{"id":7276,"date":"2026-10-27T18:47:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T17:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/blog\/marin-commerce-navire-rif-salaire-exonere-183-jours\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T18:47:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T17:47:30","slug":"marin-commerce-navire-rif-salaire-exonere-183-jours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/blog\/marin-commerce-navire-rif-salaire-exonere-183-jours\/","title":{"rendered":"Merchant mariner: is the salary tax-exempt?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"bluf-box\">\n<h2>In summary\u2026<\/h2>\n<p>A seafarer residing in France, seconded by their employer to a merchant vessel registered with the RIF (French International Register) or the Wallis and Futuna Register, is exempt from income tax on this activity if they sail for more than 183 days over 12 consecutive months. They do not have to prove that they pay tax abroad. Only the days actually spent on board count.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sailing on board a RIF vessel is among the activities exempted by Article 81 A of the French General Tax Code (CGI). The BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances) specifies who is affected and how to count the days. The crucial point for a seafarer: the count is done on board, not ashore.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Who is affected<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Seafarers on board merchant ships registered with the RIF or the Wallis and Futuna register.<\/li>\n<li>The ship must be operated commercially.<\/li>\n<li>Any crew member can benefit from it, regardless of their role on board.<\/li>\n<li>Self-employed workers and staff not involved in these activities do not benefit from it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This method avoids having to prove tax paid abroad: the duration threshold is sufficient.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. The threshold of 183 days over 12 consecutive months<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You must sail for more than 183 days within a 12-month period. For seafarers, only the actual time spent on board counts. For a newly registered vessel, the count begins on the date the registration application is accepted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 12-month period is rolling: it can span two calendar years. After a break in activity, only the remuneration for the 12-month period in question is exempt.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. An example of a count<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This is an illustrative example; it does not reflect the situation of any particular client.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Situation<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A second captain sails on a container ship registered in the RIF. He makes two voyages over 12 consecutive months: 110 days, then 95 days.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Issue<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In between, he spends several weeks in France. He wonders if those weeks count.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He only counts the days on board, recorded on his boarding documents, and he keeps this tally with his pay slips.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Result<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">110 + 95 = 205 days on board. The 183-day threshold is exceeded by 22 days. With 170 days on board, it would not be exceeded, and he would examine the other route of the BOFiP, that of tax paid abroad.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. What if I don&#039;t sail long enough?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances) provides for a second option, based on tax paid abroad, as well as a partial exemption for certain salary supplements. We detail these in the article on the <a href=\"\/en\/blog\/salarie-detache-etranger-exoneration-impot-183-jours-deux-tiers\/\">employee posted abroad<\/a>. The case of <a href=\"\/en\/blog\/marin-pecheur-exoneration-impot-40-60-pourcent\/\">fisherman: exemption of 40 % or 60 %<\/a> falls under a separate regime.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Frequently asked questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Does fishing qualify for the same exemption?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Fishing is not among the activities covered by this scheme. Fishermen are eligible for a partial exemption of 40 % or 60 %.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Do holidays and days off count?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For sailors, only the time actually spent on board is taken into account by the BOFiP.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Does the exempt salary count towards the effective rate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The BOFiP page consulted does not address this point. It should be checked in the income tax return instructions before calculating your tax.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Does a ship outside the RIF qualify for this exemption?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The BOFiP list targets RIF vessels and those registered in Wallis and Futuna. For other vessels, the option of tax paid abroad remains to be examined.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Merchant mariner, do you want to organize your savings?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Long campaigns and regular income allow you to build wealth. We will work with you to find suitable investments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you a tax lawyer, notary, or chartered accountant, and do some of your clients include seafarers, crew members, or employees seconded abroad? We can work in partnership with you on the investment and life insurance aspects, in conjunction with your tax analysis.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Book an appointment<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 30-minute exchange is enough to lay out your situation. <a href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/asagnier-balmontconseil\/echange\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Book a time slot<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Alexis Sagnier, financial and real estate investment advisor, insurance broker, AMF certified. ORIAS 13003497. Updated on 27\/10\/2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Official sources consulted<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bofip.impots.gouv.fr\/bofip\/4943-PGP.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BOFiP-Taxes \u2014 BOI-RSA-GEO-10-20: Employees posted abroad, total exemptions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seaman domiciled in France on a merchant ship registered in the RIF: tax exemption beyond 183 days on board over 12 consecutive months.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expatriation","category-fiscalite","category-metiers"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/hd-singapour-skyline.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/balmontconseil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}