Yacht charter and shipping companies in Spain: licences, taxes and payback

A yacht charter business in Spain runs through an SL with yachts on List 6: a declaration to the Capitanía Marítima, compulsory insurance and an exemption from the 12% registration tax.

Charter companies listed in 2026 ask a median €260,000; a used 12–15 m yacht costs about €265,000. Tonnage tax does not apply to yachts: it is for merchant ships.

This guide covers two different maritime businesses: a charter company that hires out yachts for leisure, and a shipping company (naviera) that carries cargo or passengers.

It sets out what an existing charter business, a yacht and a marina berth cost, which permits you need, how the Canary Islands ship register works, what a charter operation earns and how it is taxed. There is a payback calculator with an illustrative two-yacht example.

Charter company or shipping company: two different models

A charter company hires out a yacht for leisure — bareboat or with a skipper.

Under the Maritime Navigation Act this is arrendamiento náutico: a yacht is made available for a price, for a period and for sport or leisure only (art. 307 Ley 14/2014), with or without crew (art. 308), and the lessor must hold liability insurance for the whole contract (art. 312). It is a small business: one to ten boats, a season and a marina.

A shipping company works at a different scale.

A naviera is a person or company that operates merchant ships, owned or not, even if this is not its main activity (art. 145 Ley 14/2014); a shipowner operating commercially must register with the Registro Mercantil (art. 146).

Think ferries, cargo ships, supply vessels and tugs.

Special tax regimes exist for it — the Canary Islands register and tonnage tax — and neither covers leisure yachts, as explained below.

What an existing charter company costs

We collected listings of charter and boat businesses for sale (thinkSPAIN, businessesforsale, businessbrokerspain, dub.de, marineandmaritime, November 2026).

There are few of them: the market is narrow, and the boat is usually sold together with the client base. The median of the seven listings with a price is €260,000. These are asking prices.

Two more reference points. A Costa Tropical company with two vessels is offered at over £600,000 with average revenue of about €334,000 in 2022–2025.

A Mallorca company with one 11 m boat and a berth reports €109,000 revenue and €64,000 earnings with one employee; the seller does not publish a price.

What you are actually buying

A charter business has little of the “goodwill on a lease” you pay for in a traspaso. The buyer pays for three things:

• A vessel cleared for commercial use. A yacht on List 6 with valid certificates and surveys is most of the price. Without it the company is just a brand.
• A berth. A seasonal berth in the Balearics is scarce. Listings sell berth rights too: in northern Mallorca, six front-line berths on open-ended contracts. A berth in a concession marina lasts no longer than the concession itself.
• Bookings and reviews. The client base, platform listings, repeat guests and broker agreements. That is the difference between the price of the company and the price of the boat.

So the first question for any listing is how much of the price is the boat.

If the yacht is worth €250,000 and the company is offered at €335,000, you are paying €85,000 for the business around it, and profit has to justify that.

What a yacht and a marina berth cost

Starting from scratch, the main cost is the boat.

In a sample of 39 used 12–15 m yachts listed in Spain (YachtWorld, November 2026) the median is €265,000, with half between €180,000 and €500,000.

Yachts built up to 2012 average €184,500; those built from 2017, €515,000.

The Balearic median is €479,000 and the Catalan one €220,000: the islands list newer, more expensive boats.

The second cost is the berth, and it runs all year, not just in season.

Official 2026 tariffs for a yacht of about 14 m: in Port d’Andratx, Mallorca, a maximum of €0.49 per m² a day from October to May and €0.83 from June to September, excluding VAT (Ports IB); in Portbou on the Costa Brava, an annual package of €7,100 for 13.5–14.5 m (DOGC no. 9570); in Benalmádena on the Costa del Sol, a maximum of €28.96 a day in summer and €17.77 in other months for a 15 × 4.5 m berth (port regulation of 2024, indexed every year).

A catamaran takes up twice the water and pays accordingly: a 12.6 × 7 m berth in Andratx costs about €19,400 a year.

Buying the right to use a berth for years is possible but a different order of investment: in Portbou the right to a 14 × 4.75 m berth costs about €60,000 including VAT.

