Donating a yacht: an underrated option
There comes a point when an owner and their yacht are ready to part ways. Most conversations about assets in yachting focus on the buying or the selling, but there is another option - donating!
But what are the benefits of donating your yacht to charity?
Why Donate?
Giving back
There isn’t anything better than knowing you helped someone else out, right? Donating your yacht can help worthy causes and charities for those that will benefit from it most.
Tax-break
Not only is it a generous thing to do and you get to help others, donating will also help you. When you donate your yacht to charity, the IRS offers a deduction. The ‘fair market value’ of the yacht on the day it is donated can be deducted from your taxes. This is a bit of a sneaky option for those looking to fork over a pretty penny to Uncle Sam. It might be worth-while to learn more about this option from a financial advisor or tax professional.
Saving time & money
Selling a yacht can be an emotional rollercoaster. Not only can it be stressful, but it can also take time, depending on your requirements, the market, and demand. Your time is valuable, you might not be able to focus on sales. Additionally, you incur the usual costs of running the yacht during the sales period. If your sale takes several months or even years. These are sunk costs you need to “eat”. When you donate your yacht to charity, this process can be done quickly and easily.
So, how would a charity use your yacht?
Revenue: the charity can sell the yacht itself and use the profits to fund projects.
Education: this is particularly useful for sailing yachts; they can be repurposed as training vessels for non-profit programs and even aid in educational curriculums in schools.
In-service; charities can use the yacht for a fun day and weekend trips for terminally ill patients.
Where to donate
Finding a charity with the infrastructure to handle boat donations can be slightly tricky, but there are organizations out there to help!
Here are some examples of services helping you donate your yacht to registered charities:
If you are looking to sell your yacht and would like to chat more about your options, shoot me a DM!
