Offshore tax info

[matressman]

Does anybody know where you can get full and comprehensive info on the tax issue whilst working in the offshore industry? If anyone knows of any links to sites or specific accountants could you please post them for all to see? I’ve heard many different stories but can’t find any specific info on the matter. Help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[SGB]

Website of the Inland Revenue – Seafarers

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nonresidents/tmaseafareres.shtml

You can also phone the Helpdesk

[SGB]

Website of the Inland Revenue – Seafarers

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nonresidents/tmaseafareres.shtml

You can also phone the Helpdesk

[nelson69]

I contacted the inland revenue andthey were no help at all
I have just been in touch with my accountant for the first time he informed me the only way to beat the tax man legal is if you work on a boat and are in uk for less than 90 days you will pass as seafarer and dont pay tax.
there is lots of ilegal ways but the penalties are not worth it if! you get caught .

[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

[rovpilot]

Yup, no easy way about it. As im currently moving abroad out of UK, i filled out P85 telling tax man ive left. Will get my money back from the day i left and wont have to pay any tax or NI in the future. I still believe im not allowed more than 91 days in the UK.

[low_ir]

Do not listen to any of the barrack room lawyers offshore, get professional advice, it will save you a lot of hassle and money in the long run.

If you are on a foreign holiday and are using this period as part of your claim, make sure you keep all boarding cards and at least two receipts for purchases or bank withdrawals for each week you are there.

Remember, if you get audited (and you will at some point) it’s up to you to provide proof that you were indeed out of the country at the time, it’s not up to the tax man to disprove what you say!! If you can’t prove, or the taxman decides to investigate, he can go back as many years as he sees fit to check your claims. So an early ‘mistake’ can prove very costly later on.

I use SKTax, http://www.sktax.co.uk who have been extremely helpful in dealing with any queries I have ever had.

[Paul Bond]

I use Seatax Ltd

http://www.seatax.ltd.uk

They seem ok to me.

[matressman]

Cheers for the info folks, very helpfull as always!!

[SewerPipe]

Does anyone have any useful info regarding tax when working overseas and living in Oz.

[Andy Shiers]

You mean you’re British living in Oz
Or you’re Australian living in Oz but working in Europe

[SewerPipe]

Australian living in Oz wanting to work outside of Oz.

[Andy Shiers]

Don’t know , sorry 😀

[centurion]

As far as I know the basic rule is as an Australian living in Oz you will be taxed on your worldwide income unless you qualify for foreign tax exemption by paying tax in the country you earned the money.

More details here

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/28908.htm

[Ray Shields]

So basically your screwed you have to pay tax on all earnings whether it be to a foreign government of the Oz one?

No Ozzies can get tax free??

[Author]

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