Which productions qualify for Orchestra Tax Relief?

If you're putting on an orchestral production, you might be surprised by how many concerts qualify for Orchestra Tax Relief. From traditional symphonies to candlelight pop performances, the scope is broader than many production companies realise.

However, HMRC has specific qualifying criteria. Getting these wrong could mean missing out on up to 40% of your core costs, or worse, facing a compliance check after you've already claimed.

This blog explains the three key conditions your production must meet to qualify for OTR, including practical examples to help you assess your eligibility.

What are the three qualifying conditions?

A production qualifies for Orchestra Tax Relief if it meets all three of these conditions:

1. It must be an orchestral production
2. It must be performed live to a paying public or for educational purposes
3. It must meet the minimum core expenditure requirement (either 25% European or 10% UK expenditure, depending on your accounting period)

Let's break down each condition in detail.

Condition 1: What counts as an orchestral production?

HMRC defines an orchestral production quite specifically. Your production must have:

• At least 12 instrumentalists performing together
• A majority of instruments that are not amplified (acoustic instruments should dominate)
• Instrumentalists as the primary focus of the concert, whether they're in an orchestra, ensemble, group, or band
• An intention to be shown live to at least 5 people

The instrumentalists must be the main attraction. If vocalists, dancers, or other elements take centre stage, your production likely won't qualify for OTR (but may qualify for Theatre Tax Relief).

What doesn't qualify

Even if you have 12+ instrumentalists, your production is ineligible if:

• Recording is the primary purpose. If you're filming a concert primarily to sell recordings or broadcast it, OTR doesn't apply. However, recorded performances may qualify for Film Tax Relief or Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) instead.
• It's produced for training purposes. Educational content for musicians learning their craft doesn't count.
• Advertising or promotion is the primary purpose. If the concert exists mainly to promote a product or brand, it's excluded.
• It includes a competition or contest. Battle of the bands-style events don't qualify.

One important caveat: if your intention changes from live performance to broadcast without an audience, you can claim OTR for costs incurred up to the point your intention changed. You just can't claim for the broadcast phase.

Examples of qualifying productions

The range of productions that can qualify is quite broad:

Traditional formats:

• Symphony orchestras and philharmonics
• Chamber orchestras
• Brass bands
• Jazz groups and big bands

Contemporary formats:

• Orchestral versions of contemporary songs (such as candlelight concerts performing Coldplay or Taylor Swift scaled up to full orchestras)
• Orchestral retrospectives of film composers (like "The Music of Hans Zimmer" or "The Music of John Williams" performed live)
• Dinner performances where an orchestra plays during a ticketed meal (though the dinner costs themselves would be excluded from the claim)
• Ticketed student showcases, provided they meet the paying public or educational requirements

What typically doesn't qualify

Operas, musicals, and ballets will likely qualify for Theatre Tax Relief instead, even if an orchestra forms part of the performance. The key distinction is what's the primary focus. If it's the singers, dancers, or theatrical production, OTR isn't the right relief.

Film screenings with live orchestral soundtracks are unlikely to qualify because the film, not the orchestra, is typically the primary focus of the audience's attention.

Solo performances, duets, trios, and quartets don't meet the minimum requirement of 12 instrumentalists, so they're automatically excluded.

Condition 2: Live performances and educational purposes

Your orchestral production must be intended for one of two audiences: paying members of the general public or educational audiences.

Paying members of the general public

This condition has several important implications:

Productions must be ticketed. This prevents companies from claiming relief for private corporate events or invitation-only shows where there's no public access. The ticketing requirement ensures the production is genuinely accessible to anyone willing to pay.

Public events encouraging donations don't qualify. If you're running a "pay what you can" or donation-based model, you won't meet this condition. The distinction matters because HMRC wants to support productions with genuine commercial or educational intent, not private performances.

You can't change your mind retrospectively. If you originally intended to perform privately but later decided to open it to the public, you can't claim OTR for costs incurred before that decision. The intention must exist from the start of the production phase.

Educational purposes

Productions performed for educational purposes can also qualify. This opens the door for productions in schools, colleges, universities, and similar educational settings.

However, "educational purposes" isn't defined further by HMRC. You'll need to demonstrate that your activities are genuinely educational rather than just entertainment. Consider documenting your educational objectives, curriculum links, or learning outcomes.

One important exclusion: performances shown to an audience associated with a connected company don't count as educational. For example, if your production company performs exclusively for employees of a sister company, that's not considered educational under OTR rules.

Condition 3: Minimum core expenditure requirement

This is where things get more technical. The rules changed significantly in April 2024, so your accounting period determines which requirement you must meet.

For accounting periods ending before 1 April 2024

At least 25% of your core expenditure must be European expenditure. This means costs incurred in the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA).

You’ll be able to claim for UK and EEA expenditure for these claims.

For accounting periods ending on or after 1 April 2024

At least 10% of your core expenditure must be UK expenditure. The threshold is lower, but the geographic scope has narrowed. You can no longer count EEA expenditure unless it also qualifies as UK expenditure.

