Vessel registration

[Valiente]

I notice how prominently the phrase "Value Added Tax Paid" appears in European boat ads. This British sales tax is heavy, compared to North America, and is designed to keep the British buying British. Some of the old cruising books by the Hiscocks and the Smeatons refer often to their bureaucratic struggles to try and save a few pounds by building boats in New Zealand, and then trying to get them accepted back in England without paying vast duties.

The OP should consider that it would be cheaper to leave his boat in Mexico, perhaps, than to re-establish a U.S. residence and have to officially import his boat.

[Idiens]

Originally Posted by Valiente

I notice how prominently the phrase "Value Added Tax Paid" appears in European boat ads.

It applies to all EU countries. If I were to buy a boat in the USA and import it, I would get both import duty and VAT added. If it didn't have a recreational craft directive certificate thingy, I would have to pay for all the tests too (unless the boat was older than the directive). If I had been living in the USA and moved back to Europe, I might get away with the yacht being part of my personal possessions. (Owned it some time and not allowed to sell it for a couple of years in the EU, just like a car.) However, any buyer would want proof that import duty and VAT had been paid in some way, but that would be less on an older boat.

I think there are fairly similar rules if a US resident bought and imported a boat from Europe.