SHAYA
SANLORENZO SX76 M/Y SHAYA is an exceptional example of the highly successful Sanlorenzo SX76 crossover series. The vessel has been maintained to the highest standards
THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Turkey
Identify taxable sales, apply the current rate and distinguish recreational exemptions, import bases and special consumption tax.
Boat VAT Turkey depends on the transaction and the parties, not simply on a boat being new or second-hand. A business supply, an occasional private disposal and a permanent import have different starting points. This guide uses the current official rate decision, VAT legislation and Revenue Administration guidance to explain the assessment. It also distinguishes special consumption tax from VAT, so a buyer can request a complete calculation before agreeing a price.
The guide is for buyers and sellers checking a Turkish transaction or import. It covers taxable scope, the current standard rate, the base used for calculation and recreational exemption exclusions. Individual classification, exemption evidence and any special consumption tax charging event need assessment by a locally qualified tax adviser. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
The consolidated VAT guidance states that supplies and services within occasional activities are outside VAT, apart from the identified voluntary-taxpayer case.
Revenue Administration — consolidated VAT General Application Communiqué ·Decision 2007/13033 Article 1(1)(a), as consolidated by the Revenue Administration, sets 20% VAT for taxable transactions outside the reduced-rate lists, effective 10 July 2023.
Revenue Administration — current VAT rates decision ·The consolidated decision's footnote 96 records that Decision 5359 Article 5 removed yachts, boats and pleasure vessels from List I B19, effective 1 April 2022.
Revenue Administration — current VAT rates decision ·Decision 10363 sets an 8% ÖTV rate for its listed 89.03 yacht and other recreational or sports craft category, excluding inflatables, craft of unit weight not exceeding 100 kg, rowing boats and canoes.
Resmî Gazete — Presidential Decision 10363, updated 6 Sep 2025 ·The consolidated VAT guidance excludes private recreational boats and yachts with hull length up to 24 metres from the qualifying transport-vessel supply exemption.
Revenue Administration — consolidated VAT General Application Communiqué ·Section 1
Turkey's value added tax (KDV) rules begin with the transaction, rather than whether the advertised boat is new or used. VAT Law 3065 covers goods and services supplied in Turkey within commercial activities, while the Revenue Administration explains that occasional activities fall outside that business scope. Our recommendation is to identify the actual seller and capacity in which the seller acts. A description such as private sale is useful only when it accurately reflects the transaction and supporting ownership records.
A business sale and an occasional disposal of a privately owned boat therefore need separate assessments. The consolidated guidance also identifies exceptions to the ordinary business-scope analysis: auction and customs-warehouse sales are taxable under their specific rule. Our recommendation is to ask the seller's locally qualified tax adviser to state the reason for the proposed treatment in writing. Do not treat every used boat as VAT-free or assume that an auction of privately owned property follows an ordinary private negotiation.
Nationality and residence do not change the taxable character of a transaction falling within the law. Importation also has its own VAT scope and applies regardless of whether the importer is a public body, a business or an individual. Our recommendation is to distinguish buying a boat already in Turkey from bringing one into the country permanently. An old invoice can help explain the vessel's history, but it does not by itself answer whether the current seller's supply or the buyer's import is taxable.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to ask for a written tax classification naming the seller, seller capacity and transaction route. Keep that explanation with the sale contract rather than rely on the boat's age or an informal private-sale description. See also our guide on how to import a boat into Turkey.
Boat insurance and tax paperwork on a desk.
Business supply scope
Section 2
The Revenue Administration's current rates decision gives a standard VAT rate of 20% for taxable transactions outside its reduced-rate lists. Its consolidated footnote records that yachts, boats and pleasure vessels were removed from the former reduced-rate entry effective 1 April 2022. Our recommendation is to reject a quotation based solely on that old yacht entry and ask the adviser to identify any current exemption claimed for the actual transaction. A historic reduced rate is not evidence of today's tax treatment.