You’ll only be able to include UK spend for these periods.

Transitional rules

If your production straddles the April 2024 changeover, special rules apply:

If your production entered the production phase before 1 April 2024 and the separate trade ends before 1 April 2025, you can continue using the European expenditure condition (25% EEA).

If your production continues past 1 April 2025, you must meet the European expenditure condition up to that date, then switch to the UK expenditure condition (10% UK) from 1 April 2025 onwards.

For productions affected by the transition, your tax return for the first accounting period ending on or after 1 April 2025 should include a statement showing how much of your core costs incurred before 1 April 2025 is European expenditure.

Pre-completion claims

You don't have to wait until your production is complete to make a claim. If you expect to meet the minimum expenditure condition based on your planned expenditure, you can claim during the production phase.

However, HMRC may revise your claim if the condition isn't ultimately met. For example, if you planned for 15% UK expenditure but only achieved 8%, HMRC could claw back relief you've already received.

Always submit a statement of planned expenditure with any pre-completion claims. This helps demonstrate your reasonable expectation that you'll meet the threshold.

Special case: Series of concerts

If you're running multiple performances of the same production, understanding how series elections work can make a significant difference to your claim timing and cash flow.

By default, each concert is treated as a separate trade for tax purposes. This means you'd calculate OTR separately for each performance, which can be administratively burdensome for touring productions or residencies with multiple dates. Fortunately, HMRC allows you to group your concerts in some cases.

Making an election for a series

You can elect to treat multiple concerts as a single trade, which simplifies your reporting and allows you to claim on a cumulative basis across the entire series.

To make this election:

• The same orchestra production company (OPC) must run all concerts in the series
• The majority (or all) of the concerts must be shown to a paying public or for educational purposes

The deadline for making your election depends on when your first concert takes place:

First concert before 1 April 2024: You must make the election before the first concert takes place.

First concert on or after 1 April 2024: You must make the election before the first concert or before you submit your first company tax return relevant to the separate trade, whichever is later.

The election must be made in writing to HMRC. An email is sufficient.

Key points about elections

Once you've made a series election, you need to understand these important limitations:

• The election must include all concerts in the series. There's no limit on length, and a series can stretch over multiple accounting periods. This is useful for productions running across multiple seasons.
• The election cannot be amended or withdrawn. Once submitted, you're committed to treating those concerts as a single trade. Plan carefully before making the election.
• Cancelled performances don't affect the election. If you have to cancel a show due to circumstances beyond your control, your series election remains valid.
• Minor changes are acceptable. If you need to change the venue or date of a concert due to circumstances outside your control, this won't invalidate the election.
• You can make multiple elections. If you run productions in multiple seasons with breaks between them, you can make separate elections for each series. This gives you flexibility in how you structure your claims.

You'll need to specify any non-qualifying concerts in the series, but these cannot be included in the election itself.

What if the production tours internationally?

If your orchestral production tours to venues outside the UK (or outside the EEA for pre-April 2024 accounting periods), you can still qualify for OTR. The location where the performances happen doesn't disqualify you.

However, the minimum core expenditure requirement still applies. You must ensure that at least 10% of your core costs (or 25% for pre-April 2024 periods) are incurred in the UK or EEA for older claims.

This means you need to track where your costs are incurred, not where the performances take place. If you're rehearsing in the UK, hiring UK-based musicians, or sourcing equipment from UK suppliers, those costs count toward your threshold even if you perform exclusively overseas.

Where individuals spend time in multiple locations, their costs must be apportioned on a "just and reasonable basis" between qualifying and non-qualifying expenditure.

Can collaborative productions claim?

Unlike some other creative tax reliefs, OTR only allows for a single orchestra production company (OPC) per production. Even if multiple companies meet the qualifying criteria, only one can make the claim.

The company that is "most directly engaged" in the production will be able to claim. HMRC doesn't specify this further, so it must be established based on the facts of each case. Generally, this means the company that has the most active role in planning, decision-making, and contracting for the production.

Similarly, companies working in a partnership cannot claim for a production they're working on within that partnership structure. This won't affect solo orchestral productions, but it's an important consideration for collaborative ventures.

If you're planning a co-production, you'll need to determine early on which company will be the OPC and structure your arrangements accordingly.

Key takeaways

• Your production must meet all three conditions: it must be an orchestral production (12+ instrumentalists, primarily acoustic), performed live to a paying public or for educational purposes, and meet the minimum core expenditure threshold.
• The April 2024 changes reduced the qualifying expenditure threshold from 25% European to 10% UK, but narrowed the geographic scope.
• Your intention matters from the start. You can't retrospectively decide to perform to the public if that wasn't your original plan.
• Series elections can simplify administration for touring productions or residencies, but they must be made on time and cannot be withdrawn.

Getting qualification right is the first step to making the most of your OTR claim. If you're planning an orchestral production and want to ensure you meet HMRC's requirements, get in touch for a free eligibility assessment.