Running a concert in the UK as a promoter based abroad
A show in London, Manchester or Glasgow follows its own tax rules, even in the middle of a European tour. The UK left the EU, so the One-Stop Shop that covers your EU dates does not cover it. A promoter based abroad registers for UK VAT from the first ticket sold, registers with the Foreign Entertainers Unit before paying the artist, and needs a PRS for Music licence. This guide lists each rule with a link to the official text.
What an overseas promoter owes in the UK
Six obligations, who carries them and when they fall due.
| Obligation | Rule | Who owes it | When | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket VAT | 20% standard rate | The business selling the tickets | UK VAT returns once registered | GOV.UK |
| VAT registration | No threshold for a business with no UK establishment | The business selling the tickets | From the first taxable sale | HMRC VATREG37050 |
| Artist withholding | Basic rate of income tax, 20% in 2026-27, once payments exceed the personal allowance | Each person paying the performer | Register before paying, pay within 14 days of each quarter end | GOV.UK |
| Tax on your own ticket income | No HMRC guidance found for a promoter based abroad | To confirm with a UK adviser | Before signing the artist | None found |
| Event licence and music rights | Local council authorisation for regulated entertainment. PRS for Music licence, 4% of gross receipts excl. VAT | Agree with the venue who holds each one | PRS application 30 days before, report 30 days after | GOV.UK, Tariff LP |
| Entry and work | Permitted Paid Engagement up to 30 days, Creative Worker route beyond | Each artist and crew member | Before travel | GOV.UK |
The rest of this page takes each line in turn. Rates and dates are those in force on 5 November 2026.
UK VAT on tickets for a UK show
The venue decides the country, and there is no threshold for a business based abroad.
Admission to an event is taxed where the event takes place (VAT Notice 741A, sections 9.2 and 9.5). A ticket for a show in London therefore carries UK VAT, wherever the buyer lives and wherever your company is based. The standard rate is 20% (GOV.UK). The cultural exemption for admission charges is limited to public bodies and eligible cultural bodies, so a commercial promoter charges 20% (GOV.UK, VAT Notice 701/47).
From the first ticket sold
A business with no establishment in the UK must register for VAT "regardless of the value" of its UK taxable supplies. The registration threshold that UK businesses rely on does not apply to you (HMRC VAT Registration Manual, VATREG37050).
The EU One-Stop Shop stops at the border
The non-Union OSS declares the VAT of your EU dates in one return. It has no UK leg. A tour that crosses the Channel runs two VAT systems: the OSS for the EU dates and a UK VAT registration for the UK dates, each with its own deadlines.
The Foreign Entertainers Unit and artist withholding
Applies to entertainers and sportspeople who are not resident in the UK.
Before you pay a non-UK performer for a UK performance, you contact HMRC's Foreign Entertainers Unit (FEU) and register for withholding tax. Once the total payment exceeds the personal allowance (£12,570), you deduct income tax at the basic rate, which is 20% for 2026-27. Paying through an agent or another third party does not remove the deduction, and each person making a payment deducts on its own payment (GOV.UK, updated 1 July 2026, income tax rates). The guidance does not exempt payers based abroad.
The FEU sends form FEU1 at the end of each quarter. You return it with the tax within 14 days of the quarter end, so by 14 July, 14 October, 14 January and 19 April. You give the performer form FEU2 as proof of the tax deducted. A lower rate is only possible with an FEU4 authorisation from HMRC, usually based on the performer's expected costs. Without it, the basic rate applies.
Your own ticket income
We have not found HMRC guidance on how the UK taxes the ticket income of a promoter based abroad. Germany and France both claim tax on it under their domestic law, so do not assume the UK is silent. Have it reviewed by a UK adviser before you sign the artist contract, and write in that contract whether the fee is gross or guaranteed net of UK tax.
Council licence and PRS for Music
Two permissions to settle with the venue before the on-sale.
Regulated entertainment
Under the Licensing Act 2003, the local council authorises regulated entertainment. Live music between 8am and 11pm for audiences of up to 500 is exempt under conditions. The guidance describes no licence for promoters as such: the authorisation attaches to the event or the venue, so check with the venue which one covers your show (GOV.UK).
Tariff LP for concerts
Tariff LP, in force since 11 June 2025, charges 4% of gross receipts excluding VAT, or 2.5% for a qualifying festival. Booking fees count unless the licensee opts out, in which case the rates are 4.2% and 2.7%. The application must reach PRS at least 30 days before the first event, and the setlist and receipts follow within 30 days after it. The £20 minimum per event is waived if reporting is complete (PRS Tariff LP).
