Costumes & performance clothing

Conditions

1. 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 says such clothing is not part of 'an everyday wardrobe'; it is 'costume' used in a performance (BIM50160). GOV.UK's guidance for the self-employed likewise lists costumes used for acting, entertaining or advertising your business as allowable clothing, unless they are everyday clothing.
2. The test is the nature of the clothing, not whether it was bought 'for the act'. HMRC's question is whether the clothing might suitably be worn as part of a hypothetical person's everyday wardrobe, and it is irrelevant that you choose not to wear it on non-business occasions (BIM37910). Clothing that passes that test — a musician's sharp suit, an on-camera wardrobe of ordinary clothes — remains everyday clothing and fails under Mallalieu v Drummond.
3. Cleaning and repair: GOV.UK's guidance for the self-employed covers buying, cleaning or repairing costumes used for acting, entertaining or advertising your business.
4. In practice the question often doesn't arise: HMRC notes that the contracts actors and dancers are usually engaged under require the production company to supply the costume, wigs, hairdressing and exceptional make-up necessary for the role (BIM50160).
5. Employed or self-employed? HMRC's manual says performers may be engaged under contracts for services, taxed as professional profits, or contracts of employment, taxed as employment income. It says performers' earnings will be taxed as the profits of a profession in many cases, and that employment is more likely where a performer is engaged for a regular salary to perform in a series of different productions — for example permanent members of some orchestras, or of an opera, ballet or theatre company (BIM50151). Which applies to you depends on your contracts; an accountant can confirm it.
6. Employed performers: the deduction rule is section 336 ITEPA 2003 — the employee must be obliged to incur the expense as holder of the employment, and it must be incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties. HMRC's employment manual says the only exception to the rule against deducting ordinary clothing is where the clothing is a uniform or is protective (EIM31663), and that a deduction for specialist clothing can only be permitted where the employee must provide it at their own expense (EIM32465). GOV.UK's guidance for employees says you cannot claim tax relief for the initial cost of buying clothing for work, and that you may be able to claim for cleaning, repairing or replacing a uniform or specialist clothing. None of HMRC's employment-manual clothing pages we read addresses performers' costume, and the costume rule in BIM50160 is in the Business Income Manual. Do not assume it carries across: this is unconfirmed, and professional advice is sensible here.
7. Performer working through their own limited company: HMRC's employment manual treats clothing an employer provides as an employment-related benefit within section 201 ITEPA 2003, taxable unless the employee is entitled to an off-setting deduction under section 336 (EIM32478). So costume the company buys for you as its director turns on the same unanswered section 336 point as an employed performer's claim. HMRC's employer guidance on clothing covers protective clothing, uniforms and any other clothing, and does not mention costume. Treat this as unconfirmed — take advice before the company buys costume for its director.

Common mistakes

• A musician claiming the smart suit or dress worn for gigs — unless it is genuinely costume, rather than clothing that might suitably be worn as part of an everyday wardrobe, it fails the Mallalieu test (BIM37910).
• 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 rule in section 336 ITEPA 2003 requires the expense to be incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties, and HMRC's employment manual does not address costume.

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