FAQs regarding Tax, National Insurance, Tax Returns, Employment Status and Benefits
Tax year 2026/27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027). Last updated July 2026.
This is a plain-English guide for Supporting Artistes working in the UK. It is general information, not personal tax advice. Rates and rules change, so check the current position on gov.uk or take advice before acting.
1. Am I employed or self-employed?
Casting Collective bookings are offered and administered on a self-employed basis. Casting Collective acts as your agent, and you are responsible for declaring your earnings and paying any tax and National Insurance due. Our Terms and Conditions confirm that you are not an employee of Casting Collective, that no Class 1 National Insurance is deducted from your payments, and that your engagement on each booking is a separate contract with the production company.
Most performers are treated as self-employed. Tax status and employment-law status ultimately depend on the contract and the actual working arrangements of each engagement, and the two are not always the same.
Until 2014, special rules treated many self-employed entertainers as employed earners for National Insurance purposes only. Those rules were removed from 6 April 2014, which is why Class 1 National Insurance is no longer deducted from your fees.
2. Do I need to tell HMRC about my earnings?
The £1,000 trading allowance
If your gross self-employed income from all self-employed sources is £1,000 or less in the tax year, and you have no other reason to complete a tax return, you do not need to tell HMRC about it.
Gross means the full fee before anything is taken off, including before our commission. Please read section 4, because the amount that reaches your bank account is lower than your gross income.
If your gross self-employed income is more than £1,000, you must tell HMRC and complete a Self Assessment tax return. On that return you can choose either to deduct the £1,000 trading allowance from your income, or to deduct your actual allowable expenses, whichever gives the better result. You cannot do both.
If HMRC sends you a notice to file a tax return, you must file one even if you earned under £1,000.
How to register
Register online at gov.uk for Self Assessment, or by completing form CWF1. The deadline is 5 October following the end of the tax year in which you started. If you started work as an extra during 2026/27, you must register by 5 October 2027. Registering late can lead to a penalty.
3. What is a UTR and how do I get one?
Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) is a ten-digit number, for example 1234567890. HMRC issues it once you have registered for Self Assessment. You will need it every time you file a return or contact HMRC about your tax.
You can find it in your HMRC online account or Personal Tax Account, and on paperwork HMRC sends you such as a tax return (SA100), a Notice to Complete a Tax Return (SA316) or a Statement of Account. Depending on the document, it may be printed next to the heading "Tax Reference", "UTR" or "Official Use".
4. What counts as my income? Gross fees, commission and VAT
This is the most common area of confusion, so it is worth getting right.
Under our terms we receive your fees from the production company, deduct 20% commission plus VAT, and pay you the balance by BACS. Your remittance advice, which we email to you, shows both figures.
Your income for tax purposes is the full gross fee, before our commission comes off. The commission and the VAT on it are then an allowable expense.
The Making Tax Digital thresholds in section 7 are also based on gross income.
Trading allowance or actual expenses?
If you claim the £1,000 trading allowance you cannot also deduct our commission or any other expense. Once your gross income is well above £1,000, the commission alone will often be worth more than the allowance, so check both ways before choosing. On £5,000 of gross fees, the commission plus VAT comes to £1,200.
Which tax year does a payment fall into?
Most self-employed people now use the cash basis, which is the default. Under it, income is taxed in the year it is received rather than the year the work was done. Because we usually receive your fees around six weeks after a booking, work done near the end of a tax year can fall into the following one. If you have bookings around early April and you are unsure which year a fee belongs to, ask an accountant.
5. What tax and National Insurance will I pay in 2026/27?
Income Tax
The standard Personal Allowance for 2026/27 is £12,570, although it can be reduced for people with higher incomes. The tax you actually pay depends on your total income from all sources and, for earned income, on whether you are a Scottish taxpayer, as Scotland sets its own rates and bands. Check the current rates on gov.uk.
If you have another job taxed through PAYE, your Personal Allowance is often applied to that employment, so profits from your work as an extra may be taxable from the first pound. HMRC can allocate or split allowances through your tax codes.
Class 4 National Insurance (based on profits)
For 2026/27, if you are self-employed you pay Class 4 National Insurance on your profits:
6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270
2% on profits above £50,270
These rates and thresholds are unchanged from 2025/26. Class 4 is worked out and paid through your Self Assessment return, alongside your Income Tax.
Class 2 National Insurance (now voluntary)
Compulsory Class 2 contributions were abolished from 6 April 2024. What matters now is the small profits threshold, which is £7,105 for 2026/27 (it was £6,845 in 2025/26).
If your profits are at or above £7,105, you pay nothing for Class 2, but the year is treated as if you had paid it and counts as a qualifying year towards your State Pension.
If your profits are below £7,105, the year will not count towards your State Pension unless you have enough Class 1 contributions from employment, or you qualify for National Insurance credits (for example as a parent or carer), or you choose to pay voluntary Class 2.
Voluntary Class 2 for 2026/27 costs £3.65 a week, around £190 for the full year. You opt in through your Self Assessment tax return. Voluntary Class 3 contributions, the other route to filling a gap, cost £18.40 a week.
The number of qualifying years needed for the full State Pension depends on your individual National Insurance record. Check your State Pension forecast on gov.uk before paying voluntary contributions, because a voluntary year may add nothing if you already have, or will obtain, enough qualifying years.
