Media & Creatives
Accountancy Made Simple from only £28/month
A tax year where half your income arrived through PAYE and half through invoices, royalties turning up for work you finished three years ago, and profits that swing hard between a busy year and a quiet one. Caroola gives freelancers and businesses across media and the creative industries a dedicated accountant who understands how the sector actually gets paid.
Everything Media and Creatives Need for Accounting Support
Creative income is lumpy by nature. One year brings a run of commissions, the next brings very little, and each tax year is assessed on its own unless you know what can be claimed.
Specialist Media & Creative Accounting Support
Our accounting for media and creative professionals is provided by accountants who understand short engagements, mixed income and royalties, not a generic small business template.
You’ll get your own dedicated accountant, not a shared inbox or a rotating support team.
Support is unlimited, and quarterly check-ins mean your accountant is looking at your numbers throughout the year, not once, twelve months after the fact.
- Cloud accounting software included
- Annual accounts, prepared and filed
- Self Assessment or Corporation Tax, depending on your structure
- Advice where you have employed and self-employed income
- Advice on capital allowances for cameras, instruments, and equipment
- Guidance on holding property personally or through a company
- VAT registration and returns
- Tax planning reviewed every quarter
- Support switching from another provider
Who are these services for?
At Caroola, we work with media and creative professionals of every structure, sole traders, limited companies and partnerships, whatever you produce.
That covers film and TV crews, photographers, designers, copywriters, journalists, artists, illustrators, musicians and production companies. If you invoice for creative work rather than only receive a payslip, we can help.
What Makes Accounting for Media and Creatives Different?
Most self-employed people have one income stream and one set of rules. Creative careers rarely work that way. A single tax year can include PAYE work on a production, invoiced freelance jobs, royalties from something finished years ago, and a grant.
Get the treatment wrong and you either overpay, or you miss a relief that only exists for people doing what you do.
Averaging relief:
Creators of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works can average profits from royalties across two consecutive tax years where the difference between profits of the two years are less than 75% or the profits for one year are nil, which can pull you out of a higher rate band after a strong year.
Both employed and self-employed:
A single tax year can include PAYE income and invoiced work, and both need to appear correctly on the same return.
Behind-camera status:
HMRC accepts a defined list of film and TV grades as normally self-employed, and short-engagement freelancers can apply for an LP10 letter to be paid gross.
Royalties and residuals:
Income can arrive years after the work was done, which affects when it's taxed and which year it belongs to.
Equipment and capital allowances:
Cameras, lenses, instruments, computers and editing kit are usually claimable, though how you claim depends on how you bought them.
Why Choose Caroola for Media and Creatives Accounting?
Built for Uneven Income
Advice on setting aside the right amount as you're paid, not guessing at year-end.
Fixed Monthly Fees
One price, agreed upfront, that won't creep up after a good year.
Your Own Accountant
Work with one dedicated accountant who understands creative income, not just salaries.
No Hidden Costs
Clear pricing throughout.
Grows With Your Career
From your first commission to your own production company, your package adapts.
How Much Does Accounting for Media and Creatives Cost?
Your core accounting is one fixed fee, whatever you create.
Packages start at £28 + VAT a month for the self-employed and £89 + VAT a month for limited companies, with partnerships priced around your setup.
Payroll for employees, bookkeeping, or management accounts are priced separately or included with an upgraded package, and always agreed with you first.
Sole Trader
- Self Assessment filing
- Bookkeeping software
- Dedicated accountant
- MTD ITSA software
- Corporation Tax & VAT filing
- Annual Accounts
- Real-time tax insights
Limited Company
- Self Assessment filing
- Bookkeeping software
- Dedicated accountant
- MTD software
- Corporation Tax & VAT filing
- Annual Accounts
- Real-time tax insights
Partnerships & LLP
- Self Assessment filing
- Bookkeeping software
- Dedicated accountant
- MTD ITSA software
- Corporation Tax & VAT filing
- Annual Accounts
- Real-time tax insights
Speak to an Experienced Accountant Today
Ready to work together or interested in learning more? Get in touch with the team to start a conversation.
FAQs
- What Is Averaging Relief and Could It Apply to Me?
If you create literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, you may be able to average your profits across two consecutive tax years where the difference between profits of the two years are less than 75%. After a year with a big advance or a strong run of sales, it can bring your bill down considerably. It applies to self-employed profits rather than company profits, and we’ll check whether a claim is worth making.
- Can I Be Employed and Self-Employed in the Same Year?
Yes, and in this sector it’s normal. You might be on PAYE for production and invoicing for other work at the same time. Both belong on the same Self Assessment return, and the PAYE already deducted is set against what you owe.
- What Is an LP10 or Lorimer Letter?
It’s a letter from HMRC confirming your self-employed status so that short engagements can be paid gross rather than through PAYE. It’s mainly used in film and TV by freelancers working many short jobs for different productions. It isn’t available if you work through your own limited company.
- Can I Claim My Camera, Instruments or Editing Equipment?
In most cases, yes. Equipment used for your work is usually claimable, and where it’s a larger purchase it’s treated as a capital allowance rather than a straight expense. We’ll advise on the right treatment for what you’ve bought.
- Should I Work Through a Limited Company?
It depends on your income, how you take money out, and whether your engagements fall inside or outside IR35. A company can be more tax efficient at higher incomes, but it also rules out reliefs that only apply to the self-employed. We’ll run the numbers before you commit either way.
- Can I Switch to Caroola Part-Way Through the Year?
Yes. No need to wait for year-end. We manage the handover with your current provider.
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