mm1
New member
Can any one tell me if as a private individual I move my boat to Spain & use it for purely private reason's do I have to pay the above mentioned tax? Regards mm1
Matriculation tax
- Thread starter mm1
- Start date
jrudge
Well-known member
You pay if it is on charter ( you say private use) or if you are resident which is more than 183 odd days in a calandar year. If you are moving there and own the boat already you can apply for an exemption under eu rules.
Tranona
Well-known member
Matriculation is determined by your status, not the boat. So you can leave it there and use it as long as you want. However, if you intend to become resident then it has to be matriculated, but if you do it within 30 days of arriving you will not have to pay the tax.
If you plan to become resident worth taking advice on what you have to do.
If you plan to become resident worth taking advice on what you have to do.
mm1
New member
Thanks very much.yes we will be there for more than 183 days & we own the boat now in uk so how do we get the exemption paper work.p.s. & do we do it before we leave uk? Thanks in advance mm1.
lovezoo
New member
As soon as you arrive in Spain with the boat, you need to get yourself a "gestor" to get a Spanish registration for the boat (ditto if you are taking a car) - make sure that they know the rules and can arrange this without paying the matriculation tax.
Presumably if you are going to be living in Spain you will need to get a Spanish boat license as well - if you have a suitable RYA qualification you can get the Spanish equivalent.
Tranona
Well-known member
lovezoo;3788313 Presumably if you are going to be living in Spain you will need to get a Spanish boat license as well - if you have a suitable RYA qualification you can get the Spanish equivalent.[/QUOTE said:
PlanB
Well-known member
As I understand it, if you are going to be in Spain for more than 183 days per year, matriculation tax is payable on the boat but you no longer have to re-register it as Spanish, or get the Spanish licence. As Tranona has said, an ICC is advisable.
jimbaerselman
New member
Technically speaking, this payment you refer to is no longer a matriculation tax (registration tax), since the boat no longer has to be re-registered in Spain if you become a Spanish tax resident. It can remain a UK registered boat, as long as it spends some time outside Spain (your gestor will advise the detail).
The payment has been modified to be, in fact, a "pollution payment". This is effectively a fine, and only levied if the the boat's import into Spain is not declared within 30 days of you becoming a tax resident (if the boat is already in Spain) or within 30 days of importing the boat (if you're already tax resident).
If you choose to re-register the boat in Spain (or have to because you won't be spending time outside Spain) then the boat will have to have equipment fitted to meet Spanish regulations. Again, your gestor will advise.
The payment has been modified to be, in fact, a "pollution payment". This is effectively a fine, and only levied if the the boat's import into Spain is not declared within 30 days of you becoming a tax resident (if the boat is already in Spain) or within 30 days of importing the boat (if you're already tax resident).
If you choose to re-register the boat in Spain (or have to because you won't be spending time outside Spain) then the boat will have to have equipment fitted to meet Spanish regulations. Again, your gestor will advise.
duncan99210
Well-known member
+1
That said, if you're planning on living on board the boat as opposed to getting a house, then you will need advice on that as well because you will need an address in order to register as tax resident. Whatever you decide, the law is not widely enforced and you have time to sort things out when you get here. If you're planning on moving on, then it probably is not worth the hassle of registration.
By the way, the 183 day count runs in a calendar year, so the clock resets to zero on 1 Jan.
Grehan
Well-known member
. . and it's 183 days in annual cumulative total, not as a sequential lump.
chinita
Well-known member
That is interesting to know.
So, you can stay say, from 31 Dec 2013 minus 182 days to 1 Jan 2014 plus 182 days.
mm1
New member
Thanks every one.this is not very straight forward.if we lived in France would the marina address do for Spanish purposes.not as easy as I had hoped for,regards mm1
Nostrodamus
New member
How do the Spanish know how long you have been in Spain or do they rely on you telling them?
capnsensible
Well-known member
In most of the Andalucia marinas, you will be required to show your and possibly your crews passport on arrival. Im sure I had to do that in Portugal too.
Copies are often taken so someone, somwhere I reckon within the beaurocracy uses that information.....
