Claiming Theatre Tax Relief for Corporation Tax
Find out if you qualify for Theatre Tax Relief for Corporation Tax and what you can claim.
Who can claim
Your company can claim Theatre Tax Relief if it puts on one of the following qualifying theatrical productions:
- a play, opera, musical or other dramatic piece that tells a story, where the performances are live and the performers give their performances through the playing of roles
- a ballet
The main purpose of the audience members must be to observe the performance.
To qualify, all or a high proportion of the performances must be for paying members of the general public or provided for educational purposes.
At least 25% of the ‘core costs’ is used on goods or services provided from within the UK or European Economic Area (EEA). This rule is changing soon. From 1 April 2024, at least 10% of the ‘core costs’ must relate to activities in the UK.
Core costs are what’s spent on producing and closing the theatrical production. This does not include any of the costs which happen while the production is running.
Your company must also:
- be actively engaged in planning and decision-making
- directly negotiate, contract and pay for rights, goods and services
- be responsible for putting on the production from start to finish, including either:
- employing
- engaging the performers
Who cannot claim
Your company cannot claim Theatre Tax Relief for the production if:
- the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, is to advertise or promote any goods or services
- the performances include a competition or contest
- a wild animal is used in any performance
- the production is of a sexual nature
- the main object, or one of the main objects, is to make a relevant recording
- the production has been produced for training purposes
What you can claim
You can claim an additional deduction to reduce your profits or to increase a loss. This will reduce the amount of Corporation Tax you will need to pay.
The additional deduction will be the lower of:
- 80% of total core expenditure
- the amount of core expenditure on goods or services that are provided from the UK or EEA — from 1 April 2024, it is the amount of core expenditure relating to activities in the UK
If you make a loss, some or all of this loss can be surrendered for a payable tax credit.
The current rate for surrendering losses is 45%. You can surrender losses at a higher rate of 50% if your production is touring. For your production to be considered as touring at least one of the following must apply:
- at the start of the production phase, you must intend to have performances at 6 or more separate premises
- there will be at least 14 performances and these will be in at least 2 separate premises
The current rates are a temporary uplift. The standard rates are 20%, and 25% for touring productions.
When you can claim
You can make, amend or withdraw a claim for Theatre Tax Relief up to one year after the company’s filing date.
For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, you may make, amend or withdraw a claim to Theatre Tax Relief up to 2 years after the end of the period of account the claim relates to.
HMRC may agree to accept late claims in some circumstances.
How to claim
You can claim for relief on your Company Tax Return. You will need to calculate the amount of:
- additional deduction due to your company
- any payable credit due
From 1 April 2024, all claims must be accompanied by an additional information form. This will allow you to provide the necessary evidence to support your claim.
For each production you must provide:
- the title of the production
- start date of the production
- statements of the amount of core expenditure, split by:
- UK or EEA
- non-UK or non-EEA
- a breakdown of expenditure by category
If you’re claiming the touring rate of relief, then you also need to provide the dates and number of performances at each premises.
Further information
You can find detailed guidance for theatrical companies, including examples of how the relief is calculated, in the Theatre Tax Relief Manual.
Updates to this page
Last updated 19 January 2024 + show all updates
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From 1 April 2024 the rule for core costs used on goods or services provided from within the UK or European Economic Area (EEA) is changing. At least 10% of the core costs must relate to activities in the UK.
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The 'How to claim' section has been updated with a link to 'Support your claim for creative industry tax reliefs' which explains how to provide evidence to support your creative industry reliefs claim.
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Information updated about core expenditure.
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First published.