The standard rate changed to its present level effective 10 July 2023. Apply it only after deciding that the transaction is taxable and that no applicable exemption or separate classification changes the result. Our recommendation is for the seller to show the taxable base, tax amount and payable total in the quotation. The buyer should also ask whether the advertised price already contains VAT. This avoids comparing an inclusive business offer with another price whose tax treatment has not been stated.
Special consumption tax (ÖTV) is a separate tax. Presidential Decision 10363 sets an 8% rate for the listed yacht and boat tariff category, effective publication on 6 September 2025, with exclusions specified in the tariff wording. That does not mean an additional charge applies to every second-hand transfer. Our recommendation is to ask a qualified adviser or customs representative to establish whether an ÖTV charging event arises in the particular purchase or import and how any applicable amount enters the VAT calculation.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to ask the seller to show VAT and any applicable ÖTV separately, identifying the legal basis and charging event. An old reduced-rate quotation or a boat's second-hand description does not settle the assessment. Readers often go on to our guide on how to register a boat in Turkey.
Port customs office at a harbour.
Current standard rate
Buying or selling a boat in Turkey and want a second opinion? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
VAT Law 3065 uses the consideration received or owed for a domestic supply as its starting taxable base. Its additions include seller-arranged transport, loading and unloading to the buyer's specified destination, alongside listed packaging, insurance, commission and other items. Our recommendation is to ask which ancillary charges form part of the seller's taxable supply and which are invoiced by an independent provider. A brokerage payment or delivery expense needs to be assessed in its actual contractual relationship rather than automatically assigned to the boat invoice.
The law excludes commercially customary discounts shown on the invoice and the VAT itself from that taxable base. Foreign-currency consideration is converted using the current exchange rate at the tax event. Imports have a different base: customs value or the stated alternative valuation, plus applicable import taxes and levies and specified costs before declaration registration. Our recommendation is to obtain the import representative's calculation before budgeting, since the foreign seller's invoice alone does not establish the full Turkish import VAT base.
For a simple worked example, assume a taxable base of TL100,000 has already been correctly established, including any applicable amounts that the law requires in that base. Applying the verified standard rate gives TL20,000 VAT and a TL120,000 VAT-inclusive total. This is illustrative arithmetic, not a yacht price or a complete import assessment. The buyer pays the quoted total to the supplier in the assumed domestic transaction; no extra ÖTV amount is calculated because its applicability and underlying base have not been assumed. The individual boat's customs classification, ÖTV charging event and any special exemption certificate are not determined by this guide. No universal VAT-payment deadline or complete import duty calculation is asserted. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to obtain the calculation behind the total, including discounts, delivery items and any import additions. Confirm whether each quoted service is part of the supplier's taxable base before comparing competing offers. Our guide on how to buy a boat in Turkey covers a related point.
Tablet showing a boat valuation beside a model yacht.
Domestic consideration base
VAT Law 3065 Article 20 defines the domestic taxable base as the consideration for the supply or service.
Source: Turkish legislation database — VAT Law 3065VAT Law 3065 Article 24 includes seller-arranged destination transport, loading and unloading, and specified packaging, insurance, commission, taxes and levies in the taxable base.
Source: Turkish legislation database — VAT Law 3065VAT Law 3065 Article 25 excludes customary discounts shown on the invoice and the VAT itself from the taxable base.
Source: Turkish legislation database — VAT Law 3065VAT Law 3065 Article 26 converts foreign-currency consideration to Turkish currency at the current exchange rate when the taxable event occurs.
Source: Turkish legislation database — VAT Law 3065VAT Law 3065 Article 21 uses customs value or its stated alternative valuation, adding applicable import taxes and levies and specified costs up to declaration registration.
Source: Turkish legislation database — VAT Law 3065For an expressly assumed correctly established taxable base of TL100,000 at the standard 20% VAT rate, VAT is TL20,000 and the inclusive total is TL120,000; this is arithmetic, not a market quotation.
