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Tax relief if you work on board a ship
If you're an employee and work at sea, you may be able to reduce your tax bill by getting Seafarers' Earnings Deduction. If you're entitled to it and haven't claimed it before, you may be able to claim for the last five tax years as well as this year.
How Seafarers' Earnings Deduction works
To get the deduction you must:
- work on a ship - oilrigs and other offshore installations aren't ships for the purposes of Seafarers' Earnings Deduction - but cargo vessels, tankers, cruise liners and passenger vessels are
- work all or part of the time outside the UK - this means that for each employment you must carry out duties on at least one voyage that begins or ends at a foreign port
- be 'resident' and 'ordinarily resident' in the UK
You get the deduction from your earnings as a seafarer if you have an 'eligible period' of at least 365 days that consists mainly of days when you are absent from the UK. There are special rules for working this out - see the section below 'How to calculate the deduction'.
Who can get the deduction
Anyone who works on a ship can get the deduction. For example, you can get it if you are employed as an entertainer, cook, travel courier or musician.
You can't get the deduction if:
- you are a Crown employee - so Royal Navy sailors can't get it
- you're not resident in the UK - but there may be other tax reliefs you can claim which we explain later
How to calculate the deduction
To see if you're entitled to the deduction, you need to work out whether your days outside the UK are enough to make up an eligible period. You can use Help Sheet HS205 'Seafarers' Earnings Deduction' to help you do this.
If you have more than one job
If you've got more than one job, you'll still get the deduction against your pay as a seafarer if you meet all the conditions.
Records you'll need to keep
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may want to check your tax return so you'll need to keep details of:
- completed Help Sheet HS205
- air tickets or other travel vouchers
- hotel bills or other receipts
- passports and visas
- seafarer's discharge book
- freeboard logs of the ships you carried out duties on
If there's any doubt they will contact your employer for details of the ship's voyage and crew.
How to get tax relief
You'll have to complete a Self Assessment tax return, including the supplementary Employment and Additional Information pages. If you are not sent one, you can download it from the HMRC website or request one.
If you're a non-UK resident seafarer
If you're a seafarer who's not resident in the UK, but you pay UK tax because you work for UK shipping companies, you may be able to get your tax back. You'll need to complete form R43M Repayment Claim.
Contact HMRC
If you need help or advice, you can call the Seafarers Helpline on 029 2032 5045. It's open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday.
Additional links
Tax evasion
People who don't pay their fair share of tax are being unfair on the rest of us
