Subsistence and Accommodation Expenses for Freelance Musicians (UK Tax Guide)

Understanding what you can, and can’t, claim on your Self Assessment tax return

When you’re completing your Self Assessment tax return as a freelance musician, subsistence and accommodation expenses are one of the most commonly misunderstood areas.

Many musicians assume that if they’ve travelled for work, meals and overnight stays are automatically allowable. Unfortunately, HMRC doesn’t see it that simply.

In this guide, we’ll break down:

• What HMRC says about subsistence expenses

• When meals and accommodation are not allowable

• The key exception for itinerant trades (which often includes musicians)

• How to decide what counts as a reasonable expense

This is based directly on HMRC’s own internal guidance, not guesswork.

What Are Subsistence Expenses?

Subsistence expenses usually refer to:

• Food and drink while working away from home

• Overnight accommodation

• Associated costs when travel requires you to stay away

For freelance musicians, these costs often arise when touring, performing gigs, recording, or travelling for rehearsals outside your usual working pattern.

However, the default HMRC position is that subsistence is not allowable.

HMRC’s Starting Point: Subsistence Is Not Allowable

HMRC’s Business Income Manual (BIM 37660) makes this very clear:

No costs of subsistence are allowable as an expense because we eat to live.

In other words, HMRC argues that eating is a personal necessity, not something incurred wholly and exclusively for business purposes.

This is reinforced again in BIM 37670, which states that:

• Meals taken away from your place of business are generally not allowable

• Because everyone has to eat, whether they’re working or not

At first glance, this makes subsistence sound like a complete non-starter.

But this isn’t the end of the story...

The Key Exception: Itinerant Trades and Travel Outside the Normal Pattern

HMRC does recognise that extra costs can arise when a trade is itinerant - and this is where many freelance musicians fall.

An itinerant trade is one where:

• There is no single, fixed place of work

• Travel is an inherent and necessary part of the business

HMRC guidance (BIM 37670) allows deductions where:

• The trade is itinerant or

• Occasional business journeys are made outside the normal pattern

In these cases, reasonable subsistence and accommodation expenses may be allowable.

What Does “Outside the Normal Pattern” Mean?

HMRC attempts to clarify this further in BIM 47705. A deduction for food and drink may be allowable where the trader travels to a place outside the normal course of their trade

To help determine this, HMRC considers whether:

• You do not travel to that place more than occasionally

• The travel is not part of your normal pattern of work

• Or you don’t have a normal pattern of travel at all

For many self-employed musicians, especially those gigging in different venues, cities, or countries, this can apply.

If the journey itself qualifies as itinerant, then the associated subsistence and accommodation costs can also follow as allowable.

What Counts as a “Reasonable” Expense?

HMRC deliberately avoids setting fixed limits on what is considered reasonable.

Instead, they state (again in BIM 37670) that:

• Where a business trip necessitates one or more nights away from home

• Hotel accommodation and reasonable overnight subsistence costs are deductible

What’s reasonable will depend on:

• The nature of your work

• The level of income you earn

• What would be considered normal within your industry

• The specific context of the trip

A modest hotel and meals while touring will likely be viewed very differently to luxury accommodation with no clear business justification.

Key Takeaways for Freelance Musicians

The most important points to remember are:

• The starting position is that subsistence and accommodation are not allowable

• An exception exists for itinerant trades and travel outside the normal pattern

• If your travel is allowable because it’s itinerant, subsistence and accommodation may also be allowable

• HMRC does not define “reasonable” - context is everything

• Each category (travel → subsistence → accommodation) flows from the previous one

This is why it’s so important to look at your own working pattern, rather than relying on generic advice.

Final Tip: Review Your Expenses Carefully

If you’re a freelance musician, take time to review:

• How often you travel to certain locations

• Whether that travel forms part of a normal pattern

• Whether the related subsistence and accommodation costs genuinely arise because of your work

Getting this right can help you avoid over-claiming and ensure you’re not missing out on expenses you’re entitled to claim.