Capture every relief. Report royalties right. Tour without tax surprises. Specialist accountants for the UK media, film, TV, games and music industry. Production Accounting AVEC & VGEC Credits Theatre & Orchestra Relief Royalty & IP Income Touring & Foreign Tax Fixed Monthly Fees
Media, film and music businesses come to us wrestling with one or more of these.
Costs across multiple productions, projects or releases blur into one set of books.
Eligible for AVEC, VGEC, Theatre or Orchestra relief — but never claimed.
Unsure how to report royalties, advances and licensing across periods and borders.
Foreign tax withheld on international gigs, screenings or performances.
PAYE or self-employed for cast, crew and session players? Get it wrong and HMRC asks.
Your accountant has never touched a creative-industry tax relief or a tour budget.
The media, film, TV, games and music industries carry tax rules a generalist almost never sees — the creative-industry expenditure credits, royalty and IP income, foreign-entertainer withholding, and the employment status of cast and crew. AccTek is built to capture them, by an ACA-qualified team.
A dedicated, ACA-qualified accountant who understands production budgets, release cycles and royalty income — not generic templated returns.
AVEC for film and TV, VGEC for video games, plus Theatre, Orchestra and Museums & Galleries reliefs — we assess eligibility and prepare the claim.
Per-production cost tracking, budgets versus actuals, special-purpose vehicles and cash flow across pre-production, shoot and delivery.
Correct treatment of royalties, advances and licensing income — including overseas royalties where foreign tax has already been withheld.
Double-tax relief on foreign withholding for UK artists abroad, and HMRC’s Foreign Entertainers rules for performances in the UK.
Employment-status calls for crew grades, performers and session players, plus off-payroll IR35 for the contractors you engage.
Penny is the AI assistant inside the AccTek Finance Lab. Message her like you'd text a colleague and she answers from your real, reconciled Xero numbers — in seconds, any time. She understands UK limited company tax, director remuneration, and SME financial management, and she knows exactly where her job ends and your accountant's begins.
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Real questions directors ask — answered from your own live numbers.
Illustrative examples · Penny answers; your chartered accountant signs off.
“They set up clean per-production accounting and handled our expenditure-credit claim end to end. We finally know what each project actually costs and earns.”
Producer — Film & TV production company
“Touring income across several countries was a mess of foreign tax. AccTek sorted the withholding and double-tax relief so we weren’t paying twice.”
Manager — Music artist & touring act
“Royalties and advances were never reported properly by our old accountant. Switching over was painless and the tax position is finally right.”
Founder — Independent record label
Productions are often run through a dedicated company or special-purpose vehicle so each project’s costs, financing and reliefs stay ring-fenced. We track budget versus actual across pre-production, shoot and delivery, keep your cost reports investor- and commissioner-ready, and manage cash flow across the long gap between spend and income.
Film and high-end TV, animation and children’s TV are now supported by the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), which replaced the older standalone reliefs; video games use the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC). Stage and cultural productions may qualify for Theatre Tax Relief, Orchestra Tax Relief or Museums & Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief. The rates, qualifying-spend rules and cultural tests are detailed and change — we assess each production and prepare a robust claim.
Royalties, advances and licensing income need careful handling: when income is recognised, how advances are matched to future earnings, and how overseas royalties are reported where foreign withholding tax has already been deducted. We make sure the timing is right and that double-tax relief is claimed where due.
Many countries withhold tax at source on a performer’s income earned there. UK artists touring abroad often suffer foreign withholding that can be relieved against UK tax, and non-UK performers appearing in the UK fall under HMRC’s Foreign Entertainers rules. We handle the cross-border reporting, withholding and relief so income isn’t taxed twice.
Film and TV production has its own long-standing HMRC employment-status guidance for behind-camera grades, while on-screen performers and session musicians are treated differently again. Getting PAYE versus self-employed right — and handling off-payroll IR35 for any contractors working through their own companies — protects you from status challenges.
We work across media, film, TV, games, music and live entertainment, and structure your accounts around how the sector actually earns:
An ACA-qualified accountant who understands production budgets, royalties and release cycles.
AVEC, VGEC and the Theatre, Orchestra and Museums reliefs — assessed and claimed properly.
Per-production cost tracking, royalty and touring income, freelancer payments and reconciliation.
It pays to use one. The creative sector has tax rules a generalist rarely handles: production accounting across projects, the creative-industry expenditure credits, royalty and IP income, withholding tax on overseas performances, and employment status for cast and crew. A specialist captures reliefs and keeps you compliant.
Film and television production is now supported by the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), which replaced the old film, high-end TV, animation and children’s TV reliefs, while video games use the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC). Cultural productions may qualify for Theatre Tax Relief, Orchestra Tax Relief or Museums & Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief. Rates and eligibility are detailed and change, so we assess each production and prepare the claim.
Royalties, advances and licensing income need careful treatment for when income is recognised, how advances are matched to earnings, and how overseas royalties are handled where foreign withholding tax has been deducted. We make sure income is reported correctly and that double-tax relief is claimed where due.
Many countries, including the UK, withhold tax at source on a performer’s income earned in that country. UK artists touring abroad often suffer foreign withholding that can be relieved against UK tax, and non-UK performers appearing here fall under HMRC’s Foreign Entertainers rules. We handle the cross-border reporting and relief.
It depends on the role. Film and television production has its own long-standing HMRC employment-status guidance for behind-camera grades, while on-screen performers and other roles are treated differently. Getting PAYE versus self-employed right for cast, crew and session players protects you from status challenges.
AccTek works on fixed monthly fees scaled to your size and the work involved, from bookkeeping and production accounting through to expenditure-credit claims and director tax planning. Get a fixed-fee quote in minutes via our instant quote tool.
Fixed monthly fees • Dedicated ACA accountant • Production accounting • Reliefs, royalties & touring tax
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Godwin Pinto ACA is a chartered accountant and founder of AccTek with 20+ years of experience accounting and tax for contractors, startup and SME .
AccTek is a member firm of the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (ICPA). Our accountants have a wide range of qualifications and accreditations from trusted professional bodies such as the AAT, ICPA, and ACCA.
