One of the most valuable things a UGC creator can do is understand their allowable business expenses. Every legitimate cost you claim reduces your taxable profit and lowers your tax bill. Many creators significantly underclaim, simply because they’re not sure what qualifies.
The Basic Rule
HMRC allows expenses incurred wholly and exclusively for business purposes. For costs with a personal element, claim the business proportion. You must keep records for at least five years after your filing deadline. Bank statements, digital receipts, and accounting software exports all count. Full guidance at gov.uk/self-employed-records.
Camera and Production Equipment
Your camera and production gear are core business equipment and fully deductible as capital expenditure in the year of purchase under the Annual Investment Allowance:
- Smartphone — full cost if dedicated to business, or business proportion if shared
- Mirrorless camera, DSLR, or action camera
- Lenses and filters
- Tripod, gimbal, or stabiliser
- Ring light, softbox lights, LED panels
- Backdrops, seamless paper, and portable studio kits
- Microphone and audio recorder
- Memory cards, external hard drives
Editing and Creative Software
- Adobe Creative Cloud (Premiere Pro, Lightroom, Photoshop)
- Final Cut Pro
- CapCut Pro
- Canva Pro
- Descript or other captioning and editing tools
- Music licensing (Epidemic Sound, Artlist)
- Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive paid tier)
Props and Styling
Props purchased specifically for brand shoots or UGC content are a legitimate expense. The key is that the purchase is for business content creation, not personal use. Keep a note of which shoot or client the prop relates to. Styling accessories, backgrounds, and set dressing items used solely for content creation also qualify.
Home Studio
If you shoot content from home, claim a proportion of household costs. HMRC flat rate: £10 to £26 per month depending on hours worked from home. Or use the actual cost method and claim the business proportion of rent, utilities, and broadband based on the space used. Full detail at gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses.
Marketing and Business Development
- Your own website or portfolio site
- UGC platform membership fees (Billo, Twirl, Cohley)
- LinkedIn Premium if used for brand outreach
- Business cards and printed materials
Professional Development
- UGC courses and content creation workshops
- Industry books and relevant subscriptions
- Masterclasses and online training directly related to your work
Professional Fees
- Accountancy fees
- Legal fees for reviewing brand contracts
- Business bank account charges
Travel
If you travel to a brand’s location for a shoot, that travel is deductible. For car journeys, HMRC approved mileage rates apply: 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p thereafter. Keep a mileage log — apps like MileIQ or a simple spreadsheet work well.
Keep Track Properly
Cloud accounting software linked to your business bank account makes expense tracking automatic. At Simplr, we set this up for all our creator clients.
Read our guide to UGC creator tax UK for the full picture, or visit our accountant for UGC creators page. Book a free discovery call to get started.