A guide to making your tips work for you & surviving the season.

It's 1:30 am and you are still working! Is it really August; have we reached the halfway point yet for this season? You are already dreaming of the end - putting your feet up and spending some of those hard earned tips.

But then it hits you! Groundhog Day.... you save and you spend. You save and you spend. The cycle never stops. You're a hamster on a treadmill - spinning away, yet standing still. Don't get me wrong, Yachting is a lot of fun, and there are far worse treadmills to be on. But surely there must be more?

A thought sails through your mind - 'What if, instead of working for the boss - how about thinking like the boss?'. He (or she) isn't going through a yearly cycle of boom and bust. So what is it that fundamentally separates us from them - in a word; INVESTMENT.

‘They take their money and put it to work.’

Yachties find themselves in a unique position; well paid, few overheads and lots of disposable income. The key is to take that cash and make it work while you work away. And you are away a lot! This is why property works. It's a low maintenance investment that can provide rental income alongside asset appreciation.

'But Seafarers can't get mortgages,' I hear you cry. 'Or at best it's bloody hard!' Not so... but it is essential that you save those tips, build that deposit, and get the right people onboard to help you navigate the tricky financial waters that can beset even the most savvy of investors.

Just like going to sea for the first time, getting a first mortgage as a Seafarer isn't so daunting as long as you have the right team around you, and good preparation - This means finding the right advisors and getting your financials in good order;

If you want banks and financial organisations to take you seriously you need to tackle this problem. If you wish to obtain a mortgage you need to be able to demonstrate that you earn money - and the only way to do this is to tackle the tax problem.

This need not be a scary prospect, and if you seek professional advice, you might find through the various tax exemptions available to Seafarers (the Seafarers Earnings Deduction & the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion being two examples) that you may owe little or no tax at all.

If you would like further advice on tax & mortgages we are here to help, click on the link below to get in touch:

Mortgage & Tax Advice

Any advice in this publication is not intended or written by Marine Accounts to be used by a client or entity for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party matters herein.