The tariff counts receipts collected by the licensee and by third parties acting for it, including the promoter. Agree in writing with the venue who applies to PRS and who reports.
Visas for artists and crew
The UK runs its own system, separate from Schengen.
Permitted Paid Engagement
A professional performer from a country that does not need a UK visa can be paid for a UK engagement for up to 30 days as a visitor. The engagement must be arranged before travel, evidenced by a formal invitation from a UK-based client or organisation, and paid by a UK source. Performers at a festival on the permit-free list can be paid and stay up to 6 months (GOV.UK).
Creative Worker route
With a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed UK sponsor, a performer from a country that does not need a visa can enter for up to 3 months under a concession. They must see a Border Force officer at arrival and cannot use the ePassport gates. Longer stays need a Creative Worker visa, up to 12 months (GOV.UK).
Visitors from the US, Canada, Europe and other countries that do not need a visa usually need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which costs £20 (GOV.UK). Nationals of other countries apply for a visa before travel.
One point is open. The Permitted Paid Engagement route expects a UK-based inviter and a UK source of payment. When the promoter is based abroad and the venue is only hired, it is not clear who that inviter is. Settle the visa route with the venue or a UK sponsor before you announce the date.
Deadlines for one UK date
In the order they usually fall. Dates count from the on-sale, the fee payments and the show.
Fix the fee terms and the visa route
Gross or net fee, who is paid, who invites the artist and who pays from where. These choices set the withholding and decide whether the 30-day visitor route works.
Register for UK VAT
No threshold applies to a business based abroad, so the first ticket sold is taxable.
PRS application in
Also confirm with the venue which council authorisation covers the event.
Register with the FEU
Apply for an FEU4 reduced rate at the same time if the artist's costs justify it.
Report to PRS
Setlist and receipts. A complete report removes the £20 minimum.
FEU1 return and payment
For each quarter with a payment to the artist. Give the artist form FEU2.
UK VAT returns
Separate from the OSS returns of your EU dates.
A UK date inside a European tour
Two VAT systems, several withholding returns, one calendar.
When the UK is one stop of a European tour, the EU dates go through one OSS registration, while the UK date needs its own VAT registration and its own FEU file. Each country's withholding then runs on its own quarter and deadline. Our guide for non-EU promoters in Europe compares the rules country by country, and the Germany guide covers the largest EU market in detail. To put every date of the routing on one calendar, see our tour compliance coordination.
What Balt Partners does for a UK date
We do not file in the UK ourselves. We coordinate.
UK and EU on one map
VAT, withholding, licences, music rights and visas for the UK date next to your EU dates, with every deadline in one calendar.
A UK-qualified adviser for the filings
Tell us your UK dates early. We bring in a UK-qualified adviser for the VAT registration and the FEU file and keep their deadlines on the same calendar.
The EU side with our partners
OSS registration and returns, and withholding files in Germany and France, handled with licensed partners we work with.
An EU company when it pays off
A Latvian SIA with its VAT number, bank account and accounting, if your European plans go beyond a few dates. It does not change the UK obligations.
Questions from overseas promoters about the UK
Yes. Admission is taxed where the event takes place, and a business with no UK establishment must register for VAT regardless of the value of its UK sales. Concert tickets sold by a commercial promoter carry the 20% standard rate.
No. The UK is outside the EU, so the non-Union OSS only covers your EU dates. The UK date needs a separate UK VAT registration and its own returns.
The basic rate of income tax, 20% for 2026-27, once the total payment exceeds the personal allowance of £12,570. You register with the Foreign Entertainers Unit before paying. A lower rate needs an FEU4 authorisation from HMRC.
Within 14 days of the end of each quarter, with form FEU1: by 14 July, 14 October, 14 January and 19 April. The performer receives form FEU2 as proof of the tax deducted.
Under Tariff LP, 4% of gross receipts excluding VAT, or 2.5% for a qualifying festival, with a £20 minimum per event that is waived when reporting is complete. The application is due at least 30 days before the event and the report within 30 days after it.
For up to 30 days, as a Permitted Paid Engagement, if they come from a country that does not need a UK visa and hold a formal invitation from a UK-based client or organisation. Festivals on the permit-free list allow up to 6 months. Otherwise the Creative Worker route applies, with a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed UK sponsor.