Spanish G5 tax

A

alorwin

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 Feb 2004
Messages
191
Location
Costa Del Sol - Spain
Visit site
Does anybody else pay the G5 tax in Spain? Has anyone had any experience of the Spanish G5 tax?

We are based in Estepona, CdS and it has almost doubled this year to 590 euros from about 325 last year (10m ish yacht).

We were offered 30% discount if we paid before the end of march (above figure includes the discount) which we have done.

We feel the marina may be adding their own fees to this tax as we cannot understand how they are able to discount a government tax. They have also charged us IVA (pretty much VAT) on this tax, therefore charging tax on a tax!!

It is rumoured around our marina that only two marinas on the Costa del Sol are making this charge at all and also other rumours stating that it is less elsewhere.

Has anyone any input or information on this subject. We realise that the tax is to cover lights and buoys but can't really understand why a 5m boat pays less than a 25m boat when they both see that same amount of light!

The cost is calculated on m2 of the boat according to the blurb letter that comes with the bill. If not paid all at once it is added as a daily charge of 0.05 euros per m2. Again, only Estepona (and rumoured Seuta) seem to charge this daily.

Can anyone shed any light (hehe) on this tax!

Much appreciated! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
. . . as far as I know . . . that particular G5 tax is not/has not been levied at Bajadilla (Marbella).

But, the Customs/Aduana have become more active over the past year/18 months there too. In particular the ISDMT 'boat import tax' (rate = 12% of the vessel's value) that is applicable to any person who has become "resident" in Spain. "Resident" can be taken to mean living in Spain / in Spanish waters for more than an aggregate of six months (approximately). This tax is also not applied consistently (in many instances, not at all). All in all, a bit of a worrying gamble for cruising live-aboards.
[see www.telefonica.net/web2/grehan/isdmt ]

One of the reasons that Grehan moved to Gibraltar.
Regards to you and to Estepona. Presume it's still the quiet 'off' season?
 
We didn't pay it coming down through Galicia. When we got to Santa Cruz de Tenerife though we were charged a whacking 20% of the annual tax - this on our first night in the Canaries.

We were told the rest would be collected in other ports in regular installments, with 100% of it being payable if in Spanish waters for more than 3 months. (Which we now have been).

In fact no-where else has asked for it, or if they have it has been on a 1/365 per night basis. Marina La Gomera told us they charged it for the first month of last year then stopped - with no repercussions. The manager in Radazul (Tenerife) told us that the charge Santa Curz is making is illegal, and should only apply to commercial boats.

So - it's anyone's guess. As it is a length x breadth tax bigger boats suffer disproportionately. I would certainly recommend staying out of Marina Atlantico in Santa Cruz de Tenerife at the moment.

- Nick
 
We pay;

Marina de Denia; levied via the Marina Office. There is a thread somewhere referencing that if you pay by DD then you get a 20% discount.

Used to be a monthly payment but now it's twice yearly.

It's all based on the fact that you have a non-Spanish "asset" occupying a bit of space that is within Spanish territory - the more space you occupy the more you pay.

Steve
www.seraph-sailing.com
 
We had to pay it in Alicante last summer where the marina office charged it - it was compulsory. We were told that it was collected in instalments and they 'recommended' us to pay for a whole year as it would be more convenient - we could then show our receipt as we went from marina to marina. Actually, nobody else charged us anywhere and nobody asked us for the receipt - so fortunately I only paid the minimum /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The whole tax thing and Spain is a jumble.
 
Looks like it's going to be much cheaper to anchor as much as possible while in Spain.
I''m never quite sure why Spain is so popular anyway. Go east young man!!
 
The different regions of Spain have a high level of autonomy about how they apply regulations, so you'll find some provinces apply the G5 tax (harbour tax) and others don't. Those that do usually collect twice a year, with a 20% discount for direct debit (or payment in advance).

It's not a big sum compared to the Mediterranean coast marina charges.

