Creative Industry sole traders – things to keep in mind during the Covid19 Crisis
First and foremost, we send good wishes from Accounting4Actors to everyone reading this – hoping that you and your families are safe and well. I think the world we emerge into, blinking, later this year will be a different one in many ways. But some things will stay the same, and many of them are very relevant to your ambitions and your future.
There will be a great deal of work in the creative economy – quite possibly more than before. Take some time to think now about how things are likely to go, and use what remains of ‘lockdown’ time to equip yourself as best you can. Here is some subjective and personal advice from me, unlike my usual professional advice on tax accounting for actors. It is based solely on my observations, my experience and my feelings. Disclaimer: no lawsuits please if I’m wrong about all this.
1. Commercial work, especially in recorded media and especially online, will take off first. In the first days after lockdown ends, businesses will be crying out for good-quality marketing material – so there’ll be ads, voiceovers and promotions. Make sure all your contacts in these areas are lined up and know where you are when they need you quickly.
2. Assuming an end to significant lockdown during the summer of 2020 (defining ‘summer’ as widely as possible), venues will immediately be preoccupied with the Panto season above all else. Be ready for panto auditions, but also to use all your past contacts to line up what you can.
3. Obviously, lockdown is a great and never-to-be-repeated opportunity for tax-deductible research. Now is the time to watch all those films, online plays, box sets etc which help you when you go to auditions and meetings.
4. Don’t forget to keep all your records of expenditure, to claim all the government support to which you are entitled, and get ready in good time for the 31 Jan 2001 tax return deadline. Even if you won’t actually be paying any tax, you will still need to submit a return and there are new circumstances to get your head round here – cutting-and-pasting from last year will almost certainly be wrong for most people – if you need it, we are here to help with any matters involving tax accounting for actors.
Good luck everyone and please do post any questions or comments, not just on this topic but also on any matters concerning tax accounting for actors.