A tax unchanged since 2013
Created in 1967 and consolidated in its current form in 2013, the TAEMUP combines the DAFN (Droit Annuel de Francisation et de Navigation) and the DAP (Droit de Passeport). It applies to all owners of vessels or pleasure craft meeting the precise criteria defined in articles L.423-4 to L.423-32 of the Code des Impositions sur les Biens et Services (CIBS). This tax is partly based on engine power: expressed in kilowatts for personal watercraft (PWC) such as jet-skis, and in fiscal horsepower for registered vessels.
Since 2013, neither the tax bands, nor the tax rates, nor the tax assessment criteria have been revised, despite the fact that the yachting fleet is growing both in size and in motorization, and that the environmental and budgetary context is prompting us to rethink our contribution methods.
Compulsory updating of the national register
With this in mind, the French government has launched a campaign to update motorization data. The aim is twofold: to make the register of pleasure boat ownership more reliable, and to prepare the ground for possible tax changes. Three scenarios are envisaged: if the data is accurate, the user simply has to validate it; if only the actual power is incorrect, it can be corrected directly; on the other hand, any error in other elements (make, series, etc.) or a total absence of information requires contact with the local service (DDTM or DML).
If no reply is received, the authorities may proceed to reconstitute the power based on known elements â?" a procedure that could lead to an overvaluation of the tax due.
Towards a reform to integrate the ecological transition
The French Ministry of the Sea is currently considering a comprehensive review of the TAEMUP, with a view to simplifying the system and adapting it to environmental challenges. Among the avenues being explored are: a better reflection of actual motorization, an incentive scale for electric or hybrid motorization, and a contribution adapted to the actual use of the boat (ocean cruising, river cruising, occasional cruising, etc.). The timetable for this reform has not yet been set, but it could form part of a broader drive to make maritime taxation greener.
A simulator to anticipate your tax bill
To assist boaters, an online simulator will soon be available on the official portal www.demarches-plaisance.gouv.fr . This will enable us to estimate the amount of the TAEMUP according to the declared power and other administrative parameters.
