In this section:
- Tax relief if you work on board a ship
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.
On this page:
- How Seafarers’ Earnings Deduction works
- How to calculate the deduction
- If you have more than one job
- Records you'll need to kee
- How to get tax relief
- If you're a non-UK resident seafarer
- Contact us
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'.
Find out if you are resident or ordinarily resident in the UK (PDF 640K)
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.
Get Help Sheet HS205 (PDF 57K)
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
We 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 we'll 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 we don't send you one, you can download it from our website or ask us for one.
Get a Self Assessment tax return
Find out about completing a Self Assessment tax return
Find out about completing your Self Assessment tax return online
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.
Go to form R43M Repayment Claim
Contact us
If you need help or advice, you can call the Seafarers Helpline on Tel 029 2032 5045. It's open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday.
