US and UK Tax Accountants for the Music Industry
As specialist accountants for the music industry, we support artists, producers, labels, and studios. We understand the unique tax challenges of music royalties, touring, publishing, and international income streams.
Tax Specialists for the Music Industry
The music industry involves complex income streams from multiple jurisdictions-recording royalties, performance royalties, publishing income, and touring revenue. Managing these while staying compliant with both US and UK tax authorities requires specialist knowledge.
We prepare US and UK returns for musicians, producers, and labels, report foreign earnings, and claim the tax treaty reliefs and foreign tax credits available to international artists.
Our work covers everything from accounting for tour income and expenses to reporting publishing advances, so your returns are accurate, filed on time, and fully compliant.
What the sector looks like right now, and why cross-border position matters more than it used to.
Reporting Music Royalties and Income Streams
Music professionals earn from multiple royalty streams, including performance, mechanical, sync, and publishing rights. Accurate reporting of each one is essential for correct tax returns in both countries.
We prepare and file tax returns for musicians and music businesses, reporting performance royalties, publishing income, and sync licensing fees from global markets and reclaiming tax withheld overseas where relief is due.
Our team prepares accurate accounts and returns for music careers of every size, claiming the deductions you are entitled to and making sure every revenue stream and expense category is reported correctly.
International Tax Filing for Global Artists
Expanding your music career internationally creates unique tax obligations across multiple jurisdictions. Meeting them requires accurate, timely filing and deep cross-border expertise.
We prepare and file the tax returns for musicians working internationally, reporting cross-border performance royalties, global publishing income and international touring income, ensuring compliance with both US and UK tax authorities.
Our tax accountants credit tax withheld overseas and claim treaty relief on the right return, so the same income is not taxed twice, and keep your reporting consistent across all territories where you perform and earn income.
What we handle for you
The filings this sector needs most, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Questions this sector asks first
The general position on each. What applies to you depends on where you live, where the work is done and who pays.
Not if the treaty is claimed. Under the US-UK treaty, royalties paid to a UK resident are taxable only in the UK, but a US payer will withhold 30% unless it holds a valid Form W-8BEN from you. The royalties then go on your UK Self Assessment return as normal.
Performance income is taxed where the show takes place. The US withholds 30% of gross fees paid to foreign performers unless a Central Withholding Agreement is in place, and the treaty exemption only applies if gross US receipts for the year are $20,000 or less. A US return is filed to settle the real figure, and many states want their own return too.
No. Under the US-UK totalisation agreement a self-employed person resident in the UK pays UK National Insurance and is exempt from US self-employment tax. The exemption is supported with a certificate of coverage from HMRC, which is kept with the US return.
An advance is income when you receive it, even though it is recouped later from royalties. Publishing and performance royalties collected by societies in several countries are reported gross, with any tax withheld overseas claimed as a credit. Both the US and UK returns need the same income, converted on the same basis.
Let's get both sides right
Tell us how your business earns across the US and UK, and we will map out what you owe, where, and when.