Get booked, get paid, stay on the right side of HMRC.

• Self-employed (Schedule D)

  You invoice, and pay your own tax

  You're paid gross. You send invoices, register for Self Assessment, and pay Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance yourself. No holiday pay or workplace pension from the production.

• Employed for tax (PAYE)

  Payroll takes tax off first

  You fill in a start form and fill in timesheets. Payroll deducts tax and National Insurance, and you're due holiday pay. You may be enrolled in a workplace pension.

• How the list works

  On the list, and passes test A or test B

  Test A is particular to each role: bringing your own substantial kit at your own risk, working mostly away from the production's premises, or having other clients at the same time.

  Test B: you're booked for one specific production, for a finite period. A repeat booking has to be a genuinely separate engagement.

• Box rental is not your own kit

  HMRC disregards kit when the production takes on the financial risk: a higher rate, a box payment or a hire agreement. Ordinary tools of the trade don't count either. (ESM4117)

• "For the shoot", not "for 12 weeks"

  A finite period means the contract ends with a deliverable or the end of the project, not after a set number of days or months.

• Extensions are checked again

  The list applies to new contracts and to extensions. If a job is extended or changes, expect the production to check your status again.

• Not on the list?

  That doesn't settle it either way. The production uses HMRC's general rules, often with the CEST tool. On UK productions, runners, trainees and many office roles are usually paid through PAYE.

Some experienced crew work through their own limited company. IR35 (the off-payroll working rules) asks whether you'd be an employee if the production hired you directly. If so, you pay broadly employee tax and National Insurance. Medium and large clients, which means most productions, decide and must tell you; for small clients, your company decides.

Starting out, you'll be a sole trader or on PAYE. Get an accountant before you set up a company.

1. Register by 5 October after the tax year endsFor work in the year to 5 April 2026, the deadline was 5 October 2026. For work you do now, it's 5 October 2027. Late can mean a penalty. Early does no harm.
2. Get your UTRHMRC sends you a Unique Taxpayer Reference. Productions ask for it on start forms. Keep it safe.
3. Keep records from day oneEvery invoice and every receipt. Use the tracker.
4. File online by 31 January and pay what you oweYour return for the year to 5 April 2027 is due online by 31 January 2028, with the bill. You can file any time after 5 April; earlier means you know sooner what you owe.

• Your Personal Allowance shrinks over £100,000

  It goes down £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000, and is zero at £125,140.

• Payments on account

  After your first bill, HMRC usually asks for two advance payments towards next year, each half of last year's bill, due 31 January and 31 July. Not if last year's bill was under £1,000, or more than 80% was already taken through PAYE. Your first January can be a shock: it is the bill plus the first advance payment. GOV.UK

• Making Tax Digital is coming in

  Sole traders file quarterly updates through software once their qualifying income passes a threshold: over £50k from April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028, each based on an earlier year's income. Check if you need it

• VAT

  You must register if your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or you expect it to in the next 30 days. You can register voluntarily below that. GOV.UK

• Mixed year?

  Plenty of crew have PAYE and self-employed jobs in one tax year. Both go on your return, and payroll tax counts towards your bill. Student loan repayments go through Self Assessment too.

• Usually allowable

  • Travel for work: fuel, parking, train and bus fares (not your normal commute to one regular workplace)
  • Kit you buy for the work, its repairs and hire (equipment usually goes through capital allowances or, on cash basis, as a cost)
  • The business share of your phone and internet
  • Insurance, union subscriptions, trade magazines
  • Training that keeps your existing skills up to date
  • Protective clothing and uniforms

• Usually not

  • Everyday clothes, even if you only wear them on set
  • Food on a normal working day
  • Anything the production already paid you back for
  • Personal use of anything: claim only the business share

  Not sure? Ask HMRC or an accountant before you claim.

• Two ways to count

  Cash basis or the £1,000 trading allowance

  Cash basis is the default for most sole traders: income counts when it's paid, costs when you pay them. With small costs, take the £1,000 trading allowance instead of claiming expenses. Not both.

• On every invoice

  • A unique invoice number you never reuse
  • Your name, any business name, and an address for legal documents
  • The production company's legal name and address (not just the show title)
  • What you're charging for, the dates worked and the invoice date
  • The amounts, VAT only if you're registered, and the total
  • The PO number and your bank details

• Send it right

  • Send it the day the week or job ends, to the named person in production accounts
  • Attach signed timesheets and receipts for agreed expenses
  • Put the payment terms from your deal memo on it
  • Log it in your tracker the same day

1. When is it late?If you agreed a date, it's late after that date. If you didn't, the law treats payment as late 30 days after the client gets your invoice or the work is done, whichever is later.
2. Chase in writingEmail production accounts with the invoice number, amount and due date. Copy the production coordinator. Then phone.
3. Claim interest and fixed costsUnder the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act, you can claim statutory interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, plus a one-off fixed sum per invoice: £40 up to £999.99, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99, £100 for £10,000 or more. Send a new invoice for it.
4. Ask for helpBectu members: talk to the union. It tracks productions that pay late.

Coming: the Commercial Payments Bill would cap business payment terms at 60 days and make statutory interest compulsory. On 13 November 2026 it was at second reading in the Commons and is not yet law.

• Holiday builds up as you work

  Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year. On irregular hours or short engagements, leave builds up at 12.07% of the hours you work in each pay period.

