Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the average length of time between organisations (a) claiming and (b) receiving (i) theatre tax relief and (ii) orchestra tax relief.

Theatre and Orchestra Tax Reliefs are Corporation Tax Reliefs available to companies that are carrying out qualifying activity.

HMRC aims to pay claims for all tax reliefs as soon as possible. Since 1 April 2022, 85 per cent of valid claims for Theatre and Orchestra Tax Reliefs have been paid within 28 days of receipt.

Where a claim is received but is identified as requiring further review, HMRC may open an enquiry and ask for additional information.

As per HMRC’s published statistics, in 2021-22 £38 million of Theatre Tax Relief and £10 million of Orchestra Tax Relief was paid out.

HMRC is not able to disclose how much relief is currently outstanding to companies. This data is not available until the claims have been reviewed and HMRC is able to confirm how much payment is due.

HMRC constantly monitors payment times. It is important that these reliefs are easy to access and meet the needs of claimant organisations. However, this must be balanced against the need to ensure that taxpayer money is not paid out in respect of incorrect or fraudulent claims.