GoForma's qualified accountants support UK creatives: YouTubers, musicians, actors, photographers, designers, and influencers. We handle self-assessment, IR35 reviews, limited company accounting, and expense management tailored to the creative industry.
Trusted by UK contractors, freelancers and limited-company directors since 2020.
From single-contract IT consultants to growing limited-company directors — pick the situation that fits and you'll get a qualified accountants for creative who actually knows it inside out.
What we cover
Full-time and part-time creators with AdSense, brand-deal, Patreon and merch income across multiple platforms.
Full-time and part-time creators with AdSense, brand-deal, Patreon and merch income across multiple platforms.
What we cover
Creators monetising Instagram, TikTok and other platforms through sponsored content, affiliate links, gifted product and brand partnerships.
Creators monetising Instagram, TikTok and other platforms through sponsored content, affiliate links, gifted product and brand partnerships.
What we cover
Recording artists, producers, session musicians and composers with royalty, performance, teaching and sync licensing income.
Recording artists, producers, session musicians and composers with royalty, performance, teaching and sync licensing income.
What we cover
Photographers and videographers running their own studio or working freelance - with the kit-heavy expense profile that comes with it.
Photographers and videographers running their own studio or working freelance - with the kit-heavy expense profile that comes with it.
What we cover
Actors, voice-over artists and performers with multi-job Self Assessment, residual and royalty income, and agent commission.
Actors, voice-over artists and performers with multi-job Self Assessment, residual and royalty income, and agent commission.
What we cover
Graphic designers, illustrators, web designers and other commercial creatives with freelance client and royalty income.
Graphic designers, illustrators, web designers and other commercial creatives with freelance client and royalty income.
Not just the filings — the dedicated accountant, the contract guidance, the software, and the structure that makes accountants for creatives actually work for you.
Designers, illustrators, photographers, writers, filmmakers, musicians, video creators — we work with creative freelancers and small studios every day. Your dedicated accountant knows the income patterns: lumpy retainers, royalty cycles, residuals, grants, fee-for-service, equipment write-offs and studio costs.
Foreign royalties (with treaty rates), PRS / MCPS / DACS payouts, ALCS distributions, Spotify / YouTube income, Arts Council grants, prize money — all categorised and taxed correctly, including the bits HMRC enquires about most. Double-tax relief claimed where it applies.
We claim every legitimate creative deduction: home-studio share of rent and utilities, kit and gear under the Annual Investment Allowance, software subscriptions, font licences, props, model releases, archive storage, even film and travel for location work — done right, the deductions add up to thousands a year.
Many creatives are better off as sole traders early on, then move to a limited company once their income smooths out. We model both each year on your real figures and tell you which makes sense — including the IR35 implications if a big client starts looking like long-term fixed work.
FreeAgent included free, with project tracking switched on. See profitability per client or commission, mileage logged from your phone, expenses captured by photo. We review your books monthly and flag projects that are running thin so you can re-quote next time.
You shouldn't have to learn accounting to run a creative practice. We translate the technical bits — VAT registration, MTD, payments on account, dividends, R&D — into plain English, and we proactively raise things you didn't know to ask about. The goal is for you to spend less time on tax, not more.
Answer a few quick questions and we'll match you to the right package — with a price tailored to your business. Takes about 60 seconds.
| Feature | GoForma | High street accountants | Cheap online services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative-specialist accountant on every return | Yes | Generalist | Generalist |
| Multi-platform income (AdSense, Patreon, Twitch, etc.) | Yes | Often missed | No |
| Royalty and residual income reporting | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| Equipment capital allowance optimisation | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| IR35 review for creative contractors | Yes | Extra fee | No |
| FreeAgent software included | Yes | Extra fee | Varies |
| Monthly rolling contract | Yes | Annual | Annual |
| 30-day money-back guarantee | Yes | No | No |
Transparent fixed fees. Most creatives start on a sole trader package. We will tell you if a limited company structure makes sense for your income level.
From a 20-minute call to a fully-set-up creative accounting service. Most engagements are live within 5-7 working days.
A 20-minute call with a creative-industry specialist to walk through your income sources and recommend the right structure.
Pick a fixed-fee package, complete ID/AML checks and sign the engagement letter - usually under 15 minutes.
If you're moving from another accountant we contact them, collect the records and set everything up - you don't chase anything.
We connect your bank accounts and configure FreeAgent for the irregular creative cashflow pattern, with simple income categories you'll actually use.
