrepancy before relying on a tax description in an advertisement. This guide does not establish an automatic commercial deduction, margin-scheme eligibility or special ship exemption for the boat you are buying.
Broker tip: As a practical completion check, compare the tax explanation with the final invoice and movement records. Ask the adviser to resolve any inconsistency before the balance is paid and retain the evidence supporting the agreed treatment. Our guide on what it costs to sell a boat in Spain covers a related point. Owners living abroad can read our guide on whether a non-resident can sell a boat in Spain.
Boat registration at a marina office.
Statutory invoice obligation
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a Spanish lawyer: for Spanish law and tax we refer you to a locally qualified adviser. What we can do is help you plan the transaction, put the right questions to the other side and spot gaps in the paperwork before you commit.
If you are buying or selling a boat in Spain, tell us about the boat and the area through the enquiry form on this page and a broker will reply. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
The handover of a boat at the dock.
Your questions
No flag-based exemption is established by this guide. The actual seller, movement and taxable event need assessment, and imports and qualifying new-transport acquisitions have separate rules. Ask a qualified tax adviser to classify the proposed purchase using its actual facts. As a practical recommendation, keep the seller's explanation and supporting documents together rather than relying on an unexplained tax-paid statement in an advertisement. (BOE – Spanish VAT Act)
Yes; the qualifying vessel's statutory newness tests are alternatives, including navigation hours as well as the first-service timing. The advertised age alone therefore does not settle the classification. Ask for evidence relevant to both tests and have a qualified adviser assess the movement to mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands. This guide does not replace missing use records with a condition-based estimate. (BOE – Spanish VAT Act)
No; the Canary Islands are excluded from the relevant Spanish VAT territory in the Act. A movement involving them needs its own territorial and tax assessment rather than automatic use of a mainland calculation. Give the adviser the actual location, origin and destination before agreeing the purchase total. Local Canary Islands tax rates and particular movement reliefs are not established in this guide. (BOE – Spanish VAT Act)
No; the statutory import base starts with customs value and includes specified additions where not already included. These cover relevant charges other than VAT and incidental costs to the first destination described by the rule. Ask the representative to show the actual calculation. The guide gives no real duty percentage or agency fee, so it does not promise a final import bill from the asking price alone. (BOE – Spanish VAT Act)
The Act provides invoicing obligations and requires VAT-payment evidence for definitive matriculation in its qualifying new-transport cases. Ask the adviser which documents apply to your transaction and how they fit the registration sequence. As a practical recommendation, compare the final invoice with the agreed sale and preserve movement records. No universal tax-paid certificate or guaranteed approval is established by this guide. (BOE – Spanish VAT Act)
This guide only includes facts checked against official sources. For anything it does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information, and ask a locally qualified adviser to confirm the position for your own boat.
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Check it yourself
Law37/1992 consolidated provisions checked3October2026: territorial scope, taxable transactions, new transport, bases and invoices.
2025 VAT manual's new-transport guidance, cross-checked against the current VAT Act on3October2026.
Current official general-rate page checked3October2026.
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