Wealth Tax on Yachts in Spain: Valuation, Rates and Planning

The Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio and Yachts

Spain's Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio (IP) is an annual wealth tax levied on the net value of an individual's assets. Unlike most EU countries that have abolished wealth taxes, Spain has maintained the IP — and since 2023 has supplemented it with a national Impuesto de Solidaridad de las Grandes Fortunas (ISGF) that removes the ability of regions to effectively eliminate wealth tax through rebates.

Yachts are fully within the scope of the IP. A vessel is treated as a taxable asset in the wealth tax base of the owner — whether the owner is a Spanish resident (taxed on worldwide assets) or a non-resident (taxed only on Spain-sited assets). The physical location of the vessel at 31 December of each tax year determines whether it is a Spain-sited asset for non-resident purposes.

Who Is Liable: Residents and Non-Residents

Spanish tax residents

Spanish tax residents are subject to IP on their worldwide net assets. A yacht wherever in the world it is moored at 31 December forms part of the taxable base if the owner is a Spanish tax resident — subject to the applicable thresholds and personal allowances. Spanish residents benefit from:

• A general exemption of €700,000 of net assets (national rate; some regions apply higher exemptions)
• An additional €300,000 exemption for the value of their primary residence
• An IRPF/IP combined cap: IP due should not exceed 60% of the combined IRPF and IP taxable base (though this cap has complex conditions and limited practical effect for very high-wealth individuals)

Non-residents

Non-residents are subject to IP only on their Spain-sited assets. A vessel physically located in Spain (in a Spanish marina, port, or anchorage) at 31 December is a Spain-sited asset. Non-residents do not benefit from the €300,000 primary residence exemption. The general minimum exemption for non-residents is €700,000 at the national level, though this interacts with regional rules — non-residents are generally assessed under the national IP scale administered by the state tax authority rather than by an autonomous community.

Valuation of Yachts for IP Purposes

The IP law specifies that personal movable assets (which include yachts) are valued at the highest of:

1. Original acquisition cost: The price paid for the vessel plus all taxes paid on purchase (IVA or ITP, matriculation tax, notary fees, registration costs)
2. Assessed value: Any value assessed by the tax authorities in prior years
3. Market value: The vessel's actual market value at 31 December

Spain's wealth tax law does not provide for a depreciation deduction on movable assets in the same way that IRPF allows depreciation for business assets. This means that a vessel purchased for €3 million may still be valued at or near €3 million for IP purposes a decade after purchase, even if the actual market value has declined significantly due to age and wear. For owners of older vessels, this creates an IP overvaluation problem that can be addressed by obtaining independent professional valuations — if the market value is demonstrably lower than the acquisition cost, the market value should be used.

IP Rates: National Scale

National scale. Autonomous communities may apply different scales. These are the rates after the applicable thresholds have been exceeded.

Regional Variations: Andalucía, Madrid, and the Balearics

Andalucía applies the national IP scale. Following recent reforms, Andalucía has significantly increased the IP exemption threshold — most yacht owners in Marbella and Costa del Sol marinas should verify the current Andalucía-specific rules before filing.

Madrid has historically applied a 100% rebate on IP, meaning Madrid-resident taxpayers effectively paid zero IP. However, since 2023, the ISGF (solidarity wealth tax) applies nationally and overrides regional rebates for taxpayers with net wealth exceeding €3 million. Madrid residents with significant yacht assets are therefore subject to ISGF even though their regional IP liability is zero.

Balearic Islands apply a progressive scale with rates slightly above the national scale at higher wealth bands, reflecting the Balearics' high concentration of significant yacht assets and the autonomous community's fiscal policies.

Practical Examples

Figures are approximate illustrations. Actual liability depends on total wealth, applicable exemptions, regional rules, and deductible liabilities. These should not be relied upon without specific advice.

IP/IRPF Combined Cap

The Ley del Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio contains a provision limiting the combined IP and IRPF tax burden: the sum of both taxes should not exceed 60% of the individual's IRPF taxable base. If the combined liability exceeds this cap, the IP payable is reduced accordingly — but the reduction cannot bring the IP below 20% of the originally calculated IP amount. In practice, this cap has limited effect for yacht owners unless their IRPF income is very low relative to their wealth.

Planning Strategies

• Charter activity: Assets used exclusively in commercial business activities may qualify for the IP entrepreneur's exemption (exención empresarial), provided the business generates the owner's principal source of income. A genuine, commercially operated charter business could potentially exempt the vessel's value from IP.
• Vessel location on 31 December: For non-residents, moving the vessel outside Spain before 31 December removes it from the IP base for that year. This must be a genuine relocation, not a token movement.
• Foreign company holding: This does not provide automatic IP exemption — the AEAT may look through the structure — but certain offshore holding arrangements may reduce IP exposure in specific circumstances, depending on the applicable bilateral tax treaty.
• Professional valuation: Where the vessel has depreciated below its acquisition cost, a professional survey valuation provides a documented basis for using market value rather than cost as the IP taxable base.