Chartered Tax Adviser · CTA · ACA · Ex-PwC
Creative work sells beautifully and bills unevenly, and the tax quietly eats the difference.
SRJ International is a firm of specialist accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers for UK creative agencies: design, branding, content, and production studios. Led by Simon Jacobs, a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA · ACA) and ex-PwC, we handle VAT, project accounting, profit extraction, and exit planning around how creative studios actually run.
A general accountant will file your accounts and keep you compliant. That is the floor, not the ceiling. Creative studios carry quirks a generalist rarely sees: income that lands in project stages, work in progress that distorts a single month, rebilled production costs, heavy use of freelancers, and value that lives in people and IP rather than stock.
Because we only work with agencies, we see those patterns constantly, and because our founder is a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA · ACA) who trained at PwC, the planning goes well beyond high-street box-ticking. The advice is specific to how a creative business earns, not generic small-company admin.
What actually moves the numbers
Creative income arrives in stages, not evenly, and long projects leave value sitting in work in progress. We plan tax around how the money actually lands, so a completed project does not become a year-end surprise.
Why clean books matter →Studios run on freelancers and contractors, which raises employment status and IR35 questions. We help you engage people cleanly so the flexibility creative work needs never turns into a compliance problem.
What you can claim →Print, media, and production you buy for a client distort your VAT position and your true margin. We make sure VAT sits on the right scheme and that pass-through money is never mistaken for profit.
VAT for agencies →How you split salary and dividends decides how much of the studio's profit you actually keep. We plan director pay and profit extraction around your numbers, not a generic template.
Salary vs dividends →A studio's worth sits in goodwill, relationships, and IP, not stock. We structure the business and keep the books clean so that value is legible, defensible, and tax-efficient when you sell.
Plan tax around your exit →Serving clients worldwide changes your VAT position, and running a UK studio from abroad brings in residency. We handle both the UK and the overseas side rather than only one.
Tax when you move abroad →Agency founders, and business owners who came to Simon for the same reason: the tax was being filed, not planned.
“Simon helped me save thousands on my tax bill and prevented me from losing my Personal Allowance. He also gave me very good insights and advice into cryptocurrency, which will save me thousands of pounds in the future.”
“Simon helped me reclaim money I did not even realise I was entitled to, saved me a significant amount in tax through proper structuring, and ensured everything is compliant and future-proof.
What really separates him is how proactive and responsive he is. He advises, explains, and genuinely fights your corner with HMRC. You feel protected, informed, and strategically guided at all times.”
“Simon has always given the best he can for the customer. Understanding my situation has allowed him to advise and guide me in the right direction and be more tax efficient where possible.”
We also work with marketing agencies and advertising agencies and digital marketing agencies. See client results or read the agency tax notes.
Creative agency FAQ
It helps a lot. Creative studios bill unevenly, carry work in progress across long projects, use freelancers, and hold real value in their people and reputation rather than stock. A specialist reads those patterns and plans tax around them, instead of treating a studio like any other small company.
The risk areas differ. Project income arrives in lumps, work in progress distorts a single month, rebilled production costs can be mistaken for profit, and freelancers raise IR35 status questions. Creative accounts are most useful when they separate real profit from money that is only passing through a project.
Yes. We plan corporation tax and VAT around how creative income actually lands, in project stages rather than evenly, so a big invoice does not turn into a nasty tax surprise later. The aim is for the bill to be visible early and never an ambush at year-end.
Yes. Studios lean heavily on freelancers and contractors, which raises employment status and IR35 questions. We help you engage people in a way that is clean and defensible, so the flexibility that makes creative work possible does not create a compliance problem down the line.
Yes, and the earlier the better. Much of a studio's value sits in goodwill, client relationships, and IP rather than assets. Clean, well-structured books built 12 to 24 months before an offer make that value legible to a buyer and the sale far more tax-efficient.
Yes. We advise UK studios serving clients worldwide, where the VAT position depends on where the client is based (place of supply), and founders who live or operate abroad. We look at both the UK and the overseas side rather than only one.
General information, not personal tax advice. Rules and thresholds change; we advise on your specific position on a call.
Book a short discovery call and we will look at where your profit is going.