Other taxes and impositions largely arise due to the period of personal (not boat) residence in Spain per year - 183 days in any one year making you a Spanish tax resident. And due to re-register your boat as a Spanish boat with all that involves, including paying a wealth tax - a percentage of your boat's deemed value.

Again, policing this varies widely from province to province.

Please also note the effect of a recent Spanish decree, which requires everyone staying in Spain longer than 3 months to obtain a residency card as from 28 March. Details on
http://www.countryside-properties-spain.com/news/news.htm
How this will work for sailors staying more than 3 months in Spain is not yet clear - it seems to apply!
 
Jim,
[ QUOTE ]
How this will work for sailors staying more than 3 months in Spain is not yet clear - it seems to apply!

[/ QUOTE ]I don't think that it can possibly be intended to include the (transient) liveaboard yachtsman because a NIE is required and a permanent address is required. There are many, many thousands of EU yachts from outside Spain whose crew live aboard in Spanish waters for longer than three months at a time. If the authorities intended us to register then they would introduce a system that would allow us to do so. Meanwhile, all one can do is to leave prematurely (presumably Spain does not want that?) or wait until asked about it.

The people who seem to be at the greatest risk in all this are those who have some permanence other than a yacht - job, NIE, car, property, etc. Those who choose to exercise their right to vote and use all local health services (not using the reciprocal service card - previously called the E111) are presumably also more exposed? Having said that, from past discussions with Grehan, who maintains a useful website, link in his earlier post, suggest that the authorities are not necessarily 'fair minded' about it.

Anyway, back to the point, this 'new' directive seems to do nothing but recognise that EU citizens do not require a residencia.
David
 
[ QUOTE ]
How this will work for sailors staying more than 3 months in Spain is not yet clear - it seems to apply!


[/ QUOTE ]
I haven't yet accessed a reliable translation of the decree in question, but all the reports I have seen imply that there could be an effect on any people resident in Spain for more than 3 successive months (or 90 days, the more usual period). However, without border stamps, there's no consistent way of policing this, so I don't yet see it as a threat.

I'm pretty sure, as you point out, that it is not the intention to catch transient yotties here, I'm just pointing out that this may be an accidental side effect. As you suggest, it's best to have a look at a proper translation of the decree . . .

I agree that Spain's main intention here was to remove the anomaly of requiring a Residencia
 
Still I can't understand this tax: if it is an "import tax", as stated at the beginning of the 3d, it can't be levied on CE residents, as the boat is not "imported" (if it flies a CE member state flag). Any tax concerning spanish boats does not apply to other flag flying boats. I think I'm missing something, unless it is a "luxury tax" for the use of marinas, as the VIP (Very Intelligent President) of Sardinia established last year, causing a 30% drop in yachts (and mainly superyachts, the ones that spend 1000 euros a day at least!!) presence in favor of France, Tunisia etc.
Cheers
 
G5 isn't an import tax and it is a general tax on yachts payable annually by Spanish residents and non-residents alike. I don't know which regions it applies to but we only encountered it once in 2006 from Almerimar to Menorca, and that was in Alicante. We stopped (albeit very briefly) in marinas in Altea and San Antonio.
 
Whatever the EC 'laws' may or may not say (I know not), in Spain if you relocate there for more than a set period of time (approx total of six months in any year) then you are deemed to have become Resident. If you have a car or boat with you (inevitable if you're a cruising liveaboard) then the Spanish ISDMT tax says you will have imported that means of transport.
And you will be liable to pay the import tax. And also potentially to re-register it as Spanish.

I publish the actual rule document (as documented by Castilla y Leon autonomous region) at http://www.telefonica.net/web2/grehan/isdmt

This is pretty run of the mill (and well-known) for vehicles and I would guess the pay-up rate is fairly high. One still sees loads of UK registered cars and (white) vans around the place - that have obviously been 'in the sun' for years if not decades - but I understand that the Authorities are cracking down more and more on this wheeled flouting-of-the-rules.

