Is this rumor true

[JellyFish]

there is a rumor floating around that the 63 days consectutive rule has fallen away and now just 183 days offshore a year to avoid tax. Can anyone confirm this? Lets get this page going lots of visits no replies ❗

[JellyFish]

Sorry guys, posted on wrong page. first time user 😉

[SGB]

Copied from the Inland Revenue

Do I qualify for Seafarer’s Earnings Deduction?
You may qualify for Seafarer’s Earnings Deduction (SED) if you meet certain criteria. There are three steps to deciding if you have a claim, and these are explained below. Any claims must be made in a Self-Assessment Tax Return. The Self-Assessment help sheet IR205 contains the conditions and a grid to calculate the days in and out of the UK in the claim period.

1. A valid claim period

This will be a period of at least 365 days beginning and ending with a period outside the UK. A period outside the UK can be a period of employment, a period of unemployment or a holiday abroad. Once a 365-day period has been attained it is carried on until there is a failure. A failure occurs if at any time during the claim period you:

a) Spend 183 or more continuous days in the UK or

b) Break the half-day rule.

The half-day rule is applied at each return to the UK. All days since the start of the claim are added and divided by 2 (A). Then all days spent in the UK since the start of the claim are added (B). The two figures are compared and where B exceeds A there will be a failure in the claim period. The claim period ends on the previous return date. A new claim period must then commence from the earliest possible date of leaving the UK.

2. A valid foreign port for each employment in each tax year

Each employment in each tax year must include at least one voyage or part voyage that begins or ends at a foreign port. A voyage or part voyage that begins or ends at an oil or gas installation (including a rig in drilling mode) located outside the UK and outside the designated areas of the UK continental shelf can be regarded as beginning or ending at a foreign port for this purpose.

3. The employment must be on board ships

A seafarer is someone that works on a ship. There is no definition of a ship in tax law but "offshore installations" are specifically not regarded as ships. Leaflet IR205 gives examples of "offshore installations". Grey areas may need to be considered by The Marine Section, South Wales Area, Ty Glas Road, Llanishen, Cardiff, CF14 5FP

Once you have decided that you have a valid claim it will be necessary to submit the Self-Assessment Tax Return. The claim to SED is made at box 1.37 on the employment page that is part of the Self-Assessment Tax Return. You need to ensure that:

a separate employment page will need to be completed for each employment. If you have no foreign port then SED should not be claimed.
the amount to be claimed as SED is the salary not the tax
the amount to be claimed should be apportioned (on a time basis) to exclude periods prior to the start of the claim or after the failure of the claim and for periods of employment on "offshore installations".

As a footnote if the Inland Revenue find a false claim they will demand the rebate back plus interest and a fine of up to 100% of the rebate. Choose your accountant wisely or phone Cardiff Marine for advice.

Also never heard of a 63 day rule.

[luckyjim37]

Was the 63 day thing refering to South African tax??

[Andy Shiers]

I think you’ll find it is for Madagascar 😯
Everyone else has a 365 day cycle which means that half the year would be 182.5 but since the Taxman does not do half days the quota is 183 days and over to qualify . 😛

[TheBaron]

Last Boy, are you implying that Madagascar has a 126 day year? That’s a travesty for us guys who work 6 months per year, as we would be eternally in work-deficit should we live there. I think a warning about Madagascar should be added to the "Its an Ex-Pat life for me" thread! 😯

[rover37]

Beware of any agent,accountant or tax company that you use.
If they make a mistake on your claim the liability is still on you.
The revenue will still hold you liable for any tax owed or has been refunded incorrectly.
Do it yourself, one hour or so to do it. Why pay 1-2 hundred pounds for an hours work. That is real profiteering especially when they are not liable for any errors.

[Andy Shiers]

Bring out the Gimp 😯
He’s sleepin 😕
Weeeeeell , Wake him up 😯

[Savante]

Nah mate, shrek is still in his scratcher peeling onions n chewing nettles…

[JellyFish]

Yeah Luckyjim- South African Tax…. anyone know ❓

[Author]

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