Costumes & performance clothing

Conditions

• Self-employed actors and entertainers can deduct the cost of clothing acquired for a role in a film, stage or TV performance — HMRC's Business Income Manual (BIM50160) says such clothing is not part of 'an everyday wardrobe'; it is costume used in a performance. GOV.UK's self-employed expenses guidance likewise lists 'costumes for actors or entertainers' as allowable clothing.
• The test is whether the item is genuinely costume for a performance — not whether it was bought 'for the act'. Clothing you could reasonably wear off stage (a musician's sharp suit, an influencer's on-camera wardrobe) remains everyday clothing and fails under Mallalieu v Drummond (BIM37910).
• Cleaning and upkeep of qualifying costume follows the clothing and is allowable, like other qualifying workwear.
• In practice the question often doesn't arise: HMRC notes that production contracts usually require the production company to supply costume, wigs and exceptional make-up (BIM50160).
• Performer working through their own limited company: we could not verify a GOV.UK source addressing the company/benefit-in-kind treatment of costume this session. Genuine costume arguably sits with specialist clothing rather than 'other clothing', but treat this as unconfirmed — take advice or check HMRC guidance before the company buys costume for its director.
• Employed performers (on an employment contract) fall under the stricter section 336 ITEPA 2003 test, and we could not verify a specific HMRC manual page on employed performers' clothing this session. Do not assume the self-employed costume rule carries across — this is flagged as unverified, and professional advice is sensible here.

Common mistakes

• A musician claiming the smart suit or dress worn for gigs — unless it is genuinely costume (something that could not reasonably form part of an ordinary wardrobe), it fails the Mallalieu test.
• Influencers and presenters claiming an on-camera wardrobe — wearing clothes on camera does not make them costume.
• Assuming 'I bought it for the act' is the test — the test is the nature of the clothing, not the motive for buying it.
• Carrying the self-employed costume rule across to an employment contract without checking — the employee test is stricter and the position is not confirmed in the sources we could read.

What to keep

• Receipts plus a note of the production, act or role each costume item was acquired for.
• Anything showing the item is genuinely costume — photos in performance, the character it belongs to, or why it could not form part of an ordinary wardrobe.

Real-world example

A self-employed children's entertainer buys a clown costume, oversized shoes and a novelty wig — clearly costume, all allowable, along with their cleaning. The smart shirt and chinos worn to meet venue managers are everyday clothing and are not claimable.

Frequently asked

Related allowances