Which permits a charter business needs

• List 6 of the register. Leisure boats operated for profit are registered on List 6, private ones on List 7; the same lists cover leisure ships over 24 m carrying up to 12 passengers (art. 4.1 RD 1027/1989). A charter yacht is always on List 6.
• A declaration to the Capitanía Marítima instead of a licence. A yacht in arrendamiento náutico is cleared under the simplified procedure: the company files a declaración responsable with the Capitanía Marítima of the home port and may start operating as soon as it is filed (art. 15 RD 186/2023); the declaration lasts no more than one year, after which a new one is filed (art. 6). This is what replaced the old three-month “charter licence”.
• Foreign flags. A yacht under another EU flag or a non-EU flag needs express authorisation for its first charter clearance, proving it meets the same requirements as a Spanish-flagged yacht (art. 9.1.c RD 186/2023); non-EU flags can move to the simplified procedure only after that (art. 15.3). Maltese or Dutch registration is possible but does not lower the requirements.
• A private yacht for the season. A List 7 yacht can be switched temporarily to commercial use for no more than three consecutive months in a calendar year, with valid certificates, List 6 surveys, accident insurance for everyone on board and management by a charter company; the owner and related persons may not work on board during that period (art. 9 RD 186/2023 as amended by RD 1188/2025).

Regional rules come on top of the national ones:

• Balearic Islands. Charter operates on a one-year declaration to the Dirección General de Puertos y Transporte Marítimo, each boat is entered in the Balearic charter register, insurance under RD 607/1999 and RD 1575/1989 is required, and up to 12 people plus crew may be on board (Decreto 44/2025). The decree allows only Spanish and EU flags, requires a “dispensa de bandera” for non-EU boats over 14 m, and bans selling individual seats and using private yachts on a temporary switch; the CNMC challenged these articles in court on 29 January 2026. Until the court rules, treat the decree as in force.
• Valencian Community. Before starting, the company files a declaration on the form of the regional department responsible for maritime transport (Decreto 114/2015, art. 2).
• Skipper and client. A Spanish yacht can be hired out bareboat only to someone holding a valid leisure licence or certificate from their country of nationality or residence, if that country is in the EEA or listed in annex IX (additional provision 3 of RD 875/2014). The professional PPER certificate for charter skippers requires the capitán de yate title, 50 days and 2,500 miles of experience and a minimum age of 20, and allows the holder to command List 6 and List 7 boats with up to 12 passengers; it is valid for five years (additional provision 5 of RD 973/2009). The Capitanía sets the crew for each yacht.

Shipping companies and the Canary Islands register

Spain has a special register for navieras: the Registro Especial de Buques y Empresas Navieras in the Canary Islands (REC).

A company may register if its effective management is in the Canary Islands or it has a permanent establishment there; the register takes civil merchant ships of 100 GT or more, except fishing vessels, that the company owns, holds on finance lease or bareboat charter; the master and first officer must be EU or EEA nationals, and at least half of the rest of the crew (additional provision 16 of RDL 2/2011).

REC ships get an exemption from transfer and stamp duty (ITP and AJD) on transactions (art. 74 Ley 19/1994), a 50% income-tax exemption on crew pay (art. 75), a 90% reduction of corporate tax on profit from operating those ships (art. 76.2) and a 90% reduction of employer social security contributions (art. 78).

This regime is for merchant shipping. Charter yachts are usually under 100 GT and sit on Lists 6 and 7, so these benefits are not open to them.

What a charter company earns

Indicative 2026 charter prices: a week on a bareboat sailing yacht costs €1,800–5,000, on a catamaran €4,000–11,000, with a skipper adding €200–300 a day.

July and August are the peak; the Balearic season runs from May to October.

We found no sector collective agreement for charter yacht crews: skipper and deckhand pay is set by the market and cannot be below the minimum wage.

In the example the skipper earns €2,800 a month gross and the deckhand-cleaner €1,800.

Employer social security contributions in 2026 add about 32%, so the two of them cost the company about €6,100 a month in season.

Charter payback calculator

The calculator uses an illustrative Mallorca company with two used 12–15 m yachts on List 6: a sailing catamaran and a 14 m sailing yacht for €500,000, plus €30,000 for surveys, equipment, linen and a website.

The season lasts six months, revenue is €40,000 per season month excluding VAT (€240,000 a year, about 20 weeks per yacht), platform and broker commissions, cleaning and consumables take 22%, and the skipper and deckhand cost €6,100 per season month.

