Are you resident of the EU and pay UK tax?

If you are resident in an EU or EEA country and working for a UK company, paying UK income tax, you can now claim the seafarers allowance, also known as the 100% claim. Originally the Revenue stated that this could only be claimed for the 2011/2012 tax year onwards, however they have now relented and claims can be made for the 2007/2008 tax year onwards. There is limited time to claim for the 2007/2008 year as these claims have to be in to the Revenue by the 31st July 2012; claims for the 2008/2009 tax year have to be submitted by the 5th April 2013, so the time to act is now if this affects you! As long as you have the required amount of sea time outside the UK twelve mile limit, and at least one foreign port visit, then you could well be entitled to a refund of some or all of your income tax you have paid. If you feel that this could apply to you please do not hesitate to contact us for further information on how to claim back your overpaid tax. You have to be aware though that you may well be liable to pay income tax in your own country, so you need to check this out with a tax adviser based in your country.