Swedish VAT yacht

At Skatteverket a vessel longer than 7.5 m, if it is not fishing, not a commercial voyage, not a tug and not a rescue boat, counts as a new means of transport in two cases. It was bought in the first three months after it was brought into service. Or, before the purchase, it had done no more than 100 hours. One of those is enough. Directive 2006/112/EC, the consolidated text of 20 March 2025, writes the same three months and the same 100 hours under way. The directive's list of exclusions is longer: it also has passenger ships of the open sea that carry people for payment, industrial craft, and coastal fishing. The short Swedish list is not copied onto the directive.

What it is

Swedish VAT on a yacht in an advert is usually a claim about moms status (paid, not paid, export) in a deal with a Swedish trace. A broker's stamp is not enough for that: the hull needs invoices and official proof. FairHelm does not confirm the tax: it marks the gaps. The decision on moms sits with an adviser and in the sale papers, not on a marketing badge.

A private buyer of such a "new" boat from another EU country pays Swedish VAT themselves. The rate on this page is 25 percent of the price on the invoice. The price includes a trade-in of the old boat, extra equipment and delivery. The money is in kronor, at the rate on the day of supply. If the invoice is close to the supply, the rate on the invoice day can be used. Form SKV 5282 goes to Skatteverket, 771 83 Ludvika, no later than 35 days. If by this definition the boat is no longer new, the same site says something else: VAT is paid in the country of purchase, and Sweden does not take it from a private buyer. "VAT paid" in one EU country does not mean the same proof in another.

For a vessel, entry into service is the day it was handed to the first buyer or was available to that buyer, or the day the maker showed it. If there is no date, it is the date of the first invoice. The EU court in case C-84/09 looks at the moment of sale, not at the day the boat arrived in the destination country. The Åland islands are not on this EU list. This page does not cover a private import from outside the VAT area. Boats of 7.5 m and shorter are not described by this test on this page.

Charter is another page of the same authority. If letting the boat is already a business and it carries VAT, the same 25 percent is there, but on the hire, not on the purchase. A berth, winter storage and antifouling cannot be deducted on a private let. The words moms betald on an advert do not close these forks. This is not a decision on your hull. Nearby on the site: VAT-paid status, bill of sale, yacht insurance and survey checklist are other pages, not this tax.