Theatre and Orchestra Tax Relief

If your company puts on theatrical productions or orchestral concerts, you may be able to claim generous tax relief that reduces your Corporation Tax bill or even generates a cash payment from HMRC. These reliefs can provide an additional deduction of up to 80% of your core production costs, with payable tax credits available if you make a loss.

Who can claim

To qualify for either Theatre Tax Relief or Orchestra Tax Relief, your company must be the production company. This means you must:

• Be responsible for putting on the production or concert from start to finish
• Actively engage in planning and decision-making
• Directly negotiate, contract and pay for rights, goods and services
• Employ or engage the performers

You cannot claim if you're simply a venue provider or promoter – you need to be in control of the production itself.

Qualifying theatrical productions

Theatre Tax Relief is available for companies producing:

• Plays, operas, musicals or other dramatic pieces that tell a story through live performance where performers play roles
• Ballet

The production must meet several conditions:

• The main purpose for the audience must be to observe the performance
• All or a high proportion of performances must be for paying members of the public or for educational purposes
• At least 25% of your core costs must be spent on goods or services from the UK or European Economic Area (EEA, which includes the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein)
• From 1 April 2024, at least 10% of core costs must relate to activities in the UK specifically

Your production cannot qualify if:

• The main purpose is to advertise or promote goods or services
• Performances include a competition or contest
• A wild animal is used in any performance
• The production is of a sexual nature
• The main purpose is to make a recording
• The production has been produced for training purposes

Qualifying orchestral concerts

Orchestra Tax Relief applies to concerts that are:

• Performed wholly or mainly by instrumentalists who are the primary focus (this can be an orchestra, ensemble, group or band)
• Performed by a minimum of 12 instrumentalists
• Performed using instruments that are not electronically amplified (or the majority must be non-amplified)
• Intended to be performed live for the paying public or for educational purposes

The same 25% EEA and 10% UK core costs rules apply. You cannot claim if the main purpose is advertising, the performance includes a competition or contest, or the main purpose is to make a recording.

What counts as core costs

Core costs are the expenses you incur on producing the production or concert. For theatre, this includes costs from the start of production through to closing, but excludes running costs during the performance period. For orchestral concerts, core costs relate to producing the concert but not the actual performance itself.

How much you can claim

Both reliefs work in the same way. You can claim an additional deduction against your Corporation Tax profits. This additional deduction is the lower of:

• 80% of your total core costs
• The amount of core costs relating to UK activities (from 1 April 2024)

This additional deduction reduces your taxable profits, lowering your Corporation Tax bill. If this creates or increases a loss, you can surrender some or all of that loss for a payable tax credit – meaning HMRC pays you cash.

For orchestral concerts: The payable tax credit rate is 45%.

For theatrical productions: The standard payable tax credit rate is 40%, but this increases to 45% if your production is touring. A touring production must meet one of these criteria:

• You intend from the start to have performances at 6 or more separate premises, or
• There will be at least 14 performances at 2 or more separate premises

When you can claim

You can make, amend or withdraw a claim up to one year after your company's Corporation Tax filing date.

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, the deadline extends to 2 years after the end of the period of account the claim relates to.

HMRC may accept late claims in some circumstances.

How to claim

You claim the relief on your Company Tax Return. From 6 April 2026 onwards, you must include form CT600P (the Creative Industries supplementary page) with your return.

You need to calculate:

• The amount of additional deduction due to your company
• Any payable tax credit due

You must also submit an additional information form as evidence to support your claim.

For theatre productions, provide:

• The production title
• Production start date
• Statement of core costs split between UK or EEA and non-UK or non-EEA
• Breakdown of costs by category
• If claiming the touring rate, dates and number of performances at each premises

For orchestral concerts, provide:

• Name and address of the venue for each performance
• Statement of core costs split between UK or EEA and non-UK or non-EEA
• Breakdown of costs by category
• Production start date

Multiple concerts as a single production

For orchestral concerts, you may elect to treat multiple concerts as a single concert for tax relief purposes. Elections must be made before the later of:

• The date of the first concert in the series, or
• The date of the first claim relating to a concert in the series

Send elections by email to creative.industries@hmrc.gov.uk and indicate the election date on your return.

Sources

• Claiming Theatre Tax Relief for Corporation Tax
• Claiming Orchestra Tax Relief for Corporation Tax

This article provides general guidance based on current HMRC rules. For advice specific to your situation, speak to your accountant.