Working abroad and living in UK

[michael bailey]

Hi there,

I’m after a bit of advice and hopefully someone else is/has been in a similar position to myself. I work for a large ROV company based out of Singapore, I am on a day rate only contract and as such have to deal with my taxes and NI myself. I am a UK resident and plan on staying in the UK so obviously i need to sort out a bit of cash for the Tax man!! I have looked into the seafarers deduction but because i cant guarantee that I will only be on a vessel I dont think ill qualify for it so my question is do I have to pay full UK Tax/NI on all my earnings or am I entitled to some relief?

If anyone has any info about this that would be a massive help, basically I need some ammunition before I make that dreaded phone call to HMRC!!

Cheers Mike.

[Ray Shields]

Hopefully someone else will have further info for you but just a note on the Seafarers Tax. You have to be an employee and also the way it works is that you pay the tax and then, if you qualify, claim it back, its not like the R85 where you register as a non taxpayer for savings and thus don’t pay it in the first place. You claim back after you qualify, not before.

Whatever you do ensure you keep money back to pay the Taxman, its one dbtor you cannot afford to ignore!

[deepseacon]

You would quite possible need to be registered for self employment so then getting a UTR Number allowing you to do TAX Returns as a Self Employed contractor.

You would pay Class 2 NI from date you say your self employed.

And have an option which other class NI you pay 4 is min option i think.

Tax you pay can be offset against certain expense’s.

You would pay a lot less than if your company pay rolled you through the UK.

But your NI could be of less value in later years if you choice class 4.

Best to put some cash away what you save though each year using this method of being paid.

[Des_b]

Hey Mike,

With tax the best option you can take is to call up or go and see a seafarers tax specialist. As good as all the advice can be on here each persons situation is always different and only partial bits may be applicable to your situation.

I was in a similar position to yourself, living in the UK and working in the Middle East. I claimed seafarers for all the years I was out there based on these facts:
1. I always had a foreign port in each trip
2. I completed 183+ days a year out of the UK and could prove it via passport/ seamans book and flight tickets.
3. The company I worked for was not linked to the uk.
4. I was an employee of the company (salary).
5. If I did any time on rigs etc, I would pay tax on the time/money I earnt if It wasnt covered under my personal non taxable allowance.

There are more but these were the main points for my situation

For all the rules you need to check the HMRC website for seafarers tax. I havent looked for a while as Ive been expat for the last 4 years.

I would imagine even though you are day rate if you have signed a contract with them you would still be classed as an employee, but thats something to clear with a specialist.

Check out this page: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/seafarers.htm Which will hopefully steer you in the right direction.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Des

[michael bailey]

Thanks for all the advice guys it is much appreciated. As you say it seems like a sit down with a tax adviser that deals with offshore guys is needed to explain and run through my situation to decide the best option.

Wouldn’t want to receive that dreaded letter from ‘the taxman’ hey……….

[Author]

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