Selling a yacht
Most yachts that sell slowly are priced against asking prices rather than sold comps, and most that sell badly went to market before the paperwork was ready. These guides cover valuation, route to market, and the closing mechanics that decide net proceeds.
The two decisions that set a yacht sale outcome are made before the listing goes live: what the vessel is genuinely worth against recent sold comparables, and whether the listing goes to a brokerage or direct. Everything after that is execution, and execution is mostly about having survey-ready records so a buyer’s surveyor does not hand them a negotiating lever.
Net proceeds, not asking price, is the number that matters. A 10% commission on a $1.5M yacht is $150,000, which makes the broker-versus-private question worth modelling rather than assuming. But private sales also carry survey risk, escrow risk and a smaller buyer pool, and the guides here put real numbers on both sides.
If the yacht is in Florida, Croatia, Greece, the Bahamas or Brazil, the country guides cover the local tax, export and registry steps that change the timeline.
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Price it correctly
Valuation, formal appraisal and the comps method brokers actually use.
Tax, export and closing
What falls due on the sale, and the country-specific steps that change the timeline.
Selling a Yacht: Where the Tax Event Actually Arises
Tax on a yacht sale follows the boat, not the owner's passport. Where the taxable event arises, what happens to VAT-paid status, and what commercial use does.
Selling a Yacht in Florida: The Clock, Not the Rate
Florida caps boat sales tax at $18,000, so the number that decides a deal is the removal deadline: the 10, 20, 90 and 180-day rules and the decal behind them.
Selling a Yacht in Croatia: The Brisovnica and the VAT Trail
Most Croatian sales are business assets leaving a charter fleet. Why the deletion certificate sets the closing date and what buyers check in the VAT trail.
Selling a Yacht in Greece: 2026 Owner Exit Guide
Sell a yacht in Greece: 10% broker commission, 90-210 day sale window, EU VAT resale proof, and Athens vs Lefkas listing routes.
Selling a Yacht in the Bahamas: 2026 Owner Exit Guide
How to sell a yacht in the Bahamas: Nassau vs Exuma hubs, flag docs, Florida buyer pool, cruising permit records, broker routes, survey prep, and closing.
Selling a Yacht in Brazil: 2026 Owner Exit Guide
How to sell boats in Brazil: Angra and Rio broker routes, Marinha registry, Receita import proof, foreign buyer export docs, tax files, and closing steps.
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Common questions
A correctly priced yacht in a liquid size band commonly sells in three to nine months. Vessels priced above sold comps routinely sit for 12 to 24 months and then sell after cumulative reductions that exceed what accurate initial pricing would have cost. Time on market is itself a negotiating signal to buyers.
Ten percent of the sale price is the standard central-agency rate, typically split between the listing and selling brokers. On larger vessels the rate is sometimes negotiated down. The relevant comparison is not commission versus zero but net proceeds versus net proceeds, because private sales usually transact at lower prices and carry more risk at survey.
Selectively. Cosmetic work with high visual impact and mechanical work that would otherwise appear as a survey finding tend to return more than they cost. Large discretionary refits rarely recover their spend, because the next owner will refit to their own taste. Fix what a surveyor would flag; do not rebuild.
It depends on size and buyer reach. Below roughly $250,000 a private sale is often viable because the buyer pool is local and the commission is a large share of value. Above $500,000 the brokerage network, escrow infrastructure and survey-negotiation experience usually recover more than the commission costs.
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