National Insurance for Actors

In previous years, entertainers/actors have been treated as employed for National Insurance and self-employed for tax, meaning that NI is automatically deducted from your pay at source.

From 6th April 2014, this will now stop and both the NI and Tax treatment of income will be in line with the self-employed. This means that you will now pay Class 2 and Class 4 NI instead of Class 1 NI.

Each week/month you will have more money in your pocket and it will now be easier for you to track your National insurance contributions. Unless your profits are under £5,885.00 for 2014/15, you will have to pay £2.75 Class 2 NI each week (£143.00 total per year). Furthermore, if your profits exceed £7,956 you will be charged Class 4 NI at 9% for everything over this amount up to the higher rate threshold and then the rate drops to 2%. If you have any student loans due, this will be calculated at the end of the year during your tax return which could make your year-end tax appear higher than previous years.

So although you will receiving more money in your hand now, you must make sure that you are saving enough so that you can pay your tax and Class 4 NI when the time comes at the end of the financial year. You will need to register for Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you haven’t already done so.  However, if you expect to earn below the self-employed threshold of £5,885 in the 2014-15 year, you may be able to apply for a Class 2 and/or Class 4 NI exception.

FUSE is an independent Chartered Certified firm of accountants and tax advisors based in Highgate Village, North London. We provide a dynamic range of services to clients working in property, media, entertainment and professional services. Our clients vary in size from self employed sole traders, small enterprises and medium size businesses. We believe that comprehensive financial planning and sound business financial advice are the keys to growth and profitability.