“For five straight years I lived by a spreadsheet.
Every trip offshore meant another row; every flight home, a frantic recount.
Hit 183 days abroad and I kept my Seafarers Earnings Deduction. Miss it by a week and HMRC took a huge bite.”

That’s how a chief engineer on rotation between North Sea workboats and Mediterranean projects, describes life before he found Cfaretax.

 

The juggling act that went wrong

• Year 3: a family emergency forced him to take extended leave.
• Year 4: the vessel hit dry-dock for repairs.

Both years left our client shy of the magic 183 – so his tax claims were rejected.

 

“Watching two whole years of refunds vanish hurt more than any storm I’ve ridden out,” he says.

 

The turning point

A colleague finally said, “Speak to Gary at Cfaretax; he’ll fix this.”

Gary explained the Zero-Tax Band: once HMRC recognises you as a qualifying seafarer, your income can be placed in a band that remains tax-exempt – even if a future rota, dry-dock, or UK refit temporarily drops your day count. 

“It took a bit of back-and-forth with HMRC, but Gary handled every letter. Since approval, the only thing coming off my payslip is National Insurance. No more calculators, no more anxiety.”

 

Life after the switch

• No more day-count spreadsheets
• Stable take-home pay: every month looks the same, even when he worked a short stint in UK waters
• Peace of mind: “The stress is gone; I can plan holidays without worrying about a 183-day cliff-edge.”

 “It’s not magic; it’s legislation – Cfaretax just knows how to unlock it. The zero-tax band gives me an extra layer of security and lets me focus on the job, not the paperwork.”

 

Struggling with the 183-day rule?

Talk to us and turn your yearly panic into permanent peace of mind.