Employment status for tax purposes: what’s changed for film and TV crew?

Determining employment status for tax has never been simple and it isn't getting any easier. A steady stream of case law, including high-profile cases involving TV presenters and football referees, has kept shifting how the tests are applied. For businesses, keeping on top of where the lines fall is a real challenge.

Nowhere is this felt more than in the creative industries. Film and TV are one of the most flexible parts of the UK economy; the sector engages people - often for short periods - to do hundreds of different roles. Analysing each engagement in isolation would be a huge administrative burden. To help, HMRC has long published ‘Appendix 1’. This is a list of behind-the-camera roles it normally accepts as self-employed if certain conditions are met. It doesn't cover every role you'll come across, but it gives productions a practical starting point.

On 7 October 2026, HMRC updated the list. While a lot has stayed the same, there have been significant changes to how HMRC perceive some roles. In some cases the rules are more generous, and in others the conditions have arguably been tightened. Engagers in these industries need to know what’s changed in order to manage their risk.

At a glance: what has changed?

• The list now sits on one page (ESM4120), which HMRC says is its only guidance on Appendix 1. Earlier versions, including the previous PDF, have been withdrawn.
• Seventeen roles have been added, and the list is now more detailed and role-specific. No roles were removed.
• Many roles under previous versions of Appendix 1 could only qualify under the “specific production” route (Column B) because no Column A condition relating to the nature of the role was specified. Those gaps have now been filled, potentially offering more routes to relying on the guidance for self-employed status.
• In contrast, the ‘Column A’ route to self-employed status for some roles has been changed, often making it harder to rely on.
• The new list applies to new contracts and extensions, so it will apply when you next rebook crew.

How is employment status usually decided?

For most businesses, the starting point is an employment status assessment for each engagement. That means reviewing the contract together with how the work is actually carried out in practice, and forming a view on whether the engagement is one of employment or self-employment for tax purposes. The answer drives whether income tax and National Insurance must be deducted through PAYE.

A determination depends on the reality of the relationship: who controls the work, whether the person must do it themselves, whether they take a financial risk or bring their own kit, and whether they're in business on their own account. 

The same legal rules apply to film and TV. However, HMRC provide additional support, in the form of ‘Appendix 1’ which offers their practical interpretation of how the rules can be applied to specific roles.

How does Appendix 1 work?

If a role is on the Appendix 1 list and its conditions are met, HMRC accepts the person can be treated as self-employed. The aim is more certainty and less admin.

Each role on the list comes with two alternative routes to self-employed treatment:

• Column A looks at the person and how they work in that particular role, for example whether they provide substantial equipment or do most of the work away from your premises.
• Column B looks at the engagement rather than the person: whether they have been hired for a specific production, for a finite period, on genuinely separate terms.

Meeting either column is normally enough, but certain roles must meet both.

Step 1: Find the role

Look up the role in the relevant department (for example, camera, costume or sound).

Check the job description as well as the title. HMRC looks at what the person actually does, so someone with the job title "camera assistant" who is really doing a different job may not fit the entry.

Step 2: Check the conditions

The crew member needs to meet the Column A test for their role or the Column B test.

Column A: how the person works

Each role has its own test, built around the usual signs of someone running their own business. The most common are:

• Kit: the contract requires them to bring major, valuable equipment, such as camera or sound kit, at their own financial risk. If you pay extra for it (a higher rate, box rental or hire fee) it won’t count.
• Where they work: most of the work is done away from your studios, locations or other facilities you pay for, for example in their own workshop.
• Independence: for many roles, they must work for several clients and you must have no right to move them onto other tasks. Senior creative roles, such as directors, also need rare skill and judgement.

Check whether the conditions are joined by “and” or “or”. Most design roles need both off-site work and substantial kit, while wardrobe stylists need only one.

Column B: how the engagement is set up

Column B is available for almost every role on the list and doesn't look at kit or premises. It asks three questions:

• Is it for one production? For example, a feature film, single drama, single documentary, commercial or music video, or a programme or series made for a fixed term. A recommissioned series can count.
• Does it end when the job ends? The contract should run to a deliverable or the end of the project, not for a set number of days or months.
• If you've rehired them, is it a genuinely new deal? Each engagement must be agreed on its own terms, not part of a longer-term arrangement.

Step 3: Keep a record

Keep a record of which column you're relying on and why. This includes: the contract, details of any kit provided, and how the engagement is limited to one production.

Reassess if the facts change, and whenever a programme is recommissioned.

What has changed?

The changes fall into a few themes.

A more detailed, role-by-role list. The list is now split into 14 areas, from audio and camera to special effects and story. Grouped entries have been split into individual roles, many job descriptions have been filled in or tightened, and some roles have been renamed or consolidated. Seventeen roles have also been added, including payroll accountant, production coordinator, and travel and accommodation coordinator.

Additional (sometimes tighter) role-specific tests. Column A is where all the big changes are.

On the plus side, many roles that previously had no Column A conditions now have one, including (for example) directors, some equipment operators, production IT, illustrators, composers and lyricists. These roles would previously have been reliant on the Column B test but might now have alternative routes to evidencing self-employed status.
The more complicated changes are the Column A conditions which have been amended.

For example, the test for directors of photography now asks whether they work for several clients, use rare skill and judgement, and can't be moved onto other tasks; previously it focused on control and preparatory work away from your premises. For some costume roles, the equipment route has gone, leaving only a premises-based test.

Column B is unchanged. The specific production route remains available for almost every role, so crew who no longer meet Column A can still qualify. But more may now depend on it, which means showing each engagement is genuinely limited to one production and period. That's harder on returning series or with the same crew rebooked repeatedly.

What should productions do now?

For many productions, this is a helpful tidy-up rather than a drastic change. But the tighter tests for many roles, and the fact that the new list applies when contracts are extended, mean it's worth a targeted review rather than assuming nothing has changed.

In recent years, we've seen HMRC increase their focus on employment status. With the government focused on closing the tax gap, we expect scrutiny of IR35 and employment status more generally to continue. The updated guidance is a good opportunity to take stock and make sure your engagements are correctly classed as employment or self-employment for tax purposes, whether crew are engaged directly or through their own companies.

• Check current crew against ESM4120, especially roles where the test has changed, and look again at crew who may now be on the list.
• Don’t roll forward existing status decisions on extensions; reassess them against the new list.
• Appendix 1 can potentially apply both to direct engagements with an individual and to indirect engagements with someone’s personal service company. Apply the same analysis, and make sure your IR35 determinations reflect it.
• Where Column A no longer works, check whether the engagement meets Column B.
• Review kit arrangements and any box rentals.
• Review status each time a programme is recommissioned, and plan ahead for extensions and rebookings.