Acting is one of the few professions where your tax status can change from job to job. You might be on PAYE for a TV series, then filing Self-Assessment for a fringe theatre run the following month. This guide covers the key tax rules that apply to UK actors in 2026/27, whether you are employed or self-employed.
Employed vs self-employed: knowing your status
When you work on a film, TV production, or large commercial, you are usually engaged via PAYE. The production company deducts income tax and National Insurance before paying you. Your payslip will show these deductions, and you do not need to declare that income separately on a tax return (unless you also have self-employed income).
For theatre work, voiceovers, self-tape auditions you are paid for, corporate presenting, and many smaller jobs, you are typically self-employed. You invoice the client, receive gross payment, and are responsible for declaring the income on your Self-Assessment return and paying the tax yourself. See our self-employed tax guide for a full walkthrough of registration and filing.
Agent fees: an allowable expense
Your agent's commission (typically 10–20% plus VAT) is an allowable business expense against your self-employed acting income. Deduct the gross amount your agent invoices you — including the VAT they charge — from your taxable profits. If you pay commission on PAYE earnings, you can claim tax relief via a P87 form or on your tax return, but only against the income it relates to.
Keep all commission statements from your agent. If your agent deducts commission before paying you, the full gross fee (before their deduction) is your income, and their commission is your expense.
Travel to auditions and jobs
Travel expenses are allowable when you travel to a temporary workplace. For actors, each production is usually a temporary engagement, so travel to set, rehearsal rooms, and auditions is generally deductible. You can claim mileage at HMRC's approved rate (45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles) or actual public transport costs.
The exception is if you have a regular workplace — for example, a long-running West End show where you perform at the same theatre for more than 24 months. At that point, HMRC may consider it a permanent workplace and deny the travel deduction. Most acting engagements are well under this threshold.
Wardrobe, makeup, and hair
You can claim the cost of clothing and makeup that is exclusively for performance and not suitable for everyday wear. A period costume, stage makeup, or character wig qualifies. Your everyday wardrobe does not — even if you only wear it to auditions. The HMRC test is strict: if you could wear it down the street, it is not deductible.
Maintenance of work clothing (dry cleaning costumes, for instance) is also allowable. If you need professional headshots or showreel recordings, these are legitimate business expenses too.
Training and professional development
Acting classes, dialect coaching, movement workshops, and singing lessons are allowable expenses provided they maintain or update existing skills rather than teach you a wholly new profession. A working actor taking an advanced Meisner course qualifies. Someone who has never acted before taking a foundation course probably does not — HMRC draws the line at initial training to enter a trade.
Equity membership is deductible as a professional subscription. Spotlight and Casting Networks fees are also legitimate business costs.
Per diems and subsistence
When a production pays you a per diem (a daily allowance for food and incidentals while on location), it is generally not taxable provided it falls within HMRC's benchmark rates and the production is away from your home base. The current HMRC rates are £5 for trips of 5–10 hours, £10 for trips over 10 hours, and £25 for overnight stays (these are benchmark allowances — many productions pay more generously). If the per diem exceeds HMRC's rates, the excess may be taxable unless the production has a bespoke HMRC agreement.
If you are self-employed and funding your own meals on location, you can claim reasonable subsistence as a business expense — but you need receipts and it must be while working away from home.
What can you actually claim? A summary
- Agent commission (including VAT)
- Travel to auditions, rehearsals, and temporary workplaces
- Accommodation on location (if self-funded)
- Costumes and stage makeup (not everyday wear)
- Headshots, showreels, and publicity materials
- Training courses (updating existing skills)
- Equity membership and Spotlight/casting site subscriptions
- Accountancy fees
- Home office costs (if you work from home on self-tapes)
Calculate your tax
Use the income tax calculator to model your take-home pay across employed and self-employed income. If you juggle PAYE and Self-Assessment, our portfolio career tax guide shows how multiple income streams interact.