My Tax Advisor

For smaller organisations; charities, arts organisations, owner-managed businesses; hiring a full-time Finance Director or a whole finance function often isn't the right answer. The cost doesn't stack up, and the need isn't always constant.

That's where a virtual finance office (VFO) can come into its own. Not as a replacement for the people already doing good work on the ground, but as a layer of expertise that sits alongside them. Here's where it tends to add the most value:

Getting the foundations right.
Budget templates, cash flow structures, reporting frameworks; the building blocks that mean financial information flows clearly between the team doing the work and the board overseeing it. It's often a defined piece of work upfront, not an ongoing drain.

Translating numbers for boards.
Trustees and board members don't always want a spreadsheet. They want to understand, in plain language, where things stand. A good finance partner translates the numbers into a narrative that actually helps a board govern well.

The specialist questions.
VAT, OTR, partial exemption, withholding tax; the areas where the rules are complicated, change by jurisdiction, or just don't come up often enough for an in-house generalist to stay sharp on. Having someone to call who already knows the territory matters.

A sounding board.
Sometimes what's most useful isn't an expert coming in to fix something; it's having a knowledgeable colleague to think out loud with. Someone who knows how other organisations handle the same problems, and who can say "yes, there's actually a much easier way to do that."

Moments of transition.
A key person going on leave, a structural change, a move to new software; these are the moments when having external expertise on hand, even temporarily, makes a real difference.

The model works best when the relationship is clear: defined scope, specific outcomes, and a genuine understanding of the sector you're operating in.

Why counting your travel days matters more than people realise...

One of the biggest mistakes we see people make is not tracking the days they spend in each country.

But those day counts can affect:
- Where you pay tax
- Whether you’re considered tax resident
- Access to things like ISAs
- How tax treaties apply to your income

And unfortunately, most people only realise how important this is once things have already become complicated.

Future you will be very grateful for a simple spreadsheet. 🙏

When people think about international touring, they usually picture the performances.

What they don’t see is the financial coordination happening behind the scenes.

Tour budgets are often built years in advance, across multiple countries, currencies, tax systems, VAT rules, and constantly changing costs.

And for smaller touring organisations without large finance teams, keeping everything aligned as an organisation grows can become incredibly complex.

Good budgeting systems aren’t just admin; they’re what make sustainable touring possible.

We’re delighted to be working with Voces8 as their outsourced finance team.

Fast-growing music organisations reach a point where they need more complex financial oversight than reactive bookkeeping…
…but they don’t need (or want) a full in-house finance department.

That’s where we come in.

On any given day, we might be acting as:
→ Financial Controller
→ Systems & software support
→ Tax advisor
→ Bookkeeping
→ Strategic sounding board

It’s what’s often called a “Virtual Finance Office” - giving organisations access to a full finance function, without needing to build a big internal team.

For us, it’s about making sure the right expertise is there at the right time and in the right proportion - so organisations can grow with confidence, yet stay streamlined and cost efficient.

We're looking forward to supporting the Voces8 Foundation team!

Thinking of moving abroad but still earning royalties?

This is where things can get messy quickly.

A lot of composers assume that once they leave the UK, their UK tax situation ends there - but that’s not how it works.

If your music is still being used in the UK, part of your income can still be taxed there.

The good news?
In many cases, that tax can be reduced, sometimes even to 0%.

The catch is, it doesn’t happen automatically.

You usually need to:
– Prove where you’re tax resident
– Make the right claim to HMRC
– Understand how your royalty income is split

Miss this step and you could be paying more tax than you need to.

If you’re planning a move, this is one of those things that’s much easier to get right upfront than fix later.

Not just “boring accountants”…

The AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) AAT marked World Art Day by celebrating some of their members creative talents.

People are often surprised to hear that before becoming a tax advisor to musicians, I was a professional opera singer.

Working in the music world means understanding that behind every tax return, there’s a person trying to build a creative life. A performer. A composer. Someone juggling rehearsals, gigs, touring, teaching, royalties, and all the admin that comes with it.

The stereotype says accountants are all spreadsheets and no imagination. 🤓 But many of us have a creative side too. I think that’s what helps us understand the people we work with a little better. 🙂

For me, music will always be part of who I am. It taught me discipline, resilience, performance skills, and attention to detail - skills I use day in and day out as a tax advisor and public speaker.

So here’s my question for those of you working in music and the creative world… do you have a non-creative outlet too? Something practical, structured or completely different that helps balance everything else? Let me know below! 👇

We’re being asked more and more whether sole traders should incorporate.

Sometimes that question is being driven by MTD worries. Sometimes it is just a general feeling that a Ltd company must be “more tax efficient”.

But the truth is: it depends.

How much you need to draw out to live on, whether there are other shareholders, copyright assets, pension plans, and foreign withholding tax can all change the answer significantly.

For musicians especially, incorporating is not always the straightforward win people assume it is.

The best decision comes from looking at the full picture.

One of the biggest misunderstandings about Making Tax Digital is this:
People assume the £50,000 threshold is based on profit.

It isn’t.

HMRC is looking at your income before expenses.

So if you earned more than £50,000 from self-employment and/or property in 2024/25, MTD may now apply to you - even if your actual profit was much lower after:
• Travel
• Accommodation
• Instruments and equipment
• Studio costs
• Agent or management fees
• Insurance
• Rehearsals and other business expenses

For musicians especially, that can make a huge difference.

You might be thinking:
“But I only made £30k after costs.”

HMRC will still be looking at the £60k or £70k that came in before those expenses were deducted.

Don’t assume you’re under the threshold without checking.

If you’re a musician and Making Tax Digital now applies to you, the best thing you can do is start small and start now.

You do not need to have everything perfect this week.

You do need to:
✔️ Know whether you’re affected
✔️ Separate your business spending
✔️ Choose a system
✔️ Start keeping records now

Because the musicians who will find MTDfIT easiest are not the ones who leave it until July and then panic.

They’re the ones who spend 30 minutes now getting organised 🎻

Remember: if your self-employed and/or property income was over £50,000 in 2024/25, MTD has now started for you.

And even if you’re below that threshold today, the rules are widening over the next couple of years.

Future you will be very glad you started early.

Today is the start of a new tax year… but for many musicians, it is also the start of something much bigger.

From today, the first group of self-employed people and landlords officially enter Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

If your self-employed and/or property income was over £50,000 on your 2024/25 tax return, you are now part of the first MTDfIT cohort.

For musicians, that could include income from:
• Performing
• Teaching
• Royalties treated as self-employment income
• Other freelance work

What changes?
→ You will need to keep digital records
→ Use compatible software
→ And submit quarterly updates to HMRC

If that feels overwhelming, you are not alone. Most people are still getting their heads around it.

The good news? You do not need to have everything perfect today. But you do need to start getting organised.