Accountants for Actors

Tax and accounting advice for actors

If you’ve been an actor for a long time, you’ve probably worked with a number of productions. Going from gig to gig does wonders for your networking, professional development and acting skills, but doesn’t do anything for your tax obligations. If anything, the tax obligations of actors can get quite difficult to manage, not to mention that you didn’t go into acting to file tax returns and annual accounts.

As accountants for actors, we did go into that line of work so that we can help people focus on their skills and art, free from the administrative burden and statutory obligations their business brings. We also want your business to work as profitably as possible by keeping a close eye on your payments and expenses, and deducting the costs of allowable expenses from your taxable income.

Self-employed actors will need to complete a self-assessment tax return by 31 January, recording all of the income they received in the previous tax year so HMRC can work out how much tax they owe. This may seem easy, but there can be significant financial penalties for mistakes, intentional or not. Plus, your time is better spent on rehearsals and getting your name out there, not squinting over every detail on your tax return. We work with businesses and companies of all shapes and sizes, so we can keep your tax affairs in order, along with your annual accounts, corporation tax return and other fiddly but compulsory documents you need to complete if you work under a limited company.

Tax advice for actors

We can also keep you tax efficient to help you stay as profitable as possible. One way we can do this is by advising you on allowable expenses – purchases that you make entirely for the purpose of your trade. If an expense is eligible, you can deduct its cost from your taxable profits, reducing the amount of money you pay in tax. You need to ensure your purchase is entirely for your business – for instance, clothing purchased specifically for a show or performance.

We can also advise you on your business structure to help you with your tax liability. This could mean switching from working as a freelancer to working through a limited company to pay corporation tax on your profits rather than income tax, which is charged at higher rates. It’s more important than ever to reach out to an accountant before you consider this, however, given the recent changes to IR35 rules.