Catamaran Owners Owe the IRS $350,000. Here's How to Buy Their Boats.

Catamaran Owners Owe the IRS $350,000. Here's How to Buy Their Boats. A Fort Lauderdale marina, 2022. A buyer wires $1.5 million for a Lagoon 50 and takes a 100% bonus depreciation deduction the same year. Three years later, he lists the boat in a collapsing market. The IRS sends a number he was never shown at closing: $333,000 in Section 1245 recapture tax. Combined with his loan balance, he cannot close without writing a personal check. He is trapped. This is happening across the 2026 used catamaran market — and it is creating the most significant buying window in the bluewater sailing catamaran segment in a decade. This video covers exactly how IRS depreciation recapture works on vessels structured through LLC charter programs, why the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025 permanently restored the trap now closing on the 2022 purchase cohort, and the verified buyer's protocol for identifying and negotiating with tax-trapped sellers. We cover the three supply waves flooding the used catamaran market in 2026, the Lagoon 450 bulkhead controversy, and the one question every buyer must ask before a viewing. The recapture mechanics are sourced from IRS Publication 544, IRC Section 1245, and Form 4797. Market data from BoatShed.com, Caraibe Yachts, and Catamaran Guru. If you are considering buying a sailing catamaran, a used Lagoon, a Leopard catamaran, or any production bluewater cat in the current boat market, this is the financial architecture behind the listings you are scrolling. Thirty percent of listings are estimated to never sell at current prices. Eighty-four percent of actual transactions close below $500,000. The buyers who understand why the sellers cannot close inherit what everyone else walked past. Chapters: 00:00 The Transaction — How the Trap Closes 04:30 Verified Facts: The IRS Recapture Mechanism 06:00 How the Machine Was Built 09:30 The Inventory Tsunami 14:00 The Buyer's Protocol 18:30 The Verdict References: IRS Publication 544 — Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets (2025). IRS. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p544 IRS Instructions for Form 4797 (2025). IRS. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i4797 IRS Publication 946 — How To Depreciate Property (2025). IRS. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p946.pdf One Big Beautiful Bill Act — IRS Provisions Overview. IRS.gov. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-... IRS Notice 2026-11 — Guidance on Additional First Year Depreciation. IRS.gov, Jan 2026. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury... OBBBA Expands 100% Depreciation Expensing. BDO, Sep 2025. https://www.bdo.com/insights/tax/one-... Boat Depreciation Life: IRS Recovery Periods. LegalClarity.org, Apr 2026. https://legalclarity.org/boat-depreci... Section 1245 Depreciation Recapture. LegalClarity.org. https://legalclarity.org/section-1245... OBBBA Reinstates 100% Bonus Depreciation. Moss Adams, Sep 2025. https://www.mossadams.com/articles/20... Depreciation Recapture: Definition and Examples. TurboTax. https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/... Catamarans and the 2025 Market Dynamics. BoatShed.com. https://www.boatshed.com/pricing-case... The 2025/2026 Used Boat Market. Caraibe Yachts. https://www.caraibe-yachts.com/en/buy... What Actually Sold in 2025: Catamaran Market Insights. Catamaran Guru, Dec 2025. https://catamaranguru.com/what-actual... Big Cat Concerns — Lagoon 450 Bulkhead Analysis. Practical Sailor, Feb 2023. https://www.practical-sailor.com/sail... Lagoon 450 Bulkhead Deformation. Yachting Monthly, Oct 2021. https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/news/... DIY Bulkhead Rebuild on a Charter Cat. Practical Sailor. https://practical-sailor.com/boat-mai... IRC Section 280F — Listed Property. Cornell Law LII. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/te... Catamaran Price Guide 2026. The Catamaran Company. https://www.catamarans.com/catamaran-... Catamaran Value and Prices 2026. BoatValue.com. https://boatvalue.com/boat-value/cata... Bonus Depreciation Under the OBBBA. OnPay, Mar 2026. https://onpay.com/insights/obbba-bonu...