Book a call with your accountant any time, ask quick questions via WhatsApp, and get proactive reminders before every deadline.
Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, VAT - every filing handled and submitted on time, with you fully briefed before anything goes to HMRC.
Real reviews from real GoForma clients. Names match those on our verified Google profile.
First creative agency I've worked with where the accountant actually understood royalty income, residuals, and how to claim my equipment under AIA. About £3k of deductions my last accountant missed.
PRS / DACS / ALCS payouts, foreign royalties, double-tax relief — none of it fazes them. They translated all of it into plain English and got my return right first time.
Modelled sole trader vs Ltd on my real income and were honest about staying sole trader another year. The trading allowance trick alone saved me a few hundred quid this year.
FreeAgent project tracking has changed how I quote. I can see profit per commission and re-quote next time. They actually flagged that two retainers were running thin.
Read all 65 verified reviews on Google.
Practical accounting and tax guides written for the creative industry: self-assessment basics, limited company setup, IR35, and expense management.
Freelance job sites are online platforms that connect independent contractors with businesses seeking specific skills and services, offering UK freelancers opportunities to find project-based work across various industries. These platforms streamline the process of securing clients, managing payments, and building professional relationships for self-employed individuals.
Read guide
If you're looking for some less obvious and new ways of generating business as a freelancer, this includes a compilation of tips, tricks, and tactics
Read guideA creative industry accountant is a specialist who supports actors, musicians, photographers, designers, YouTubers, influencers, content creators and other creative professionals with the financial and tax complexities specific to creative income. Unlike a generalist accountant, a creative specialist understands royalties, residuals, sync licensing, sponsorship deals, AdSense and Patreon income, equipment expenses, and the volatile multi-source income that makes Self Assessment particularly tricky for creative people.
Creative income doesn't look like a salary. You might have 80,000 pounds one year from a sync placement and 15,000 the next. Income arrives in dribs and drabs from PRS, PPL, BMI, Spotify, YouTube, brand deals, royalties, residuals, performance fees, teaching, workshops, and merch. Each stream has its own tax treatment and timing. A specialist accountant builds the right structure so you keep more, file on time, and don't get caught out by the irregular cashflow.
Creative income is fundamentally different from a salary. You have multiple revenue streams that arrive at different times, in different currencies, sometimes with tax already withheld. You have legitimate but unusual expenses - costumes, instruments, plugin libraries, conference travel, equipment that depreciates fast. You may receive income across multiple tax years for work done in one year (royalties, residuals). And you often have a year-on-year income shape that triggers Payments on Account in good years and overpayment refunds in lean ones.
Volatile income calls for proactive tax planning. We model your likely income across the current and next tax year, time discretionary spending (equipment purchases, pension contributions, training) to reduce tax in the higher year, and use carry-forward allowances to shelter income across the band boundaries.
Most creatives start as sole traders. Once your annual profit consistently exceeds 30,000-35,000 pounds, a limited company structure usually becomes more tax-efficient - you pay yourself a small salary, leave the rest as company profit, and draw dividends as needed. For creators with brand deals and sponsorship income, the limited company also creates a clear contracting entity which makes commercial agreements easier.
Your accounting matters too much to be handed off to an offshore team you'll never meet. Every GoForma client gets a named, UK-qualified accountant, with a London office and a phone number that picks up.
UK off-payroll working rules. They decide whether a contractor working through a limited company is genuinely in business or is a 'disguised employee' for tax purposes.
Read the official HMRC / gov.uk guidanceThe tax a UK limited company pays on its taxable profits — currently between 19% and 25% of profit depending on profit level. Filed annually via a CT600 return.
Read the official HMRC / gov.uk guidanceThe annual personal tax return that a limited-company director files for their own income — typically dividends, salary and other personal income. Deadline: 31 January.
Read the official HMRC / gov.uk guidanceHMRC's programme that requires VAT-registered and self-employed taxpayers to keep digital records and file via approved software like FreeAgent.
Read the official HMRC / gov.uk guidanceAn annual filing to Companies House confirming the company's directors, shareholders and registered office. Separate from CT and SA — but every limited company has to file one.
Read the official HMRC / gov.uk guidanceA set of HMRC rules for the construction sector where contractors deduct money from subcontractor payments at source and pass it to HMRC as advance tax.
Read the official HMRC / gov.uk guidance
