Below are the most common questions we have been asked regarding tax and accountancy. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, please click here to contact us directly.

This is the faq section for entertainers

• As an actor what expenses can I claim against my tax?

  By law you can only claim expenses that are incurred wholly and exclusively for business purposes. 

  The following list is not exhaustive but gives an indication of the general expenses that may be claimed by an entertainer depending on the individual circumstances of the claim:

  • Agent / Manager fees and commission
  • Travel & subsistence on tour if supporting a permanent home
  • Travelling and expenses attending interviews and auditions
  • Costume & Props
  • Laundry & cleaning of costume & props
  • Cosmetics where theatre/film company does not supply them
  • Theatre and cinema tickets relevant to your self employment (for yourself only)
  • Advertising (e.g. Spotlight and agency books)
  • Equity subscriptions
  • Motor running costs
  • Internet costs
  • Postage & stationary
  • Computer consumables
  • Bank charges on a business account
  • Telephone/mobile phone charges
  • Accountancy charges

  If you have expenses that are not on this list you may still be able to claim them. Keep a full record of ALL expenses and discuss them with your accountant. They may be tax deductible.

• Can I make a claim for my professional wardrobe?

  You may be able to, depending on what the clothing is purchased for. If you bought ordinary, everyday clothing from, say, M & S unfortunately the answer would be no. Under current legislation these items are regarded as having a dual purpose as you could wear them outside of work. They would therefore not be classed as tax-deductible expenses.

  However the cost of clothing acquired for a film, stage or TV performance is allowable. The clothing in such event is not part of ‘an everyday wardrobe'; it is ‘costume’ used in a performance.

  The cost of costume and grooming such as hair and makeup incurred by a performer making personal appearances where the sole purpose is to promote their business activities is also allowable.

  If you are in any doubt then please click here to contact us.

• Can I claim for cinema/theatre tickets for a guest?

  Unfortunately not. This is classed as entertaining and would be a non-allowable expense. However you can claim for cinema/theatre tickets for yourself, so please do keep a record of any expenditure through your accounting year.

• I am worried that my bookkeeping records would not stand up to a tax enquiry. What records should I be keeping?

  You should keep comprehensive records with supporting receipts. Anyone who has undergone a tax enquiry will know that HMRC can spend months looking through your records asking probing questions about your business affairs. This can be both time consuming, stressful and very expensive, not just in terms of tax but in terms of lost lessons due to the time spent dealing with the enquiry. 
  
  It is recommended to have a separate business bank account. If a credit card is preferable, then again, separating business and personal purchases into two separate cards is necessary to avoid queries into personal transactions.

  There are three general forms of transaction to record:

  • Bank transactions, including payments from and deposits into the bank. 
  • Cash payments and receipts 
  • Credit card payments 

  When deciding on how to record these transactions provision should be made to identify which receipts / payments are cash, bank or credit card. 

  For cash receipts, it is important to identify any cash not deposited into the bank but used for sundry cash expenses or general living expenses. 
  
  Personal drawings from the business should also be easily identified. One area HMRC looks at is funding of personal expenses. If you have separate business and private accounts, either make transfers between accounts or write yourself a cheque from the business account.

  Mileage records are also important. Even if you use your car almost exclusively for business some form of record should be kept to validate this. HMRC are keen to challenge business mileage where records are not complete. Given that a high proportion of your mileage will be business related, one method is to record your car's total mileage at the start of your accounting year and only record your private journeys made during the year. At the end of the accounting year, work out the total mileage and deduct the private mileage. The difference is your business miles. If you do not have sufficient evidence to support your business expenses then an enquiry can mean an increased tax bill. 
  
  HMRC may also make similar adjustments to the previous years tax bills, adding interest charges and imposing penalties. Please also bear in mind that bookkeeping records and supporting receipts should be retained for 5 years and 9 months after being submitted to HMRC.