What is much less known (much less) is that this regulation also applies to boats. Lemain is quite correct that there is no obvious procedure that is communicated to extranjero yotties. Quite probably because (a) the rule is not well known, even amongst those that should know (e.g marina personnel) (b) the rule is not much applied (but it is sometimes) and (c) it is the British that worry about abiding by rules and regulations; the Spanish are considerably more relaxed (considerably more).

Nevertheless, the rule exists and I know for example that there is at least one boat in Bajadilla with a Precinto notice stuck on it right now. Can't be moved until the situation is sorted out with the Aduana. I understand that the owner has heard nothing from the Department for months since the vessel was thus 'empounded'. Somewhat frustrating and worrying as I'm sure you'd agree, quite apart from not knowing what might be levied and how much. Not a lot of future in waving the EC rulebook at them, whatever it might say. I wouldn't fancy gambling on high-tailing (at 5 knots!) it out of Spanish waters either - have you seen those big black Guardia Civil boats? Would give me the willies.

For clarity, (1) this is ISDMT and <u>not</u> G5 which sounds like another (unknown to me) can of Spanish worms (neither is it Wealth (Asset) Tax, which is another thing entirely) and (2) most liveaboard yotties and cruisers will have no contact with either and no worries mate (as the Aussies say). /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif So lie back and think of England. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I know for example that there is at least one boat in Bajadilla with a Precinto notice stuck on it right now. Can't be moved until the situation is sorted out with the Aduana. I understand that the owner has heard nothing from the Department for months since the vessel was thus 'empounded'.

[/ QUOTE ]Is that case still going on? I believe you said that it was an elderly and somewhat vulnerable couple involved?

Do you know whether they had other non-boaty interests in Spain - e.g. home, car on Spanish plates, registered with the Ayuntamiento for health services and voting rights, etc.? I'm interested to see if any sort of pattern emerges but with so few cases it is not statistically very significant in any case. Several ex-pat Brits who have been around the Almeria waters for many years have suggested that those who upset the natives get singled-out but maybe this is folklore - I have not heard any evidence.
 
Tax residency

[ QUOTE ]
Whatever the EC 'laws' may or may not say (I know not), in Spain if you relocate there for more than a set period of time (approx total of six months in any year) then you are deemed to have become Resident.

[/ QUOTE ] The default EC rules about tax residency are fairly clear, and is a matter of fact. If you spend more than 183 days of the year in a country (in some cases a calendar year, in others a tax year; and sometimes including travel days, sometimes excluding them) you are deemed to be a tax resident.

It is quite possible to be tax resident in two countries simultaneously.

Tax residency brings a heap of obligations, differing from country to country. But often including such obligations as registering vehicles (cars, yachts) in the country of your tax residence.

Tax residency is not usually policed closely unless, for some reason, you come under official scrutiny. Trading locally is an obvious expample (especially yacht chartering).

Normally, if a country believes you are tax resident, you are tax resident unless you prove otherwise (plane tickets, diaries, ferry tickets, passport stamps, bank statements showing cash machine withdrawals etc).

Any use?
 
Bajadilla Precinto

No, that couple dug deep and paid up - this is a new one - Dec 06/Jan 07 I think. But someone else at the marina, well-known to all and sundry, and a long-term liveaboard has received no visit, nor trouble. Don't read anything conspiratorial into that - I'm fairly sure it's just the 'luck of the draw'.

JimB - my point about the EC was not concerning Residency, it responded to another point about 'no need to pay import tax, because within the EC one doesn't import anything between countries' (to paraphrase).
 
Re: Tax residency

[ QUOTE ]

Tax residency brings a heap of obligations, differing from country to country. But often including such obligations as registering vehicles (cars, yachts) in the country of your tax residence.

[/ QUOTE ]

Does this apply if your boat is in Spain for more than 6 months, but you are not?
 
Re: Tax residency

[ QUOTE ]
Does this apply if your boat is in Spain for more than 6 months, but you are not?

[/ QUOTE ]No. Where you are staying is all that matters, your boat can be in Spain 365/365 with no liability for taxes other than fairly low level stuff like G5 and lights dues which most don't seem to pay at the moment, in any case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top