Gear, travel, software, second shooters in one app
Camera bodies, lenses, lighting, software subscriptions, travel to shoots, second-shooter invoices. All in one app.
Big-ticket gear meets ad-hoc travel — and the receipts are scattered
Photographers have the messiest expense profile of any creative trade. £3,000 lens purchases need capital allowances. Travel to a wedding venue needs mileage. Adobe Creative Cloud is a monthly subscription. A second shooter invoices you separately. None of it lines up automatically.
What PocketReceipt tracks for photographers
Camera bodies & lenses
Capital items over £200 flagged automatically. Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) treatment per HMRC.
Editing software
Adobe Creative Cloud, Capture One, backup tools. Recurring subscriptions tracked monthly.
Travel to shoots
Mileage to weddings, portraits, commercial. AMAP rates applied. Train and parking captured as travel.
Second shooters & assistants
Their invoices captured against the matching wedding/event. Subcontractor record kept clean.
Studio rental
Hourly studio rental, daily hire, props. Per-shoot apportioning made easy.
Albums & print suppliers
Cost-of-sale receipts (Loxley, One Vision, Folio Albums) categorised correctly.
A typical photographer's week, tracked
- Monday — buy a 70-200mm lens (£2,400). App flags as capital, AIA applies.
- Wednesday — drive 60 miles to a portrait shoot. Mileage logged.
- Thursday — pay Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, scan invoice
- Saturday — wedding shoot, second shooter invoices £400, log against wedding
- Sunday — order album prints from Loxley, scan invoice
- Month-end — export summary, segregated by client/wedding
FAQ for photographers
I bought a £4,000 camera body — can I claim it all in one year?
Likely yes via the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), which lets you deduct 100% of qualifying capital purchases up to £1,000,000/year. Capital items still need flagging separately on your Self Assessment.
What about my home office where I edit?
Use simplified expenses (£10-£26/month flat) or actual apportioning. Apportioning often wins for full-time photographers editing many hours weekly.
Do I claim my own wedding photographer as a model fee?
No. Personal events are not deductible even if you take photos for portfolio use.
Lifestyle photography props — clothing, flowers, fake cake — claimable?
Items used genuinely as props for paid client work are allowable. If they re-enter your personal life afterwards, the answer gets fuzzy. Keep usage evidence.