Photography & video for marketing

Conditions

• Photography and video produced for marketing purposes — product photography for an e-commerce store or catalogue, promotional video for social media or the business website, headshots and team photos for a 'meet the team' page, location photography for brochures, behind-the-scenes content for brand building — are allowable revenue expenses. They fall within the general category of advertising and marketing costs that GOV.UK confirms are allowable for self-employed businesses (expenses-if-youre-self-employed, updated 2024). The wholly and exclusively test applies: the production must be for the purposes of the trade.
• The costs that are allowable include: photographer or videographer day rates and project fees; studio hire; location fees; props and set dressing bought for the shoot (if not of lasting use beyond the shoot itself); model or talent fees; post-production and editing; music licensing for use in marketing video; and the fees of a production company or creative agency managing the shoot.
• The capital versus revenue question arises only in unusual circumstances. A marketing photograph or short promotional video is typically revenue because it is used quickly, refreshed regularly and does not create an enduring separate asset in any meaningful accounting sense. Where a business commissions a major production — for example, a flagship brand film intended to serve as the definitive company identity for a decade, or a large-scale product launch video used across all territories for several years — the position is closer. HMRC's general test (from BIM35640 and BIM42550 series) is whether the expenditure creates an asset of a capital nature with a genuinely enduring benefit. For most commercial shoots this test is not met.
• For a limited company, photography and video costs are deductible for corporation tax in the accounting period in which the costs are incurred, provided the expenditure is revenue. Where a production is capitalised (very rare), the intangible assets regime may give amortisation relief.
• Photography or video that also has a non-business purpose — for example, photographs commissioned partly for personal use — must be apportioned. Only the business-use element is deductible. A sole trader who uses the same shoot for both business and personal social media would need to reflect on the split.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a large or expensive production must be capital — cost alone does not determine capital/revenue treatment. A high-value shoot that will be refreshed within a year or two is still revenue.
• Claiming the cost of photography equipment as part of a marketing-media invoice when the equipment was actually purchased and retained by the business — equipment is a capital item claimed through capital allowances, not a marketing expense.
• Including personal photography (a professional portrait used on personal social media, or family event photography) alongside business photography in the same expense claim.

What to keep

• Invoice from the photographer, videographer or production company, describing the project and its marketing purpose.
• Usage rights agreement or licence where relevant (particularly for stock or commissioned music used in video).
• Examples or links to the finished materials help demonstrate the promotional purpose if queried.

Real-world example

A limited company sells handmade homeware online. It commissions a photographer for a one-day product shoot at a studio, producing images for the company's website and Instagram feed (£600 day rate plus £120 studio hire). It also commissions a short brand video from a local videographer (£800 editing included). All three costs — £600, £120 and £800 — are allowable revenue marketing expenses deducted in the accounting period. The images will be refreshed in 12 months for the next range; there is no suggestion of a capital asset.

Frequently asked

Related allowances