Greece Increases VAT — Will Greek Yacht Charters Cost More?

First the bad news – recent legislation in Greece has led to an increase in the country’s VAT rates.

Now for the good news – the increase is small, and depending upon the duration of your superyacht experience, the “effective rate” should have a minimal effect on most Greek yacht charters this summer.

A new VAT rate of 24% has been announced for Greece, and it will affect all yacht charters commencing on or after June 1st, 2016.  The old rate was 23% – making the maximum increase 1%.

While 24% VAT sounds sky-high, don’t fall out of your chair just yet:  there are significant built-in discounts that can reduce the effective VAT rate by up to 60% – depending upon the duration of your charter vacation.

Here’s the math:

I)  Charter duration of 3 days or more.

Luxury yacht charter vessels performing international cruises have a discount of 60%.  This makes the effective VAT rate 9.6% (up from 9.2%).

Charter vessels cruises within Greek waters will earn a discount of 50%, setting the effective VAT rate at 12% ( previously 11.5%).

II)  Charter duration up to 48 hours.

This is where you get hammered as a charterer for taking a day excursion or a trip shorter than 48 hours.  There is NO discount, regardless of where the vessel cruises.  A full VAT of 24% is due (instead of the previous 23%).

In summary – avoid short-term charters in Greece if you can.  As long as you can extend your charter beyond 48 hours, the impact of the effective change in VAT is less than 1%.  Mykonos and Santorini here we come – Opa!!!

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For information about renting a luxury charter yacht in Greece, or anywhere else in the Mediterranean this summer, contact 1-800 Yacht Charters at  +1.800.922.4824 (toll-free North America) or +1.305.253.7245 (international), use our online inquiry form here, or email info@1800yachtcharters.com

This entry was posted in News and tagged Mediterranean yacht charter, VAT value added tax, yacht charter Greece, Greek yacht charter, Mykonos, Santorini, How to decrease VAT on a yacht charter?

About Jana Sheeder

Jana Sheeder, President of 1-800 Yacht Charters. Providing The Superyacht Experience(R) since 1976. Private luxury yacht charter vacations in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Bahamas, South Pacific, South Florida, Miami and The Keys, Italian Rivera, Belize. Megayacht charter company focused on generosity, Pay it Forward, Random Acts of Kindness, Giftivism, giving back to the ocean, to the needy, and the environment with every superyachting charter. Providing eco-friendly alternatives while on yacht charters and known for 6-star customer service, experience, and generosity. One of the original yacht charter companies.
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