Accountant for podcasters

A podcast is a trade once you are producing episodes with a view to profit, and everything the show earns is trading income. That includes sponsorship fees, dynamic ad network revenue, Spotify and Apple Podcasts payouts, memberships, ticket sales, merch and any licensing of the back catalogue.

Against that, podcast expenses usually include microphones, interfaces, acoustic treatment, cameras for video episodes, hosting and distribution, editing and mastering, music licences, transcription, artwork, studio hire and the business share of a home recording space.

Where two or more hosts share the revenue, decide the structure first. A partnership files its own return and allocates profit to each partner; alternatively one host can contract the other and claim the payment as a cost. Either works, drifting between them does not.

Sole trader profits are taxed at Income Tax rates with Class 4 National Insurance on top. Shows with several people, retained profit or investment in production often work better inside a limited company, where profits can be paid out over time.

Sponsorship contracts frequently include usage of clips in the brand's own advertising. Price that separately, and remember the whole fee is taxable in the period it relates to, even when it is paid in one lump for a year of episodes.

Good records for a podcast are simple: a folder of sponsor contracts and invoices, the monthly network and membership statements, the co-host agreement, and receipts for production costs. Because sponsorship is often invoiced directly, your own invoice numbering is the backbone of the year-end figure.

Plan around the sponsorship cycle. Most shows earn unevenly across the year, so we forecast the tax bill from the contracts already signed and set a reserve from each payment. That also shows whether a company, a pension contribution or paying a producer through payroll makes sense before the year ends.

Source: Income Tax rates and allowances (gov.uk) · Self Assessment (gov.uk)