Tax for musicians: gigs, session work, royalties and teaching
Reviewed by Rob Webb, practising accountant since 2015 · Last reviewed September 2026 · Figures are for the 2026/27 tax yearReviewed by Rob Webb, practising accountant since 2015 · Last reviewed September 2026 · Figures are for the 2026/27 tax yearEarn from gigs, sessions, teaching or royalties? Once it's more than £1,000 in a tax year, you need to tell HMRC and file a tax return, even if you also have a PAYE job.
How much tax will you pay? On £24,600 of profit in 2026/27: £2,406 income tax plus £721.80 National Insurance, £3,127.80 in total. A PAYE job alongside changes the rate your gig income is taxed at.
Want to check your own costs? See what you can claim as a musician →
If you are paid per gig, per session, per depping job or per pupil, you are self-employed for that work. It does not matter that it is irregular, that you have another job, or that the money arrives in your personal current account.
The test is gross income, not profit. If your total self-employed income from music — before you take off a single string, train fare or repair bill — comes to more than £1,000 in a tax year, you must register and file. That £1,000 is the trading allowance. Below it, you have nothing to report.
If your music income is just over £1,000 and your costs are small, you can deduct the £1,000 trading allowance instead of listing expenses. You cannot do both. Most working musicians have costs well above £1,000, so actual expenses give a lower bill.
Orchestral and ensemble work is often taxed differently. Some orchestras operate PAYE for their players, some do not. Check each remittance: income already taxed under PAYE goes on the employment pages, not the self-employment pages.
The government has announced that the reporting threshold will rise from £1,000 to £3,000, but no start date has been confirmed on gov.uk. Work to £1,000 until that changes.
Here is a working musician for 2026/27 — a mix of live gigs, session fees, PRS royalties and a handful of private pupils. The figures are illustrative.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Gig and session fees | £27,500 |
| PRS and other royalties | £3,800 |
| Private teaching (self-employed) | £2,700 |
| Turnover | £34,000 |
| Allowable expenses (below) | £9,400 |
| Profit | £24,600 |
| Personal allowance | £12,570 |
| Taxable profit | £12,030 |
| Income tax at 20% | £2,406 |
| Class 4 NI at 6% on £12,030 | £721.80 |
| Total to pay by 31 January | £3,127.80 |
The expenses in that example break down as: instrument repairs, strings and reeds £900; capital allowances on instruments and gear £2,400; 4,000 business miles at 55p £2,200; accommodation on tour £1,100; union and PRS subscriptions £320; rehearsal and studio hire £780; press shots, website and marketing £450; working from home flat rate £312; business share of phone and internet £238; accountancy £700.
Because the profit of £24,600 is above the Small Profits Threshold of £7,105, Class 2 National Insurance is treated as paid at no cost, so the contribution record is protected without a separate charge.
| What you can claim | What to watch |
|---|---|
| Instruments, amps, microphones, pedals, laptops and interfaces | These are capital, not day-to-day costs. Claim them as capital allowances. A vintage instrument bought largely as an investment is a different question — ask before claiming |
| Strings, reeds, sticks, valve oil, rosin, repairs, servicing and re-hairing | Fully allowable. Keep the receipts; these are small, frequent and easy to lose |
| Travel to gigs, sessions, rehearsals and auditions | 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in 2026/27, then 25p. Once you use the flat rate for a vehicle you must keep using it for that vehicle and cannot also claim capital allowances on it |
| Accommodation and subsistence while touring or away overnight | Allowable when the trip is for work. A partner's or family member's costs on the same trip are not |
| Musicians' Union and PRS for Music membership, and professional subscriptions | Allowable where the body is relevant to the work you do |
| Rehearsal rooms, studio hire, session players and deps you pay | Allowable. If you pay a dep or a session player, keep a record of who, when and how much |
| Sheet music, scores, backing tracks, sample libraries and software | Allowable. Subscriptions are ongoing costs; a perpetual licence for expensive software may be capital |
| Stage clothing | The narrow one. Ordinary clothing you could wear off stage is not allowable, even if you only ever wear it to perform. Genuine costume is |
| Promotion: photos, videos, artwork, PR, website, ads | Allowable |
| Working from home for practice, admin and writing | Flat rate by hours in the home per month in 2026/27: £10 for 25–50 hours, £18 for 51–100, £26 for 101 or more. Telephone and internet are claimed separately on a business-proportion basis |
The PAYE teaching job. A great many musicians have a part-time school, conservatoire or peripatetic post taxed under PAYE, and gig income alongside it.
