The idea has come up my company to have the company buy a corporate yacht. It would be used, at times, for entertaining clients, and at other times for personal use by the partners in the company.

The idea wasn't so much to have it as a write off, it was more of a thing where a couple of my partners have been talking about getting boats, and the idea came up of pooling resources, and sharing a larger boat than any of them (notice I didn't say me - I'd get the largest my wife allows) would otherwise.

We do entertain clients occasionally on my boat now. I don't get paid by the company, but the consumables, like gas and food, are expensed. If the boat was one with more communal access, it would probably get used more for that sort of thing.

So, we wouldn't necessarily try to write off the payments, insurance, etc, but gas, bait, drinks, or whatever would be an entertainment cost, like buying a client dinner.

And, on occasion, those of us who wished could probably check it out for a weekend cruise with the family or friends.

The thing that I wasn't sure of is, if the company owned a boat (I call it boat, I guess some people would call it yacht), and we did not try to write off the stuff we're not supposed to, would it still trigger an audit?

If the company owned it, then we could make everyone sign a contract prior to them using it, such as attending a USCG course, no drinking and driving, no smoking, etc, etc. It make it easier to manage than a 'partnership' of owners.

Some of my partners like the idea, but my accountant says it's a one-way ticket to an audit, and somehow we would get screwed. I think the partners would not even be adverse to having their personal use pro-rata'ed (cool word huh) to their income at the end of the year. Paying taxes on a fifth of a boat is still a lot cheaper than owning one directly.

What do you gurus out there think?