Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 378

Deduction from seafarers' earnings: eligibility

Section 378 sets out the conditions under which seafarers can claim a tax deduction from their employment earnings, based on the nature of their earnings, where their duties are performed, and the length of time spent outside the United Kingdom.

• To qualify, a seafarer's earnings must be relevant general earnings, their duties must be performed wholly or partly outside the UK, and some duties must fall within an eligible period of at least 365 days.
• An eligible period can be either a continuous stretch of days absent from the UK, or a combined period made up of three consecutive blocks — two periods of absence either side of a return to the UK lasting no more than 183 days — provided at least half the total days are spent outside the UK.
• A person is only treated as absent from the UK on a given day if they are absent at the end of that day.
• Relevant general earnings include standard taxable earnings for UK-resident employees, as well as earnings of employees who are liable to tax in another EEA State by reason of domicile or residence there.