Crew work on the doorstep in Hertfordshire
Few places outside London have as much production work within a short drive. Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden sits between Watford and Abbots Langley on the site of a wartime aircraft factory, and it has been home to every Harry Potter film and many big features since. Over in Borehamwood there is Elstree Studios on Shenley Road, where shows such as Strictly Come Dancing are recorded, the BBC Elstree Centre, home of EastEnders, and the newer Sky Studios Elstree.
That means a lot of the people living in Watford, Abbots Langley, Kings Langley and Borehamwood work in camera, lighting, grip, sound, art department, costume, hair and make up, construction and production offices. Their tax affairs look nothing like a normal employee's, and accountants for film and TV crew in Watford have to deal with that every week.
PAYE or self employed: what HMRC's guidance says
Whether a production should pay you through PAYE or as self employed depends on your employment status, and the film and TV industry has its own section in HMRC's Employment Status Manual. It refers to a list of behind the camera roles that can normally be treated as self employed, known as Appendix 1. For some roles, the list sets out particular conditions that have to be met. For others, the engagement must be on a specific production, for a finite period, and genuinely separate from any earlier job with the same company.
If your role is not on the list, or the conditions are not met, the production has to look at your status in the normal way, using the usual tests of control, personal service and financial risk. Actors and other performers are dealt with in a different part of the manual. At the time of writing HMRC has temporarily unpublished the list itself, so we always check the current guidance rather than relying on an old crew sheet.
The guidance also covers short jobs. Where a production has decided a worker is employed, HMRC allows National Insurance only deductions, with no income tax taken, for engagements of 7 days or less, as long as there is no set pattern of regular repeat bookings. Crew who work a run of very short jobs for many different clients may in some cases be treated as self employed, and HMRC's film and production team can be asked to confirm this.
What is included
- Self assessment returns for mixed PAYE and freelance income
- Checking status on each engagement against HMRC guidance
- Kit and equipment claims through capital allowances
- Travel, mileage and subsistence reviews
- Payments on account reductions in quieter years
- Loan out company accounts and corporation tax
- Reviewing IR35 status determination statements
- VAT registration if your turnover passes the threshold
One tax return, several kinds of income
A typical crew year might include a few months on PAYE for a feature at Leavesden, a run of self employed day rates on commercials, and a short NI only job. Each one appears differently on your tax return. PAYE income comes with a P45 or P60, self employed work needs your own records of invoices and costs, and NI only pay needs checking because no income tax was taken at source.
As accountants for film and TV crew, we pull it all together, make sure nothing is counted twice, and work out whether you owe tax or are due a refund. If your self employed profit is large enough, you will also make payments on account on 31/1 and 31/7. These are worked out from last year's bill, so a quiet year after a busy one is often a good moment to ask HMRC to reduce them.
Kit, travel and the costs of the job
Many crew members own expensive kit: cameras, lenses, lighting, sound recorders, a van full of grip equipment, or a make up kit that needs constant restocking. On self employed work, tax relief for equipment you buy usually comes through capital allowances, and consumables are a normal running cost.
Travel is more nuanced. Getting to a location shoot is often claimable on self employed work. A daily drive to the same studio for a long engagement needs a closer look, especially if the job is on PAYE, where ordinary commuting is not allowed. Specialist protective clothing and costume items can be claimed, but everyday clothes cannot, even if you only wear them on set.
Keep a simple log of jobs, dates, locations and mileage. It makes the year end far quicker and it is the first thing HMRC asks for if it ever checks your return.
Loan out companies and IR35
Some crew work through their own limited company, often called a loan out company. It can make sense for senior crew with high, steady self employed income. It is not a way to turn a PAYE job into a self employed one. HMRC's guidance notes that many workers in employed grades have set up companies, and that these arrangements often fail because the worker is still treated as the production's employee.
Where you do work through a company, the off payroll working rules, often called IR35, decide whether you are taxed like an employee on that engagement. If the production company is medium or large, it makes that decision and must give you a status determination statement. We review those statements with you, and we only recommend a company where the numbers and the status position both stand up.
Accountants for film and TV crew who plan for the gaps
Crew income rarely arrives evenly. A strong summer can be followed by a quiet winter, and tax for a busy year may fall due right in the middle of a gap. We help you set aside a realistic amount from each self employed invoice, and give you an estimate of your next bill well before 31/1, so it never lands as a surprise.
Who this suits
- Camera, lighting and grip crew working at Leavesden and Elstree
- Hair, make up and costume teams on long running series
- Art department and construction crew paid by day rate
- Production office staff moving between PAYE and freelance work
- Senior crew deciding whether a loan out company is worth it
Common questions
Why was I paid through PAYE on one job and self employed on another?
Each engagement is judged on its own facts. HMRC has a list of behind the camera roles that can normally be treated as self employed, but some roles carry conditions, and productions also apply the general status tests. The same person can be employed on one job and self employed on the next.
What does NI only mean on my payslip?
HMRC lets productions deduct National Insurance but not income tax on some engagements of 7 days or less, where the worker is treated as employed. The income tax is then worked out on your self assessment return. It is worth setting some money aside for it.
Is my role on HMRC's self employed list for film and TV?
The list covers many behind the camera roles, but some only qualify if certain conditions are met. At the time of writing HMRC has temporarily unpublished the list itself. Send us your role and a recent deal memo and we will check it against the current guidance.
Can I claim the cost of my camera kit?
If you use it for self employed work, yes, usually through capital allowances. If the kit is also used privately, only the business share can be claimed. Kit used only on PAYE jobs is treated differently and is harder to claim.
Should I set up a limited company for crew work?
Only if the status of your work supports it and your income makes the extra cost worthwhile. A company does not change the fact that many grades are treated as employed. We look at your last few years of deal memos before giving a view.
Do I need to register for VAT as freelance crew?
You must register if your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12 month period. PAYE income does not count towards this, only your self employed or company turnover. Some crew register voluntarily if most of their clients are VAT registered productions.
I live in Borehamwood but work all over the country. Can you still help?
Yes. Your paperwork can be sent by email between jobs, and we talk by video when it suits your schedule. Where you film makes no difference to where you file, and plenty of crew based near Elstree or Leavesden spend months on location elsewhere.