Tax Guide for Photographers and Videographers

The Accounted Business Team·29 January 2026·4 min read

Capturing Moments, Claiming Expenses

If you are a self-employed photographer or videographer, getting your tax right means keeping more of the money you earn. In a profession where equipment costs can be eye-watering, claiming everything you are entitled to makes a genuine difference.

This guide covers the key tax considerations for the 2025/26 tax year, from handling expensive camera gear to what counts as a legitimate business expense.

Capital Allowances: Your Camera Gear

Photography and videography equipment is expensive. A professional camera body can cost £2,000 to £6,000. A good lens might be another £1,000 to £3,000. Lighting kits, gimbals, drones, audio equipment — it adds up fast. Most of it qualifies for capital allowances.

Annual Investment Allowance (AIA)

The AIA for 2025/26 is £1 million. You can deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year you buy it. Qualifying items include camera bodies, lenses, lighting equipment, tripods, gimbals, sliders, drones, audio equipment, memory cards, monitors, editing workstations, studio furniture, and printers.

If you use the cash basis for your accounts (which most small sole traders do), you can simply claim equipment as an expense in the year you buy it without worrying about capital allowance rules. The exception is cars, which must always use capital allowances. Capital allowances apply to second-hand equipment too — just keep proof of purchase.

Software Subscriptions

Subscription costs are straightforward business expenses: Adobe Creative Cloud, Capture One, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Final Cut Pro, photo culling software, gallery delivery platforms (Pixieset, ShootProof), CRM tools, accounting software including Accounted, cloud storage, and music licensing for video work.

Studio Costs

Dedicated or Rented Studio

If you lease a studio, the rent, business rates, utilities, and insurance are all business expenses.

Home Studio

If you have a dedicated room at home, claim a proportion of mortgage interest or rent, council tax, utilities, broadband, and home insurance. Calculate the proportion by rooms used for business versus total rooms. Alternatively, use HMRC's simplified flat rate: £10/month for 25-50 hours, £18 for 51-100, £26 for 101+.

One caution: using part of your home exclusively for business could affect your Capital Gains Tax exemption when selling — worth being aware of.

Ad hoc studio hire by the hour or day is a straightforward expense.

Travel to Shoots

Travel to client locations, venues, and events is claimable. Use mileage rates (45p per mile for the first 10,000, 25p after) or actual vehicle costs. Train fares, flights for destination work, hotels, meals while travelling overnight, and parking are all claimable. Travel from home to your own permanent studio is ordinary commuting and is not claimable.

Insurance

Equipment insurance, public liability, professional indemnity, studio contents insurance, and drone insurance are all claimable. The cost of having a solicitor draft template contracts and model releases is also a business expense — though the contracts themselves are not a tax issue.

Marketing and Portfolio Costs

Website hosting, portfolio platforms, SEO services, social media advertising, print portfolio production, sample albums, business cards, wedding fair fees, and networking events are all claimable.

Training and Development

Workshops, online courses, conference attendance, trade show entry, and educational books related to your existing craft are claimable.

Second Shooters and Assistants

Fees paid to second photographers or assistants are a business expense. If you regularly hire the same person, make sure the arrangement is genuinely self-employed.

Income Sources to Declare

All income must be declared: client payments, print and album sales, stock photography royalties, workshop income, licensing fees, and affiliate income. If you sell through a platform that deducts fees, your gross income is the full sale price, and the platform commission is an expense.

VAT Considerations

If your annual turnover exceeds the VAT threshold (£90,000 for 2025/26), you must register for VAT. Below the threshold, some photographers voluntarily register if most clients are VAT-registered businesses and reclaiming VAT on equipment purchases would benefit them. This is worth discussing with an accountant.

Keep Your Records Sharp

You need invoices for every job, receipts for every purchase, bank statements, mileage logs, and records of equipment purchases. Photographing receipts is an obvious fit for your profession.

Accounted makes this straightforward — Penny categorises your transactions automatically, so your income and expenses are always up to date. No more end-of-year scramble through a folder of receipts.

Focus on the Craft, Not the Paperwork

Claiming every expense you are entitled to means more money to reinvest in better gear, training, and marketing. If you want a painless way to manage your bookkeeping and get your tax return sorted, start your free trial with Accounted today. Penny handles the numbers so you can focus on creating work you are proud of.

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