The law in Portugal with regard to the payment of the circulation tax (Imposto único de circulação) has changed completely and the amount that a boat owner has to pay, has gone up considerably.

The regulations concerning Light Dues ('Farolagem') have not changed and the amount payable hasn't increased any more than a little, but I mention this tax here to remind all boat owners who keep their boat in Portugal that this tax must be paid every year.

Circulation Tax (Imposto único de circulação)

The amount payable is based entirely on the size of your boats engine(s) and it is based on the power of your engine(s) in kilowatts. This causes some initial confusion because all the engines that I have anything to do with are rated in horse power. However, there is a simple conversion: 1 kilowatt = 1.341 horsepower and so to convert for instance an engine of 260 horsepower you divide the horsepower by 1.341 which gives you 194 kilowatts. For each kilowatt the tax payable is €2,05 and so a boat with an engine of 260 horsepower would cost 194 x €2,05 = €397,70.

A boat with two 260 horsepower engines will cost you twice as much tax as the above example and if for example you have a boat with two 580 HP engines, the total of 1160 HP equates to 865 KW which makes your tax bill €1774.

The tax should be paid to 'Finanças' (tax office), and in order to pay it you should have a fiscal number, however if you haven't got a fiscal number you can get round it by taking someone with you who has one and they can act as your 'personal representive', make sure that that person takes their fiscal card with them when you go to finanças.  If your boat is Portuguese registered you can go on-line to www.e-financas.gov.pt and pay your tax on the internet.

If your boat is Portuguese registered the your tax should be paid in January every year and you must pay it regardless of the amount of time the boat has spent in or out of Portugal..

If your boat is foriegn registered you only have to pay the tax if your boat is berthed in Portugal for a total of 183 days following January 1st or if your boat arrived in Portugal after January 1st, from the date that the boat arrived in Portugal. If your boat was here on January 1st and is still here on July 2nd and has not been out of Portugal during that period then your tax is due on July 2nd. If however during that period your boat has been for instance to Ayamonte in Spain for a night and you have a receipt from the marina in your boats name for an overnight stay then your tax will not be due for 183 days from the day that you return to Portugal. If that date is January 1st of the next year or later, then you do not have to pay the tax.

In order therefore to avoid having to pay this tax boat owners need to take their boat to a marina in Spain at the latest on July 1st. If they only stay one night there and come back to Portugal on July 2nd and then stay here until December 31st their boat will be spending only 182 days in Portugal in the second half of the year and so will not qualify to pay the tax in the second half of the year either. Please note: this is not tax evasion (which is illegal) but tax avoidance (which is legal).

One problem is that on July 1st all the marinas just over the border such as Ayamonte, Isla Canela and Isla Christina may well be full, so to get a marina berth you may have to go to Mazagon, Chipiona, Cadiz, Barbate or even Gibraltar. If your boat is a motor cruiser and you have to go as far as Barbate or Gibraltar your fuel will cost you as much or more than the tax, but at least you will have had some fun spending it, whereas paying it to 'Finances' could hardly be described as fun!

If having taken your boat out of Portugal once or twice in the year, so that you won't have to pay the tax there is no requirement for you to inform 'Finanças' that you are not going to pay it, BUT keep your marina receipts with you on the boat with all your other documents so if you are stopped by the Marine Police at sea you will be able to show them the evidence. Also remember you MUST have the passports of everyone that is on board when you are at sea AND the boats registration document.

If your boat does qualify for this circulation tax and you don't pay it when you should, if you are stopped by the Marine Police at sea or if they come to your boat when you are on board in the marina, you will have to pay a substantial fine or even have the boat confiscated.

There is an exemption for circulation tax and it applies to all boats registered before 1986 (22 years old) and / or boats with an engine of less than 20 kilowatts (27 HP).

Light Dues (Taxa de Farolagem)

Should be paid by the owners of all boats berthed in Portugal every year. They are payable to either a Capitania (maritime authority) or a Delegação Maritima (maritime branch), there is at the least one of these offices in every port in Portugal.

Portuguese registered boats must pay from 6 euros in category 5 to 56 euros in category 1, this is an annual payment and should be paid when the boat is registered and before it goes in the water, this payment is for a year and so should be renewed a year later. Don't forget when you go to pay your light dues to take your registration document (livrete) with you.

Foreign registered boats must pay when they arrive in Portugal. If they arrive by sea it is assumed that they are in the equivalent of category 1 and therefore must pay 56 euros. If they arrive by road transport they must also pay 56 euros unless the owner can prove that the vessel is in the equivalent of a lesser category. Visiting boats must pay 2 euros for a stay of up to six months, if your boat is going to stay here for longer than six months then you must pay for a whole year.