Berths cost €2,800 a month all year, and other costs €3,750 a month: hull, liability and passenger insurance, engine, sail and hull maintenance, accountant and marketing.

Pre-tax profit is €72,000 a year, after tax about €57,900, and the €530,000 investment pays back in roughly 9.2 years.

Three caveats. First, half the costs — berths, insurance and maintenance — run all year, so charter is sensitive to the season.

If revenue falls 10%, pre-tax profit drops to €53,280; at 15%, to €43,920; break-even is about €24,600 of revenue per season month.

Second, if the owner is the skipper, after-tax profit rises to about €75,500 and payback shortens to seven years; many companies in the listings work this way.

Third, the model has no depreciation, yet yachts age: in the sample, boats built before 2012 cost almost a third of those built from 2017.

How to read a payback period and what to compare it with is covered in “Payback period”, and how to get through a winter with no revenue in “Cash gap”.

Take revenue for the calculation from bank statements, booking platform reports and VAT returns (modelo 303), not from the seller.

How sellers justify a price is explained in “How to value a business for sale”.

Taxes: VAT, registration tax and tonnage tax

• VAT. Charter is charged at the standard rate of 21% (art. 90 Ley 37/1992); the reduced 10% rate applies to passenger transport (art. 91.Uno.2.1º). Hiring out a yacht with crew is a hire, while a scheduled boat trip along a route may count as transport: agree how your product is classified with a tax adviser before the first sale.
• Where charter is taxed. Short-term hire of a vessel — up to 90 days — is subject to VAT where the yacht is handed over to the client; long-term hire of a leisure boat to a private individual is taxed in Spain if the yacht is handed over here and the company operates from Spain (art. 70.Uno.9º Ley 37/1992). A yacht collected in Palma pays Spanish VAT even if the week is spent off Sardinia.
• Registration tax. The first registration in Spain of a leisure vessel over 8 m is subject to a special tax (art. 65.1.b Ley 38/1992): 12% on the mainland and in the Balearics, 11% in the Canary Islands, unless the region has set its own rate (art. 70). Vessels used exclusively for hire are exempt — not to related persons, not for more than three months to one client in a year, with no right of use for the owner (art. 66.1.g) — but only once the tax authority has recognised the exemption in advance (art. 66.2). For a €250,000 yacht that is €30,000: if the owner uses it personally in summer, the exemption is lost.
• Tonnage tax is for navieras, not charter. A company on a shipping register may calculate its corporate tax base by tonnage: per day for each 100 net tonnes, €0.90 up to 1,000 t, €0.70 up to 10,000 t, €0.40 up to 25,000 t and €0.20 above (art. 114 Ley 27/2014), at the general 25% rate (art. 115). Fishing, sport and leisure vessels are excluded (art. 113.4). The Ministry of Finance grants the regime for 10 years on an application filed before the tax period; three months of silence mean refusal, and after leaving or breaching it there is a five-year wait (art. 117). A ship of 1,000 net tonnes gives a base of about €3,285 a year and tax of about €820, however much it earns.
• Corporate tax for a charter SL. In 2026, with turnover under €1 million, it is 19% on the first €50,000 of profit and 21% above that. How to take profit out is covered in “Salary or dividends from a Spanish SL”.

What to check before buying a charter company

1. Vessel and flag. List 6, valid certificates, survey reports, the declaration to the Capitanía and the flag. For the Balearics, a Spanish or EU flag and an entry in the Balearic register.
2. Registration tax. Whether the 12% tax was paid or the hire exemption recognised. If the owner used the yacht personally, the exemption can be withdrawn retroactively — and the liability travels with the boat.
3. Berth. The contract, its term, whether it can be transferred, and when the marina concession ends. The summer berth price matters more than it seems.
4. Revenue. Bookings by month for two or three seasons: platform and bank statements, VAT returns and the share of repeat clients. In a seasonal business the last bad year matters too.
5. Crew and licences. Who the skipper is, what licence they hold, whether they are on the payroll or a contractor, and whether they leave with the seller.
6. Debts and insurance. The buyer of a going concern is liable for the seller’s tax debts (art. 42.1.c LGT) unless they obtain a tax certificate before the deal (art. 175.2 LGT), and for social security debts (art. 168.2 LGSS); employees transfer to the buyer with all their rights (art. 44 ET). Separately, check the hull, liability and passenger policies and the claims history.

