Orchestra Tax Relief
Tax relief for businesses producing orchestral concerts.
Who it is for
Your company can claim Orchestra Tax Relief if it:
- is responsible for the concert from start to finish, including hiring performers
- actively plans and manages the production
- directly handles contracts and payments for rights, goods, and services
You must qualify as the production company to claim.
To count as a qualifying concert, the concert must:
- be led by instrumentalists (eg orchestra, ensemble, band, or group)
- have at least 12 instrumentalists
- use instruments that are mostly not electronically amplified
be performed live for a paying audience or education purposes
The production must also have at least 25% of core costs spent on goods and services from the UK or EEA. From 1 April 2024, at least 10% of core costs must be spent in the UK.
Support you can get
You can claim an additional deduction to reduce your profits or increase a loss. This lowers your Corporation Tax bill.
The additional deduction is the lower of:
- 80% of your core production costs
- amount of core costs spent on UK or EEA goods/services - from 1 April 2024, it is the amount of core costs relating to activities in the UK
If your company makes a loss, you can surrender some or all of it for a payable tax credit at a rate of 45%.
How to apply
You can claim the tax relief on your Company Tax Return. You must submit an additional information form as evidence for your claim for creative industry tax reliefs.
Support organisers
- HM Revenue & Customs