The key players in this industry include:

Promoters/ event managers, VJs, DJs, MCs, Song writers, poets, musicians, models, film actors and producers etc.

All persons earning income from entertainment business are obliged to register for taxes with URA. Every player in the entertainment sector in Uganda is required to formalize through the following agencies.

• Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social development
• Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for taxes i.e. acquiring a TIN
• Have membership to an association you subscribe to e.g. Uganda Musician Association, Uganda Promoters Association e.t.c.
• For non-individual you can incorporate your entity with Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).

For individual

• National ID
• Certificate of registration

For non-individual

• Company Form 20
• Certificate of incorporation

Click here for more details on registration

• You’re required to visit the URA portal on ura.go.ug
• Click here to register as an individual
• Click here to register as a non-individual

Click here for your rights and obligations as a taxpayer

It is very important for you to keep proper records of all your business transactions for at least five years after the end of the tax period to which they relate for future reference.

These include;

• Income statement (List of Receipts and Payments),
• balance sheet,
• payroll,
• import schedules,
• contracts,
• bank statements,
• appointment letters,
• bills (e.g. utility bills),
• stock records,
• Asset registers and many other records and/or documents relevant to

your business such as receipt books, invoices, debtors and creditors.

Click here for information on business record keeping.

Withholding tax:

• Withholding tax on payments to non – resident public entertainers –this tax is charged at a rate of 15% of the gross amount of the payment derived by the non – resident public entertainer. The tax is withheld and paid before the non-resident entertainer leaves the country and it is a final tax.
• Withholding tax on payments to suppliers in the entertainment sector This tax is withheld at a rate of 6% on the gross amount if it exceeds UGX 1,000,000 and remitted to URA.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

For players who generate income from entertainment sector that exceed 150,000,000 in a given year, are expected to collect VAT on every transaction that is invoiced (EFRIS)

Please note

All tickets sold for a particular performance attract 18% (VAT inclusive)

These returns are filed like any other Income tax returns

Click here for information on how to file your returns.

After filing a return, you’re required to pay the resultant tax using the available payment platforms e.g. banks, mobile money, VISA, Mastercard etc.

Please note: the due date for payment of tax is the same as that of return filing.

In case of further assistance, visit the nearest URA office or call the toll-free line 0800117000/0800217000 or WhatsApp: 0772140000