As part of the Spring Budget measures, the Chancellor announced that the government will extend the temporary higher rates for Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief (MGETR) for two further years from 1 April 2023.
These reliefs are part of a collection of creative industry tax reliefs (CITR) that allow qualifying companies to claim a larger deduction, or in some circumstances claim a payable tax credit when calculating their taxable profits.
The sunset clause for the MGETR was supposed to come into force on 31 March 2024. It was also confirmed that the relief will be extended for another two years to 31 March 2026.
The headline rates of relief for the TTR and the MGETR will remain at 45% (for non-touring productions) and 50% (for touring productions). OTR rates will remain at 50%. From 1 April 2025, the rates will be 30% and 35%, and on 1 April 2026 the headline rates of relief for TTR and MGETR will return to 20% and 25%. The headline rates of relief for OTR will return to 25%.
There will also be reforms to the film, TV and video games tax reliefs which will become expenditure credits instead of additional deductions from 1 April 2024.