The trap is this: your personal allowance of £12,570 is normally used up by the PAYE salary. Your tax code has already given you that allowance against the job. So the gig profit does not get its own tax-free slice — it stacks on top of the salary and is taxed from the very first pound, at whatever rate you have reached. If the salary and profit together push you past £50,270, the part above that is taxed at 40%.
This is why musicians who have paid tax all year through their teaching job are still surprised by a bill in January. Nothing has gone wrong. The gig income simply never had any tax taken from it.
The other half of the same trap works in your favour. Class 4 National Insurance is charged on your self-employed profit alone, not on salary and profit combined. A modest gig profit can fall below the £12,570 Class 4 starting point even when your total income is much higher.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaces the once-a-year return with four quarterly updates plus a final declaration. It is being introduced in stages, and your entry date depends on your qualifying income.
Qualifying income is gross self-employment turnover plus gross property income, added together, before expenses. PAYE income from a teaching post is excluded, as are partnership profit shares, dividends and pensions. So the musician above has qualifying income of £34,000 — the full turnover, not the £24,600 profit, and not counting any salaried teaching.
Our example musician crosses £30,000, so she joins from 6 April 2027.
Quarterly update deadlines for standard periods are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and they are cumulative: each covers from the start of the tax year to the end of that period, not the quarter on its own. The final declaration is still due 31 January.
If your only music income is a few hundred pounds of depping a year, you are under the £1,000 trading allowance and there is nothing to file. Do not pay anyone to tell you that. If all your playing is under PAYE — a salaried orchestral contract, a salaried teaching post, and nothing else — you may not need a return at all. Check HMRC's online tool first.
If your affairs are simple and you are comfortable with a spreadsheet, filing your own return is straightforward and free. Plenty of musicians do it well.
If you have set up a limited company, are VAT registered, or have significant overseas royalty withholding to reclaim, you need advice that goes beyond a filing service. Ask us and we will say so rather than take the work.
Yes. Royalties from your own performing and writing are part of your self-employed music income and go in turnover for the year you receive them. Keep the annual statements; they are the cleanest record you will get.
Yes, if the gig income is over £1,000 gross. The PAYE job does not cover it. Your return will show both the employment income and the self-employed profit, and the tax already deducted through PAYE is credited against the total.
Generally no. Ordinary clothing is not allowable even where you only wear it for work. Genuine costume — something you plainly could not wear day to day — is a different matter.
Instruments are capital items and are claimed through capital allowances rather than as an ordinary expense. In many cases the full cost can be relieved in the year of purchase, but the treatment depends on your circumstances, so it is worth checking rather than assuming.
Class 4 National Insurance is charged at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 in 2026/27, and 2% above that. Class 2 is no longer a compulsory weekly charge: at profits of £7,105 or more it is treated as paid at nil cost.
Filed Tax files Self Assessment returns and Making Tax Digital quarterly updates for musicians. It is £25 a month, which covers all four quarterly updates, the final declaration, unlimited questions and deadline reminders, and the first month is free. Send us your figures and we will tell you what you owe before anything is filed.
Rob is a Certified Xero Advisor with a BSc from the University of Salford. Last reviewed September 2026 against GOV.UK guidance current at that date. This guide is general information, not personal tax advice. Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year and can change at each Budget — always confirm the current numbers on GOV.UK or ask us to check your situation.