Theatre Tax Relief

Theatre Tax Relief is a creative industry tax relief incentive, funded by the UK government.

TTR supports UK theatre production companies by offering them a tax rebate against the money they spend on the production of new theatrical performance.

Theatre Tax Relief is claimed as part of the Company Tax Return (CT600) that is filed with HMRC.

To make a TTR claim, you’ll need to be a registered UK company and you must provide the following information:

• Title of the production
• Start date of the production
• Analysis of the separate exhibition trade expenditure, this should include statements that show your core expenditure, broken down by category and by EEA and Non-EEA spending.
• To claim the touring rate, you will also need to provide the and number of performances at each premises

You’ll need to calculate if your production has made a profit or a loss and determine whether your TTR claim should be surrendered as a loss for a cash repayment or used to reduce your tax bill.

HMRC has a specific approach for calculating the taxable profit and loss of a Theatre Production Company (TPC).

To qualify as a touring production and benefit from the higher rate of 25%, at least one of the following must apply:

• at the start of the production phase, you must intend to have performances at 6 or more separate premises
• there will be at least 14 performances, and these will be in at least 2 separate premises

 The qualifying costs are referred to as core expenditure.  This generally includes the expenditure on:

• Producing the production
• Exceptional running costs
• Closing the production

Non-core expenditure typically relates to the running and promotional costs for the show, this includes:

• Non-producing activities, for instance financing, marketing, legal services and storage
• Ordinary running activities
• Exploiting the production

There are two standard rates of Theatre Tax Relief available.

Non-touring productions can claim back 20% of qualifying expenditure.

If you production is touring, you can claim back 25% of qualifying expenditure.

Theatre production companies can claim TTR on the lower of:

• 80% of total core expenditure, or;
• The amount of core expenditure on goods or services that are provided from the EEA.

To qualify for Theatre Tax Relief your company must:

• Be actively responsible for producing, running and closing the production;
• Make an effective creative, technical and artistic contribution to the production;
• Directly negotiate, contract and pray for rights, goods and services in relation to the production;
• Be able to submit a full corporation tax return (CT600), although you do not need to be pay corporation tax relief.

There is no cap on the amount of relief available via Theatre Tax Relief. 

To qualify for Theatre Tax Relief, the theatrical production must be considered a dramatic production, i.e., a play, an opera, musical or other dramatic piece where:

• Actors, singers, dancers or other performers wholly or mainly give their performance by playing a role;
• Performances are live;
• Presentation of the live performances is one of the company’s main objectives in relation to the performance.

The production will not be considered a theatrical performance if:

• One of the main purposes for which it is made is to advertise or promote any goods or services;
• The performances are to consist of or include a competition or contest;
• A wild animal is to be used in any performance;
• The production is of a sexual nature;
• The making of a relevant recording is one of the main objectives in relation to the production;
• The production has been produced for training purposes.