Nostrodamus
New member
We spent time at anchor and a month in a marina in Northern Spain where there were no checks. Also flying out even though the boat is in a Spanish marina or walking into Gib. We also spent a few months in Portugal between. It must be hard to prove YOU were in Spain for 183 days in a year or do you have to prove you wasn't. We will be touch and go on the limit by maybe two weeks either way.
nortada
Well-known member
Spain v Portugal
Portuguese marinas normally want sight of passports but untill this year, boats at anchor were very rarely, if ever, checked.
Of late, rumour has it that the Portuguese Authorities are taking a greater interest of boats in their waters but the thrust of this interest would appear to be light dues rather than boat circulation/matriculation.
Broadly, both Spain & Portugal have similar rules relating to foreign flagged vessels but there are differences. The Portuguese situation has been regularly discussed on the More Portuguese Hassle Thread.
Another similarity in Spain & Portugal is that the various regions have very different attitudes to the law.
Example Portuguese Hassle is largely confined to The Algarve - especially around Faro. Possibly personality driven?
Typical in many countries but difficult for Brits to come to terms with.
The Portuguese Rules are clearly stated in the www.lagosnavigators.net information sheets.
Bit off Fred but hope it helps
Portuguese marinas normally want sight of passports but untill this year, boats at anchor were very rarely, if ever, checked.
Of late, rumour has it that the Portuguese Authorities are taking a greater interest of boats in their waters but the thrust of this interest would appear to be light dues rather than boat circulation/matriculation.
Broadly, both Spain & Portugal have similar rules relating to foreign flagged vessels but there are differences. The Portuguese situation has been regularly discussed on the More Portuguese Hassle Thread.
Another similarity in Spain & Portugal is that the various regions have very different attitudes to the law.
Example Portuguese Hassle is largely confined to The Algarve - especially around Faro. Possibly personality driven?
Typical in many countries but difficult for Brits to come to terms with.
The Portuguese Rules are clearly stated in the www.lagosnavigators.net information sheets.
Bit off Fred but hope it helps
chinita
Well-known member
That is true, but it only proves that your boat has arrived/departed.
There seems to be no system for ascertaining movements of individuals. Of course, details are recored at airports but there are no checks as you drive on the motorway between Portugal and Spain for example.
My belief is that the regulations are there but are only enforced when the odd individual chooses to buck their system.
chinita
Well-known member
As has been said, it is a calendar year. Will the time in Northern Spain and your proposed time in Southern Spain add up to 183 days in 2012?
If not, you can go off and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the delightful Spanish Costas until 31 December 2012 and then the clock resets and you have 183 days in 2013.
Better still, go and relax in the leafy lanes of Gibraltar, enjoying great value local food and drink, quaint pubs, lovely apes, recharging your chill batteries for a few months into 2013 and this will further add to your flexibility when cruising to Spain a bit later in the year.
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Wansworth
Well-known member
Back in 1981 I found my way to the customes and immigration after flying the yellow flag a few days.After accertaining the whereabouts of the chief I was ushered into his office......he was balancing back on two legs of his chair with feet on the large paper filled desk,smoking a cigar------just like in the movies.At that time my Spanish was err limited;even so on seeing me he grounded his seat and on discovering I was British he refuesed to stamp my passport and asked me to go way.....shoo in me out of his office!He was a charachter straight out of a story about world cruising.......this was the stuff of adventure!!!!
Plomong
Well-known member
Look,
this has been done to death several times.
The 183 day limit is there to be applied when persons establish themselves in Spain, not to harass innocent tourists.
So, if you are moving along the coast stopping here, touring there and generally "being a tourist", no one is interested in making hassle for you. Just get on with life and enjoy. No one is checking your 183 day limit, no one knows (without a lot of work) when you arrived or where, unless they ask you in person. The police along all the Spanish coasts have more important problems to handle, drugs and people-running being two well-known ones, but not the only ones by any stretch of the imagination.
On the other hand, if you stay put for some time, or start a business or buy an apartment or property, or settle in, in any of the accepted meanings of that word, expect to attract attention, especially if the stay is measured in years, as has been reported on several occasions on this forum, usually by people complaining once "caught".
So, lighten up, stop worrying and enjoy life.
Plomong
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