Buying in Europe and selling in Australia

[svseachange]

Originally Posted by terah

If we lose a chunk of cash doing this then so be it, we'll consider it worth it. That said, the less we throw away the sooner we can do it again.

In that case sounds like a fantastic plan. I've "lost" many thousands on boat sales but it has always been worth it.

As you probably know already the cost of maintenance and getting the boat ready for cruising is going to be the real kicker anyway. The amount you lose on the sale probably less.

Your best bet to sell in the Southern Hemisphere is probably in Australia. You will be under less pressure to sell in Brisbane because berthing and maintenance costs are lower there. Very expensive to keep a cat in the Sydney area.

[tackleandtax]

Originally Posted by terah

Thanks all.

We're not leaving until 2018, which means it would be 2020 by the time we got to Australia, so appreciate there's no way of predicting exchange rates, but getting a sense of how things are now will help the decisions if and when we get there.

The idea of being taxed once at purchase and again it sale is pretty unappealing, but not sure if we'll be able to avoid that.

@barnakiel Don't think there would be any UK tax - being taxed 3 times really would suck.

@undercutter Our plan just now is to buy late next year, get to know the boat for while before leaving, then spend the first few months away in the Mediterranean - I think we'll struggle to avoid VAT.

@svseachange We won't know out budget until we're just about to buy, but we are looking at cats, which hopefully would be popular in Australia.

@yachtgemini Thanks for the links, will try and work out some comparisons. Also, hadn't thought about the customs costs...

@calico The Adams looks nice, but we're not ready to buy yet and looking mostly at cats just now.

@grantmc All depends on boat budget we end up with, but hopefully we'll be looking at 'popular' boats, < 10 years, and reasonably standard.

If we lose a chunk of cash doing this then so be it, we'll consider it worth it. That said, the less we throw away the sooner we can do it again.

It may be we get there and we decide to take the extra year coming home - though even then we 'may' be charged VAT again if the boat has been out of the EU for over 3 years.

Looking at the VAT rules you must pay VAT if you own a boat in the EU and are an EU Resident - am sure it can't be this easy but are you still an EU resident if you are off cruising?

Hi terah, I am interested to see if you went ahead with this journey?! If yes, how is it going? Judging by your timeline, you must be nearing the half way point.

If you have a blog or something documenting the journey I'd love to learn more. We have never ventured that far but would love to make it a reality one day.

[terah]

@tackleandtax - We went ahead, though not quite as originally intended!

Our plans changed due to work commitments / financial arrangements / etc so we only have a year away, not long enough to do the trip to Australia.

Instead we're on an Atlantic circuit - we bought our boat in Italy and started out from Venice on the 4th July. We then sailed down the Adriatic, through the Corinth canal and around the Peloponnese before heading west to join the ARC. We're now in Martinique about to leave for Dominica.

Our plan just now is to cross back over in May and take the boat back to the UK for a season and then maybe finish the circuit by taking it back to the Med during holidays over the next couple of years.

We're not particularly prolific writers but we do keep a blog at https://changingtack.net

[tackleandtax]

Originally Posted by terah

@tackleandtax - We went ahead, though not quite as originally intended!

Our plans changed due to work commitments / financial arrangements / etc so we only have a year away, not long enough to do the trip to Australia.

Instead we're on an Atlantic circuit - we bought our boat in Italy and started out from Venice on the 4th July. We then sailed down the Adriatic, through the Corinth canal and around the Peloponnese before heading west to join the ARC. We're now in Martinique about to leave for Dominica.

Our plan just now is to cross back over in May and take the boat back to the UK for a season and then maybe finish the circuit by taking it back to the Med during holidays over the next couple of years.

We're not particularly prolific writers but we do keep a blog at https://changingtack.net

Very cool, you've still ventured further than me!

I'm sure you will make it to Australia before long.

I will check our your blog. Thanks terah!