Claiming Orchestra Tax Relief for Corporation Tax
Find out if you qualify for Corporation Tax Orchestra Tax Relief and what you can claim.
Who can claim
Your company can claim Orchestra Tax Relief if it’s a qualifying orchestral production company putting on a qualifying orchestral concert.
A qualifying orchestral concert is one which:
- is performed wholly or mainly by instrumentalists who are the primary focus of the concert, this can be by a:
- orchestra
- ensemble
- group
- band
- consists of a minimum of 12 instrumentalists
- all or the majority of the instruments are not electronically amplified
- is intended to be performed live for the paying public or for educational purposes
- has at least 25% of ‘core costs’ is on goods or services provided from within the UK or European Economic Area (EEA) — 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 the production. It does not include expenditure on the actual performance.
Your company must also:
- be responsible for putting on the concert from start to finish, including employing or engaging the performers
- be actively engaged in planning and decision-making
- directly negotiate, contract and pay for:
- rights
- goods
- services
Who cannot claim
A concert will not qualify for relief if the:
- main purpose, or one of the main purposes, is to advertise or promote any goods or services
- performances include a competition or contest
- main object, or one of the main objects, is to make a relevant recording
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 any Corporation Tax you will need to pay.
The additional deduction is the lower of:
- 80% of total core costs
- the amount of core costs 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 at a rate of 25%.
When you can claim
You can make, amend or withdraw a claim for Orchestra 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 Orchestra 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.
You must also provide:
- the name and address of the venue for each performance
- statements of the amount of core expenditure, split between:
- UK or EEA
- non-UK or non-EEA expenditure
- a breakdown of expenditure by category
- the production start date
You may elect to have multiple concerts treated as a single concert. If you’ve made an election, you should indicate the date of the election in your return.
Elections must be made before the date of the first concert in the series, or the date of the first claim which relates to a concert in the series, whichever is later.
Elections should be sent by email to: creative.industries@hmrc.gov.uk.
Further information
You can find detailed guidance for orchestral production companies, including examples of how the relief is calculated, in the Orchestra Tax Relief Manual.
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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First published.