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The tax applied to your charter can add more to the final bill than a week’s fuel. Here is what it is, where it varies, and how the structure of your trip can change the number.

There is a line in almost every charter proposal that receives less attention than it deserves. It sits below the base rate, below the APA estimate, and is often presented as a formality — a percentage appended to an already considerable sum. VAT on a Mediterranean yacht charter is not a formality. Depending on where your charter begins, it adds between 13% and 22% to your base fee. On a week aboard a 40-metre motor yacht at €150,000, that is between €19,500 and €33,000 — a number worth examining before the contract is signed.

Understanding how it works requires no specialist knowledge. The principles are straightforward, the variables are manageable, and the decisions that affect your VAT position are made at the booking stage, not after the fact.