6. Keeping records and claiming expenses
Keep a record of every payment you receive and every cost you incur, with the paperwork to back it up. HMRC expects you to keep records for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year.
Useful records include:
Your remittances from us. These are emailed to you and show the gross fee, the commission and VAT deducted, and the net amount paid. Save them as you go, because they evidence both your income and your largest expense
Your copy of each salary voucher (chit). Under our terms you must keep this as proof that you worked that day
A note of dates, times and any overtime for bookings where no voucher was issued. Overtime must be emailed to your booker the next day or you may not be paid for it
Receipts for any costs you intend to claim
Our commission and the VAT on it are allowable. Other costs that may be allowable, depending on the circumstances, include professional photographs, the business proportion of phone costs, genuine costumes or specialist clothing, and qualifying business travel.
Ordinary clothing and ordinary commuting are not allowable, even where you have bought something specifically for a job. Ask an accountant if you are unsure.
If your allowable expenses come to less than £1,000, the flat trading allowance is usually the simpler option.
7. How and when do I file my tax return?
You complete a Self Assessment return for each tax year in which you were self-employed, even if you only worked for part of the year.
Deadlines for the 2026/27 tax year
Paper tax return: 31 October 2027
Online return: 31 January 2028
Payment of tax and National Insurance: 31 January 2028
If your tax bill is more than £1,000 and less than 80% of your tax is collected at source, you will also have to make payments on account towards the following year, due on 31 January and 31 July.
Filing late or paying late triggers penalties and interest.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital started on 6 April 2026. Whether it applies to you depends on your gross qualifying income (not profit) from self-employment and property, as reported on an earlier tax return:
More than £50,000 in 2024/25: Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2026
More than £30,000 in 2025/26: Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2027
More than £20,000 in 2026/27: Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2028
If Making Tax Digital applies, you must keep digital records, send quarterly summaries and submit your tax return using compatible software.
Most Supporting Artistes earn well below these levels from this work. Remember that the test is on gross fees before commission, and that it adds together all your self-employment and any property income.
8. What if I have another job as well as working as an extra?
If you have a job taxed through PAYE and you also work as a self-employed Supporting Artiste:
Your Personal Allowance is often applied to that employment first, so profits from your work as an extra may be taxable in full
Those profits may also attract Class 4 National Insurance
You still need to tell HMRC if your gross self-employed income is over £1,000, and file a return if HMRC asks you to
HMRC can obtain details of what you have been paid by casting agencies and production companies. If you do not declare your earnings, you may face penalties and interest on top of the tax owed.
9. Why do you need my National Insurance number?
We use your right-to-work documents to check that you are permitted to work in the UK. Under our terms we cannot offer you bookings or pay you until we have received them.
Your National Insurance number is separate from that check. It helps identify you accurately and makes sure tax and National Insurance information is associated with the correct person. We may also need to provide it to production companies or public authorities where we are legally required to do so.
You will also need the number yourself when you register with HMRC and when you file a return.
10. How does this affect benefits?
Universal Credit
Universal Credit has replaced Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, and most working-age Housing Benefit. Tax credits closed on 5 April 2025.
If you claim Universal Credit and do self-employed work:
DWP will decide whether you are in "gainful self-employment", meaning work that is organised, developed, regular and carried on with an expectation of profit
If you are, you may qualify for a 12-month start-up period during which your actual monthly profits are used and the minimum income floor does not apply
After that, the minimum income floor may apply. Universal Credit can assume you earn at least the relevant minimum wage for your expected working hours, even if you actually earned less. From 1 April 2026 the National Minimum Wage for people aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour
You must report your income and expenses to DWP every month, by the deadline they give you. Report the gross fee as income and our commission as an expense
Carer's Allowance
Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week in 2026/27, with a strict earnings limit of £204 a week after permitted deductions. Self-employed earnings may be averaged under DWP rules rather than assessed solely by the amount received in one particular week. Tell the Carer's Allowance Unit promptly about your work, and get advice if your earnings are close to the limit.
Other benefits
Most benefits are affected by earnings in some way, and the rules differ from one benefit to another. If you claim anything at all, check how self-employed work will be treated before you accept bookings. Benefit rules change often, so use gov.uk, or speak to Citizens Advice or a welfare adviser.
11. What if I am over State Pension age?
Class 2 contributions are no longer treated as paid for periods after you reach State Pension age.
Class 4 works differently. You still pay Class 4 for the whole of the tax year in which you reach State Pension age, and you are exempt from the following 6 April onwards.
State Pension age is currently 66 and is rising to 67 in stages between 2026 and 2028, so check your own date on gov.uk.
Income Tax still applies as normal on any profits above your Personal Allowance.
12. Who can help me?
Casting Collective cannot give individual tax advice.
Our company accountant, Paul Cann, has agreed to help Supporting Artistes for a small fee with:
registering as self-employed
deciding whether to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance
completing Self Assessment tax returns
Please email Paul directly if you would like his help. Please do not email Casting Collective with tax queries.
Queries about a pay rate are different and should come to us. Email the booker who booked you and submit the query at castingcollective.co.uk/pay, within two working days of the day you worked. Errors reported later may not be correctable if the production company refuses.
For official guidance:
gov.uk for HMRC and DWP information, including registering, deadlines, rates and your State Pension forecast
HMRC helplines for Self Assessment and National Insurance
Citizens Advice for help with benefits and debt
Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (litrg.org.uk) for free, detailed guidance written for people on lower incomes