Event and wedding planners run into a version of the MTD threshold question nobody else quite has: you handle huge amounts of money that isn't really "yours" in any meaningful sense. florist invoices, venue deposits, catering balances, all paid through you and recharged to the client. Whether that counts as your income for MTD purposes catches a lot of planners off guard, and it's rarely explained clearly.
A planner coordinating a £30,000 wedding might personally earn a £4,000 planning fee, while the other £26,000 flows through their account to venues, caterers and florists. It feels obvious that only the £4,000 is "really" their income. For tax purposes, that instinct is often wrong, and getting this distinction right matters enormously for working out where you stand against the MTD threshold.
The key test is who the supplier actually bills. If you pay a florist yourself and then invoice your client for the total (your fee plus the flowers), that recharged amount is normally treated as your trading income when you receive it from the client, with a matching expense when you paid the florist. Your turnover includes both sides, even though your profit only reflects the difference.
The exception is genuine agency arrangements: if a venue or caterer invoices your client directly and you never handle that money yourself, it was never your income and doesn't enter your turnover at all. This is a real distinction with real consequences, so if you're unsure which model your contracts create, it's worth confirming with an accountant.
Weddings and events are typically booked long before they happen, with deposits taken months or over a year in advance. Under the cash basis, the default method for most sole traders, a deposit is income on the date you receive it, not the date of the event. A £2,000 deposit taken in January for a wedding the following August is reported in the quarter you were paid.
Luz's actual profit is close to her £18,000 planning fee, but her gross turnover for MTD purposes is £52,500, since the recharged supplier costs count as income even though they're fully offset by a matching expense. That puts her over the current £50,000 threshold, despite her real earnings being far lower.
| Expense | Typically allowable? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier payments you recharge to clients | Yes | Deductible against the matching income you declared |
| Mileage to venues, meetings, site visits | Yes | HMRC approved mileage rates or actual costs |
| Marketing, website, portfolio photography | Yes | Standard business promotion costs |
| Home office costs | Yes | Flat rate or proportion of actual costs |
| Professional body membership (e.g. UKAWP) | Yes | Relevant industry associations |
| Client and supplier entertainment | No | Not allowable under HMRC rules, even at the events you run |
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In most cases, yes. Unless you're acting as a genuine agent where the supplier invoices your client directly, money you pay to suppliers and then get reimbursed for is normally treated as your trading income when received, with a matching expense when you pay it out. It affects your gross turnover even though it usually nets out in your profit.
Under the cash basis, which is the default for most sole traders, a deposit counts as income on the date you receive it, not the date of the event. A deposit taken in January for a September wedding is reported in the quarter you were paid.
Turnover — your gross income before expenses. This is exactly why pass-through supplier payments matter so much for event planners: they inflate your gross turnover even though they don't inflate your actual profit, so a planner handling large supplier budgets can cross the MTD threshold well before their real earnings suggest they would.
No. Entertaining clients, suppliers or guests, including hospitality at the events you plan, is specifically not an allowable business expense under HMRC rules, regardless of how essential it feels to the job.
If a supplier bills your client directly and you never handle that money, it's not your income at all and doesn't enter your turnover. This is different from the common model where you pay suppliers yourself and invoice your client for the total, which does count as your income.