Source: Revenue Administration — current VAT rates decisionSection 4
The official consolidated VAT guidance restricts the vessel-supply exemption intended for qualifying transport activities. Private recreational boats and yachts with hull length up to 24 metres are outside its qualifying transport-vessel definition. Larger craft can qualify where obtained by businesses whose activity is leasing or operating them under the guidance; acquisition for private use remains excluded. Our recommendation is to have the proposed use assessed before signing. Creating a company or describing a vessel as commercial does not establish that the exemption conditions are met.
The same supply guidance expressly excludes personal watercraft, parachute-towing craft, speedboats, sailing boats and inflatable boats from that exemption. These named exclusions deserve attention when a seller offers an exemption certificate or a business-use explanation. Our recommendation is to ask the adviser to compare the exact craft type with the current official wording and retain the resulting assessment. Do not rely on an exemption granted to a freight or passenger vessel as proof that a recreational boat receives the same treatment.
Port services have their own recreational exclusion. The consolidated guidance excludes the specified private boats and yachts up to that hull-length threshold and denies exemption for private-use craft regardless of characteristics. For larger craft, qualifying leasing or operation is assessed under the port-service conditions. Our recommendation is to review the marina quotation separately from the purchase invoice and distinguish supply exemption from service exemption. VAT Law 3065 also links business input deductions to the statutory conditions; company ownership alone does not establish an automatic deduction.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to send the adviser the boat type, documented hull length and intended use before relying on an exemption. Obtain separate written conclusions for purchase, import and port services where those transactions differ. A related question is answered in our guide on what it costs to sell a boat in Turkey. Owners living abroad can read our guide on whether a non-resident can sell a boat in Turkey.
Boat registration at a marina office.
Private supply exclusion
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a Turkish lawyer: for Turkish 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 Turkey, 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. The official guidance distinguishes occasional activities from continuing business supplies, while auction and customs-warehouse sales have their own taxable rule. Our recommendation is to establish the actual seller capacity and sale route before calling a transaction private. A used-boat description alone does not answer the question, and a business disposal needs its own tax assessment even if the boat was previously used personally. (Revenue Administration — consolidated VAT General Application Communiqué)
No. The current consolidated decision records removal of the yacht and pleasure-vessel reduced-rate entry and sets the present standard rate for taxable transactions outside the remaining reduced-rate lists. Our recommendation is to ask the adviser to identify any current exemption for the specific sale rather than rely on a historic yacht quotation. The transaction must first be classified as taxable or outside scope. (Revenue Administration — current VAT rates decision)
No. Special consumption tax is separate from value added tax. The opened presidential decision sets a rate for its listed yacht and recreational craft category, with named exclusions, but does not establish that every used-boat transfer creates a new charge. Our recommendation is to ask the adviser or customs representative to identify the charging event and any amount included in the VAT base before producing the final calculation. (Resmî Gazete — Presidential Decision 10363)
Not by itself. The VAT Law defines an import taxable base that includes the prescribed valuation, applicable import taxes and levies and specified costs before declaration registration. Our recommendation is to obtain a documented calculation from the import representative, including the currency treatment and relevant additions. The domestic illustrative example in this guide is not a complete import estimate and does not determine the individual boat's duty classification. (Turkish legislation database — VAT Law 3065)
No. The official vessel-supply guidance excludes the specified recreational craft and private-use acquisitions, while larger qualifying business-operated craft require assessment under its conditions. The VAT Law also imposes conditions on business input deduction. Our recommendation is to give the adviser the exact craft type, recorded hull length and actual intended operation before relying on an exemption or deduction in the purchase budget. (Revenue Administration — consolidated VAT General Application Communiqué)
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
Taxable scope, calculation base, conversion and deduction conditions.
Current standard rate and the removed historic yacht reduced-rate entry.
Separate yacht-category ÖTV rate, exclusions and commencement.
Occasional-activity distinction and recreational supply and port-service exclusions.
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