Actors’ payments are salary

HMRC decided in April 2009 that actors engaged by ITV under certain types of contract were to be treated as employed for National Insurance (NI) purposes and that the broodcaster was liable to secondary class 1 NI on earnings under para 5A(d) of Sch 1 to the Social Security (Categorisation of Earners) Regulations 1978 (SI 1978/1689) as amended by Social Security (Categorisation of Earners) Regulations 1998.

The Revenue’s determination applied to ten different types of contract used by ITV six of which entitled the actor to receive an attendance day payment to cover post-synchronisation sessions after filming had been completed.

Three kinds of contract included a right to production day payments at a fixed rate for each day worked beyond the first. The remaining “all-rights contract” required the actor to attend filming on specific dates for which a fee was paid.

ITV appealed to the First-tier Tribunal...