Big News For Seafarers: HMRC concedes landmark SED tax battle!

Great news for the offshore maritime community!

The waiting game is officially over for crews working on decommissioning and well abandonment vessels.

Following the landmark First-tier Tribunal ruling in Michael King v HMRC, which ruled that well decommissioning does not turn a vessel into an "offshore installation", HMRC's strict deadline to appeal has officially passed.

Our team has spent the last week rigorously monitoring court registries and tax networks to verify the outcome. We can now confirm that HMRC has not filed an appeal, making this major victory for seafarers legally final! 

What does this mean for you?

If your 2025/26 Seafarers' Earnings Deduction (SED) claim was caught up in the industry-wide pause on decommissioning vessels (like the Erda and Q7000), the green light is on.

We held our clients' claims back intentionally to protect them from aggressive, automated HMRC compliance enquiries. Now that we have absolute legal certainty, our team is unblocking and submitting these backlogged claims immediately.

Are you still waiting on your maritime tax refund?

Don't let your hard-earned money sit in limbo. Drop us a message or comment below to see how our specialist marine tax team can safely secure your SED refund.