How to Claim Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGTR) as a Creative in the UK

If your creative work extends to other creative sectors, you may be eligible for other creative industry tax reliefs. We also provide expert guidance on:

👉 Video–Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC)

👉 Audio–Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC)

👉 Theatre Tax Relief (TTR)

👉 Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR)

1. How to qualify for Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGTR)?

The relief is not available to every organisation, as it is designed to support non-commercial cultural entities. To qualify, you must meet specific criteria regarding your legal structure and your day–to–day operations.

Legal Structure for MGTR

You must be a charitable company, a wholly owned subsidiary of a charity, or a company wholly owned by a local authority. Traditional trusts or unincorporated associations do not qualify directly.

Note: Although unincorporated associations don’t qualify directly, they often set up a trading subsidiary to become eligible.

Museum or Gallery Maintenance

Your organisation (or its parent charity/local authority) must maintain a museum, gallery, library, or archive.

The Production Company Role

You must act as the primary or secondary production company: you are responsible for the creative and technical decisions, negotiate the contracts, and pay for the goods and services required to run the exhibition.

Chargeable to Corporation Tax

While most charities are exempt from paying tax on their primary income, you must still be “within the charge” to Corporation Tax to file the necessary return and claim the relief.

2. Identify a qualifying exhibition for your Museums and Galleries Tax Relief

Not every collection of objects meets the criteria for MGTR.

To qualify, your project must be a curated public display of an organised collection of works with scientific, historic, artistic, or cultural interest. Even a single object can constitute an exhibition – provided it is presented with educational or cultural intent.

You must ensure your exhibition avoids several specific disqualifiers:

• Commercial Purpose: The main purpose must not be to sell the objects on display or to advertise goods and services. While your gift shop can sell related merchandise (like posters or mugs), the exhibits themselves cannot be for sale.
• Live Content: The display cannot feature live animals or plants. Live performances by people are usually excluded unless they are entirely incidental to the main display.
• Competitions: Any exhibition organised in connection with a contest or competition will not qualify.
• Accessibility: The exhibition must be open to the general public. While you can host a limited number of private viewings or member–only sessions, the primary intent must be public access! (It doesn’t matter if you do or do not charge for admission.)

3. Core expenditure and the 10% UK rule for Museums and Galleries Tax Relief

The amount you can reclaim is based on your core expenditure: the direct costs of bringing the exhibition to life and taking it down again.

• What counts as core expenditure: Costs for curation, research, physical installation of the works, de–installation and closing costs (if the exhibition is open to the public for 12 months or less).
• What is excluded: You cannot claim for the “running costs” while the show is open (such as gallery invigilators or daily maintenance). Marketing, legal fees, financing costs, and the actual purchase price of the exhibits are also ineligible.
• The 10% UK Rule: For any exhibition where production began on or after 1 April 2024, at least 10% of your total core expenditure must be “used or consumed” in the UK.
• Used or Consumed: This test looks at where the service or good is actually used. For example: if you pay a specialist in France to restore an object specifically for a UK show, that cost can count as UK expenditure because the benefit is “consumed” at your UK venue.

4. MGTR rates for touring and non-touring projects

Your potential tax credit depends on the nature of the show.

Since April 2025, the permanent rates have been set at:

• 40% for non–touring exhibitions and
• 45% for touring ones.

You must be able to prove that a touring show visits at least two venues with a consistent 25% of the objects displayed.

The difference in these rates can have a big impact on your final cash repayment. To qualify for the higher touring rate, you must meet strict criteria from the planning stage:

• Intent to Tour: You must intend for the exhibition to be held at two or more geographically distinct venues from the outset.
• The 25% Rule: At least 25% of the objects or works displayed at the first venue must also be displayed at every subsequent venue in the tour.
• The Six-Month Gap: The time elapsed between de-installing at one venue and installing at the next must not exceed six months.
• Repayment Caps: While the rates are generous, the maximum cash repayment is capped at £80,000 for non–touring exhibitions and £100,000 for touring ones.

5. How to claim Museums and Galleries Tax Relief?

The process for claiming MGTR is structured.

To ensure your claim is processed without being rejected, you must follow a specific sequence of digital submissions through the HMRC portal.

• Step 1 – The Additional Information Form (AIF): Since April 2024, you must submit an online AIF before or on the same day as your tax return. This form acts as a “sense check” for HMRC, requiring details like production names, opening dates, and a clear breakdown of UK versus non–UK expenditure.
• Step 2 – The CT600 Tax Return: Once the AIF is submitted, you include the claim in your main Company Tax Return (CT600).
• Step 3 – Mandatory Evidence: You are required to attach a computation showing exactly how you reached your claim figures. If you are claiming the higher touring rate, you must also provide a document detailing the number of venues, locations, and dates for the tour.

Note: You have two years from the end of your accounting period to make or amend a claim. If you submit your CT600 without having first filed the AIF, HMRC will treat the claim as invalid and remove it from your return automatically.

6. Claim Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief with WallsMan Creative

At WallsMan Creative, we understand that for cultural institutions, the priority is the art and the audience, not the administrative burden of tax legislation.

We specialise in securing exhibition tax relief for creative organisations across the UK. We have more than 10 years of experience working with everyone, from sole traders to large companies in the creative industries, so we’ll make sure your compliance is handled with the same care you give your collections.