  For irregular-hours and part-year workers it may be "rolled up" on top of your rate. It should show separately on your deal memo and payslips.

• Pensions: you may be enrolled automatically

  Your employer must enrol you if you're 22 to State Pension age and earn at least £10,000 a year with them. On short jobs, pay periods matter: the employer has to contribute if you earn more than £520 a month, £120 a week or £480 over 4 weeks.

  Opt out and you lose the employer's contribution. Freelancers can set up a personal pension, with tax relief.

• Public liability

  Covers you if your work hurts someone or damages property. Many productions and locations ask for proof. Bectu Extra includes it; specialist brokers are the other route.

• Equipment

  Insure owned kit for replacement value: on set, in a vehicle and in transit. Read the small print on unattended vehicles, overnight cover and kit you hire out. Ask if the production's policy covers your kit on their job, and get it in writing.

• Income and health

  Some freelancers buy income protection for injury or illness. Check what counts as "unable to work" in your job.

• Rate cards

  By department and branch: grades, day length, overtime and other terms. Read yours before you quote or sign.

  Bectu rate cards ↗

• Membership

  Legal support, contract checks, a freelancer tax guide and branch networks for your craft. Subscriptions go by income band, or 1% of earnings with evidence, subject to a minimum. Bectu Extra adds public liability insurance.

  Join Bectu ↗ · Who represents whom

• Read for

  • Who you're engaged by: the production company's legal name
  • Your grade, the start date and how the end is fixed
  • Your rate, the length of the day, and overtime
  • Self-employed or PAYE, and on what basis
  • Kit or box rental, mileage and per diems

• Watch for

  • "All-in" or "buy-out" rates that swallow overtime
  • A longer day than the rate card for the same money
  • Cancellation terms that pay nothing
  • Payment terms longer than you can live with
  • Clauses you don't understand: ask Bectu before you sign

• Say it simply

  "Can we put that in the memo?"

  The most normal question in the business. Asking won't lose you the job; a vague memo can lose you the money.

• The law for workers

  No more than 48 hours a week on average, normally over 17 weeks, unless you opt out in writing; you can opt back in. Workers have a right to 11 hours' rest between working days. Under-18s have stricter limits.

• Turnaround and driving

  Check the turnaround in your deal memo. Too tired to drive home after a long day? Tell your HoD or the production: many will arrange a taxi or a room.

• Speak up

  Anyone can call stop on something unsafe. Tell your HoD or the 1st AD; if nothing changes, the production's health and safety adviser.

1. Two accounts, minimumInvoices land in one. Move the tax set-aside to savings the day each payment arrives.
2. Pay yourself a wageTransfer the calculator's "steady monthly wage" to your everyday account each month, in work or not.
3. Build a bufferAim for a few months of essential costs before you spend on kit or upgrades.
4. Use quiet weeksUpdate your CV and reel, do the free courses, call HoDs you've worked with, visit kit houses. Getting work
5. If money gets tightThe Film and TV Charity offers grants and financial guidance to people who work behind the scenes. Talk to HMRC early if you can't pay a tax bill: you can ask for a payment plan.

• 24 hours, free

  Film and TV Charity Support Line: 0800 054 0000

  For anyone who works or has worked behind the scenes in UK film, TV or cinema, including trainees and freelancers. Also grants, financial guidance and a Bullying Advice Service.

  filmtvcharity.org.uk ↗

• Bullying and harassment

  CIISA

  The Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority: an independent, confidential whistleblowing route for film and TV. It looks for patterns across the industry.

  ciisa.org.uk ↗

• Right now

  If you need someone today

  Samaritans on 116 123, any time. If a life is at risk, call 999. More helplines on Get help now.

• Red flags

  • Fees for "registration", training, a background check or a place on a crew list
  • Being asked to buy kit from a named supplier before you start
  • Jobs only on WhatsApp or Telegram, with no company name or address
  • A rate far above the rate card for an entry-level job
  • Being asked for bank log-ins or passport scans before any offer
  • Pressure: "decide in the next hour"

• Check it

  • Search the company on Companies House
  • Look for the production on news sites and the company's own website
  • Ask on your Bectu branch or a crew group you trust
  • Meet in public, tell someone where you're going

• Report it

  Report Fraud

  In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud as the place to report scams. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.

  reportfraud.police.uk ↗

• HMRC: ESM4120, film and TV roles normally treated as self-employed (updated 7 Oct 2026)
• HMRC: ESM4115, what counts as a specific production, a finite period and a discrete engagement
• GOV.UK: Check employment status for tax (CEST)
• GOV.UK: Understanding off-payroll working (IR35)
• GOV.UK: Register for Self Assessment
• GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances
• GOV.UK: Self-employed National Insurance rates
• GOV.UK: Payments on account
• GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, who needs it and when
• GOV.UK: Business records if you're self-employed
• GOV.UK: Expenses if you're self-employed
• GOV.UK: VAT registration
• GOV.UK: Invoices, what they must include
• GOV.UK: Late commercial payments
• UK Parliament: Commercial Payments Bill [HL]
• GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement
• GOV.UK: Workplace pensions
• GOV.UK: Maximum weekly working hours
• Bectu: rate cards
• Bectu: how do I pay tax as a self-employed freelancer?
• The Film and TV Charity: get support
• CIISA: whistleblowing
• Report Fraud (replaced Action Fraud)