Offshore workers in the UK are eligible for a tax refund. What is even better is that tax rebate can come from several different sources. If you know all about them, you are likely to get a significant amount of tax refund.
Travel expenses
Did you know that you’re eligible for a refund when traveling to what HMRC calls temporary workplaces, especially when done under 24 hours? If you didn’t, you’d be happy to know that you can still claim for the past four years that you didn’t ask for a refund for travel expenses. The same thing applies if you fly out to your platform, or travel to the airport or heliport, either using your own car or public transport. If your employer pays some of your travel expenses, you can still get a tax refund based on the difference of what your boss gave you and what is specified by the law. What is tax free is less than 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, and less than 25p per mile after this.
Accommodation expenses
If you need to book a hotel the night before or two days before you need to go to the platform, you could be eligible for accommodation rebate. If you pay for your hotel out of pocket, you could be due some cash as well. Just make sure to keep the receipts for documentation and calculation purposes. Most of the time, refund for travel and accommodation expenses are separate from the Seafarers Earnings Deduction (SED), if and when applicable.
The amount of tax you can claim back
On average, an offshore worker can get a tax refund of anywhere between £600 and £700 per year. So if you have four years of tax rebate to claim, you’re going to have plenty of extra cash when it goes through.
Think you may be due a tax refund? Apply here to get your tax back.
Tax Refunds for Offshore Oil & Gas workers