How an existing business is checked before a deposit is described on the traspaso audit page; if you are buying the company that owns the yachts, you need full due diligence, and the choice between buying shares and buying assets is covered in “How to buy a company in Spain”.

If you are moving to Spain for this business

A non-resident can buy a charter company or a yacht, but a non-EU national can live in Spain and run the business personally only with a residence permit — usually the self-employment permit, first for one year.

The golden visa has been abolished, and the startup visa does not suit an ordinary charter business.

How the self-employment permit works is explained by Relotus in “Cuenta propia in Spain“.

The Beckham regime is open to someone who moves to Spain on becoming a company director; if the company is a holding-type entity (patrimonial), the director must not hold a stake that makes them a related party — generally 25% or more (art. 93.1.b.2º LIRPF as amended by Ley 28/2022); it is not available to the self-employed (autónomo).

The sensible order is to confirm the permit and the tax regime first, and only then pay a deposit.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a charter company cost in Spain?

In 2026 listings, from €89,000 for one boat in Tenerife to €700,000 for a company with a fleet; the median is €260,000. Most of the price is the boat itself, the rest is the berth and the client base. These are asking prices.

Do you need a charter licence in Spain?

The yacht must be on List 6 of the register, and the company files a declaration with the Capitanía Marítima and can operate from the moment it is filed; the declaration lasts a year. In the Balearics and the Valencian Community a regional declaration is also required.

Can a Maltese- or Dutch-flagged yacht be chartered in Spain?

Under national rules, yes, after a one-off authorisation for the first clearance confirming the same requirements as for a Spanish flag. The Balearic decree accepts EU flags and sets extra conditions for non-EU boats.

Do you have to pay the 12% yacht registration tax?

Yes, on the first registration in Spain of a vessel over 8 m, unless the region has set its own rate. A yacht used only for charter is exempt, but only once the tax authority has recognised the exemption and as long as the owner does not use it personally.

Can a charter company use tonnage tax?

No. Tonnage tax is for shipping companies with merchant ships; leisure, sport and fishing vessels are excluded in the law itself. A charter SL pays ordinary corporate tax.

How much does a marina berth cost?

For a yacht of about 14 m, from €7,100 a year in Portbou on the Costa Brava to about €13,900 plus VAT in Port d’Andratx, Mallorca, at maximum 2026 tariffs. A catamaran pays roughly twice as much.

What is the payback on a yacht charter business?

In the illustrative two-yacht Mallorca example, about 9.2 years with a hired skipper and about seven years if the owner skippers. The business is sensitive to the season: berths and insurance are paid all year.

Key points on a maritime business in Spain

• A charter company and a shipping company are different businesses with different rules: arrendamiento náutico and List 6 versus a naviera and merchant ships.
• An existing charter business is listed at a median €260,000 and a used 12–15 m yacht at about €265,000; what you pay for is the vessel, the berth and the bookings.
• The Capitanía licence has been replaced by a one-year declaration; a foreign flag needs a first clearance by authorisation, and the Balearics add their own limits.
• A charter yacht can avoid the 12% registration tax if it is used only for hire and the exemption is recognised in advance.
• Tonnage tax and the Canary Islands register are for merchant shipping; they do not apply to yachts.

Sources

• Ley 14/2014 de Navegación Marítima, arts. 145–146, 307–313 — BOE; RD 186/2023 (clearance) — BOE; RD 1188/2025 — BOE.
• RD 1027/1989, art. 4 — BOE; RD 875/2014 — BOE; RD 973/2009 — BOE.
• Balearic Islands: charter declaration procedure — CAIB; challenge to Decreto 44/2025 — CNMC.
• RDL 2/2011, additional provision 16 (REC) — BOE; Ley 19/1994, arts. 73–78 — BOE; Ley 27/2014, arts. 113–117 — BOE.
• Ley 37/1992 (VAT), arts. 70, 90, 91 — BOE; Ley 38/1992, arts. 65, 66, 70 — BOE; Personal Income Tax Act, art. 93 — BOE.
• Marina tariffs: Port d’Andratx 2026 — Ports IB; Portbou 2026 — DOGC; Benalmádena — port regulation.
• Listings: YachtWorld, thinkSPAIN, businessesforsale, marineandmaritime, November 2026; charter prices — TrimTeam.