OTR10070 - Orchestra Tax Relief: Temporary uplift
Finance Act 2022 introduced a temporary uplift in the rate of Orchestra Tax Credits for productions that enter the production phase on or after 27 October 2021. This uplift has been extended for a further two years by the Finance (No 2) Act 2023.
What is meant by the production phase is outlined in OTR60020.
For such productions, the rates are as follows:
| Accouting period | Rate of relief (%) |
|---|---|
| 27 October 2021 - 31 March 2025 | 50 |
| 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026 | 35 |
| From 1 April 2026 | 25 |
Where a company’s accounting period straddles any of the above dates, the company should split that period into two separate notional accounting periods ending or starting on this date. The company should calculate its profit/loss for each period and then calculate Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) for each period separately. The two computations may be submitted in the same CT600 tax return.
See CTM01405 for more information about how to apportion accounting periods.
Example
An Orchestral Production Company (OPC) typically makes up its accounts for 12 month periods ending on 31 December.
The OPC begins work on a new concert series and enters the production process on 1 January 2025. The company incurs core production expenditure for five months, until 1 June. The concert series runs for 2 months (until 31 July); some closing costs are incurred in August.
The trade commences on 1 January and ceases when the production is completely closed on 31 August.
The OPC’s accounting period straddles the date of a rate change: 1 April 2025. The company must therefore create two separate accounting periods for the purposes of their OTR claim. Income and costs should be apportioned between the periods in a reasonable manner.
Period 1: 1 January 2025 – 31 March 2025
Period 2: 1 April 2025 – 31 August 2025
The production process is 5 months long, with 3 months falling into Period 1 and 2 months into Period 2. Assuming that expenditure was incurred relatively evenly across all five months, it is reasonable to split the production process expenditure equally over those 5 months, allocating 3/5 to Period 1 and 2/5 to Period 2.
The running costs are non-core but wouldn’t be recognised until they occur, in Period 2. The closing costs are potentially core and would also be recognised in Period 2.
Losses that arise in Period 1 can be surrendered for a tax credit at 50%.
The amount of profit/loss and of OTR for Period 2 must be calculated on a cumulative basis, as for multi-period productions. Any losses that arise can be surrendered at a rate of 35%.