Boat ownership cost worksheet (Panama)

A yearly cost worksheet for owning a boat in Panama. Fill it in before you buy, then again after your first year with real numbers. Have marina, insurance, yard and diver quotes ready, plus an honest guess of the hours you will use the boat.

Fill in the fields below, then print the worksheet or download your entries as a text file. Entries stay on this page until you leave unless you download them. Don’t enter passport, card or medical details; keep copies of those separately.

How to fill it in

Put a real quote or a sourced figure on every line, and write its source and date next to it. Where this sheet says "confirm", the agency does not publish a current number we could open, so ask before you budget.

Line by line

• Slip. No marina near Panama City publishes a full monthly rate card. Ask each one for the monthly rate per foot, what power and water add, any minimum length and dry-season increases. Compare them in marina costs.
• AMP fees. The AMP's Junta Directiva sets them under Ley 57 de 2008. A yacht's patente and radio licence run two years, so spread that cost over two years. A small boat registered for servicio interior costs far less than a formally flagged yacht. Confirm with the Dirección General de Marina Mercante (+507 501-5000).
• Operator licence. The figures on the sheet come from press coverage of the AMP's 2025 licence drive. They are not an official tariff. Add the medical certificate and, for the operador de lancha category, a drug test.
• Insurance. Panama has no hurricane landfalls, which often keeps hull premiums below Florida's. Lightning is the common Pacific-side claim. Paying passengers need a commercial policy. See boat insurance.
• Bottom and haul-out. Water at 27–30 °C grows weed fast. Flamenco Marina hauls on high water only, so the tide sets yard days.
• Fuel. The Secretaría Nacional de Energía sets maximum prices by region every 14 days. Check energia.gob.pa for the current fortnight, and ask whether the marina fuel dock adds a premium. Taboga is about 8 nm from Amador; Contadora is about 35 nm.
• Crew. A regular hire makes you an employer under the Código de Trabajo, with a written contract, CSS contributions and the décimo tercer mes. See hiring crew.
• Tax. There is no annual property tax on a private boat. The tax events are at purchase: import duty and 7% ITBMS where they apply.

To run the numbers on screen, use the ownership cost calculator.

Read the companion guide

Before using this resource, read Boat ownership costs in Panama: the yearly budget.

Use it alongside these guides