EIM33081 | Seafarers’ Earnings Deduction: how to claim and give the deduction

Section 378 ITEPA 2003

The procedure for making and deciding claims to relief provided by Section 42 TMA 1970 does not apply to the seafarers’ deduction. Section 378(1) simply states that “a deduction is allowed…”.

Self assessment taxpayers may use Helpsheet IR205 to calculate the eligible period and enter the amount of the deduction in box 11 on page Ai2 in the Additional Information pages associated with the employment pages.

New information requirement from 6 April 2006

For tax returns for the year ended 5 April 2007 onwards, employees who enter an amount for Seafarers’ Earnings Deduction (“SED”) box11 on page Ai2 i are required to enter the names of the ships on which they performed employment duties as additional information in Box 17 on page Ai4 of the Additional Information pages

Consequently it will no longer be necessary to open a formal enquiry simply to establish the name of the vessel on which an employee performed duties in order to check whether earnings on that vessel qualify for SED. Fewer routine enquiries of this type from HMRC should help to reduce the costs of tax compliance for seafarers and their agents.