If you own or co-own a recreational boat intended for maritime navigation, you must, in certain cases, pay the annual tax on marine recreational craft. It replaced the DAFN and the Passport Duty on January 1, 2022, a year of administrative revolution for boat registration. Bateau-immatriculation.com explains how this tax is calculated and offers an automatic calculation system.

Do you live in France for more than 6 months a year? Regardless of your vessel's country of registration or the area where you navigate (excluding inland waterways), you are liable for the annual francisation and navigation duty.

While in most cases, the purchase of a boat in Italy is similar to the acquisition of a vessel in a member country of the European Community, the purchase of a boat registered in the territories of Livigno, Campione d'Italia, or in the Italian waters of Lake Lugano is not subject to the same formalities. In these specific cases, the purchase is considered an import of a boat from a country outside the European Community. If this is your situation, I invite you to contact our team before finalizing your acquisition.

Until December 31, 2021, boaters in the maritime zone flying the French flag paid the DAFN (Annual Francisation and Navigation Duty). Those flying a foreign flag paid a Passport Duty of the exact same amount. Deployed as part of the 2016 Blue Economy law, the Passport Duty aimed, in particular, to compel French nationals who chose another flag to contribute to this tax.

As of January 1, 2022, these two systems merged into one: the annual tax on maritime vessels for personal use. The amount and calculation system remain unchanged, as do the pleasure boats concerned.

Like the old duties, the new tax finances the State and various maritime services:

• SNSM (National Sea Rescue Society)
• CELRL (Coastal and Lake Shoreline Conservancy)
• Collectivité de Corse (tax on boats linked to Corsican territory with at least one stay in the previous year)

eco-organizations responsible for ship recycling.

This annual tax only applies to pleasure craft in maritime areas, depending on their propulsion type, hull length, and engine power.

Thus, it concerns the owners and co-owners of:

• motorboats and sailboats over 7 meters in hull length
• motorboats under 7 meters equipped with an engine with an administrative power exceeding 22 HP
• personal watercraft (jet skis, sea scooters, etc.) equipped with an engine with an actual power equal to or greater than 90 KW.

However, vessels propelled solely by human power, belonging to an approved sports association, or classified (historic monument or boat of heritage interest) are exempt.

In France, the Droit Annuel de Francisation et de Navigation (DAFN) is a tax that applies to recreational boats flying the French flag if:

• their hull length reaches or exceeds 7 meters, regardless of their engine power
• their hull length is less than 7 meters but they are equipped with an engine of at least 22 administrative horsepower
• their actual power reaches or exceeds 90 kW for a personal watercraft (PWC).

To avoid the choice of a flag of convenience to escape this annual tax, as was long the case with the Belgian flag, the French State first introduced a Passport Duty for all other nationalities of boats. Its amount was strictly identical to the DAFN! Since January 1, 2022, owners of vessels registered in France or abroad must pay the TAEMUP in the same way. The amount of the tax simply varies according to the hull length and the age of the recreational vessel.

Good to know: as of January 1, 2022, DAFN and Passport Duty merge. They become the annual tax on personal marine craft, with an unchanged amount, established according to the same criteria.

Like the old DAFN and Droit de Passeport, the annual tax on maritime equipment for personal use, or TAEMUP, must be paid each year by March 31st at the latest. If you have just bought a new boat, you have two months after the registration date to pay the tax.

It is collected from boaters by the Directorate of Maritime Affairs (and no longer by the Customs Office as before).

From 2022, payment is made directly online and spontaneously. To log in, use the document received by mail and your new remote payment number.

If you miss the deadline to pay the tax, a 5% surcharge will be applied and you will receive a recovery order, sent by the Directorate of Public Finances.

Important: if you sell your boat, you have one month to complete the transfer of ownership procedures. In case of failure, you will have to pay the annual tax. In addition, the paying owner is the one to whom the boat belongs on January 1st. Even if the boat is sold on January 2nd, the entire year's tax is due by the selling owner...

The tax calculation is in two parts because it takes into account the hull length and the engine power. The two are added together to obtain the total annual amount.

Unlike the French and Polish flags, which are valid for life, the Belgian flag is only valid for 5 years. You will therefore need to regularly apply for a renewal for your boat or PWC.

Until 2018, a depreciation allowance for obsolescence was applied starting from 11 years after the manufacture of a recreational boat built before January 1, 2008, based on the two cumulative amounts (hull length and engine power). It was frozen on January 1, 2019. In plain terms, if you benefit from it, your depreciation allowance base will never change.

A pleasure craft registered in a Corsican port may benefit from a tax reduction, varying from 10 to 50%, determined by the Collectivité de Corse. However, it is subject to two criteria that you must cumulatively meet:

• the boat must be registered in a Corsican port as of January 1st
• you must be able to justify a mooring in a Corsican port during the previous year, to be uploaded to the website when paying the tax.

To help you calculate the amount of your annual tax on personal marine craft, or TAEMUP, Bateau-immatriculation.com provides you with its simulation calculator. You just need to enter the information about your pleasure craft to immediately get the total annual amount to pay. You can then pay online on the dedicated government website.