Maritime / Seafarers / Tax

[TP_EMPTY_7530]

Good day. 

I am from UK and now live in Guadeloupe (French Caribbean). Just got my long term visa and valid for a year, so not a full time resident....yet.

I work offshore on vessels and rigs and get seaman earnings deduction (SED) and I qualify every year. 

I am now on a rig so I would need to pay tax and working from west Africa, but better to be UK resident or French resident in this situation? 

I was told that the French have a SED equivalent and being on a rig is also not taxable? Cant find this information anywhere so not sure if it's true anyway. 

Is there anyone that works offshore, from UK but now lives in france that is a resident. But works offshore internationally, so not in British / French and even European waters.  Are you able to help and give me some options?

Secondly. My partner is French. Works offshore internationally and works for a German company. She pays full tax to france and has done for last 10 years. So if a SED did exist in france she has been paying a huge amount of tax every year...so same sort of question as above really but she is French. 

 

I have emailed so many French accountants and never get a reply so maybe someone has been through this situation before. 

Greatly appreciate any snippet of information and advice

 

[ssomon]

I worked on offshore rigs in foreign countries for several years, but left the industry some time ago.

I worked approximately six months per year, and commuted from England, and then from Spain, to other countries.

I made sure I was recorded as spending less than the minimum time for tax liability in any country, which was usually 90 days in any 12 month period. Note that this is a rolling, not a specific 12 month period.

As far as I know,  tax liability in most countries still depends on the time spent there in any year. The best known exception to this is the USA,  so the country of domicile should also be  considered.

I assume you have Googled "offshore workers tax advisor", which finds accounting companies, some of whom seem to be experienced enough.

However, in my experience a specialised tax advisor is better than an accountant. I lost a lot of money following the advice of an English accountant.

I eventually followed advice from Blevins Franks, but there are several others.

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by ssomon

[TP_EMPTY_7530]

@ssomon Thank you for a reply. I have googled and send emails to various offshore tax advisors and no reply as of yet. I will try Blevins Franks and I appreciate the nudge in the right direction. I will look over the last 3 years how many days I spend in Guadeloupe each time, then work and then UK. Would be good to get the information ready to hand in case I do get asked. 

 

Thanks once again. Have a great weekend. 

[TP_EMPTY_7530]

I have contacted a few more specialist accountants and offshore tax advisors but no such luck.

As soon as I mention UK tax and French tax, residency differences, international waters, being paid in dollars and various other factors that need considering, they say they cant help so its best if I find a specialist in that area. 

 

So now sent a few messages to finance legal firms covering both UK and France... and see what happens.