Paying tax abroad

[woodlysmum]

Hi there
My son has been booked for a commercial that is filming abroad and will be paid/taxed abroad.
We have been asked to get a letter from tax office to say he is under 16 and exempt but tax office said they can't issue a letter like this as he isn't in tax system!
Does anyone have any experience and know how to get letter/avoid paying tax!
Thank you!

[Dwafffamily]

Is this not through an agent?

[woodlysmum]

Hello. Yes it is through agent but client asked agent to tell me to get this form/letter...?!

[woodlysmum]

My agent says they havent come across it before..

[TalyaB]

I don't know how one enters a child into the tax system, but they're not exempt from tax, though they don't pay National Insurance. Most obviously don't earn more than the personal tax-free allowance, but if they do then I'm pretty sure they're as liable as an adult and would have to complete a self-assessment form. If they are doing this, they can also claim relevant tax-free expenses, just as a self-employed adult can (so keep bills, receipts, for travel, training, headshots). If children are earning more than around £10,000, it might be best to find an accountant who's familiar with this area - that's an allowable expense too. Anyone else have experience of this?

[fartoomuchtodo]

Can't add much but TalyaB is right, children are not exempt from UK tax, therefore I would have thought it unlikely HMRC would issue such a letter in any circumstances. An accountant would be the person to consult but you might be better off just paying the tax than paying their fees!

[2dancersmum]

Tayla's right - children do pay tax if they earn over a certain amount. If you have any savings in your childs name you will have been asked to fill in a form at the bank or building society so they do not pay tax on savings as the assumption is that any earnings will fall well within their personal allowance. I found the following link, which explains a bit and although it does not answer your specific question does give some phone numbers which might lead you closer to the information you need.
http://www.which.co.uk/money/tax/guides ... n-and-tax/

[jennifer1972]

Surely this is for the agent to sort out. They must have come across this before.

[Irishdancer]

This happened to 24 year old DS when he was younger I did not know any thing about it till 1/2 his money was taken in tax from German tax office then he had to pay agent 15% so he missed out in a lot of money. Think you have to let the company take the tax out of his money then get it back from UK tax office not sure if this is true but was told this from some one else. My Ds agent was not helpful I was really cross they knew about it but did not explain any thing to me before Ds did the advert. He had done a lot of adverts abroad before but this never happened, it depends if the company are based in UK or in another country. Ds had a recall for an advert that will be filmed in another country so I have told him to ask his agent about this, if he gets it and talks to his agent I will let you know what they say, but then don't expect he will get it

[Irishdancer]

Ds is a member of Equaty so if he gets this advert I will phone them up and ask there advise and let you know what they say

[woodlysmum]

Thank you.
Oh no thats really bad Irish Dancer and what I am hoping to avoid. I am getting really anxious about the whole thing! Good luck to DS with his tvc.
2dancersmum-thanks we are members of Which so will give them a call on Monday...

[geordiegirl]

Kids do have to pay tax on earnings. If a child works as an actor in UK, then usually he/she is classed as self employed and must complete a tax return. If you are savvy with your tax deductable expenses, chances are you will owe very little (if any) tax. If your child works abroad, many countries deduct the tax at source and it is very difficult to claim back. We have been in this situation several times. On a job in Czech Republic, we went direct to the accountant and told her we would be paying this tax in UK so it was reimbursed straight away. Other times we weren't so lucky.
Unfortunately It is not part of an agents job to deal with their client's tax issues, although they may put you in touch with someone (such as accountant with expertise in the entertainment field). An accountant can be expensive but I think the cost can be offset against tax too (this is true in USA) and probably not worth it unless large sums of money are involved.

[Trundlemum]

My DS filmed a commercial in Portugal last week and haven't heard anything regarding this at all via his agent

[geordiegirl]

Also worth adding that DC was issued with his NI number at age 14 which he needed in order to complete his UK tax return and claim back the American equivalent of NI contributions that he was exempt from paying in UK. That was a real mission trying to get the number. We couldn't complete the return without it and NI wouldn't give us the number because he wasn't 16. Eventually I wrote a letter explaining that DC owed tax but he would be unable to pay it because of the ridiculous situation and hey ho, next day they sent his number.