Freelancing in screen: how it works

You wrap a job, send an invoice, and a few days later money lands in your account. It feels great. It also isn’t fully yours. That’s the part a lot of people learn a bit late. This is the part no one really walks you through.

In screen, sole trading rarely starts as a conscious business decision. One production books you as a contractor. A side job comes in, maybe some kit hire gets added, maybe you’re covering costs that later get reimbursed, and suddenly you’re not just doing your job. You’re running a small business whether you planned to or not. Sole trading is the simplest way to work for yourself in New Zealand. You don’t need to set up a company, and you can operate using your personal IRD number. But once you’re self-employed, the responsibility sits with you: invoicing, records, tax, ACC, and everything in between.
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What this actually looks like on a screen job

Screen income is rarely straightforward. You might invoice one job, get paid for another, have kit hire on top, and receive money that’s meant to cover expenses or be paid back later. From the outside, that can look flexible. From the inside, it means your finances can get messy quickly if you’re not tracking what’s what.
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The first mistake most freelancers make

Treating every payment like it’s spendable. It’s not. Some of that money may already belong to tax. Some of it may need to cover ACC. If you’re GST registered, part of it definitely isn’t yours. “I’ll sort it at tax time” isn’t a system. It’s a future problem.
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Sole Trader vs Company - what’s the difference?

Before going further, it’s worth understanding that working for yourself in screen usually sits in one of two structures: 

1. operating as a sole trader, or 

2. working through a limited liability company. 

As a sole trader, you and your business are the same legal entity - you earn the income personally, you’re responsible for the tax, and you’re personally liable for any debts or issues. 

A limited liability company, on the other hand, is a separate legal entity. It earns the income, pays its own tax, and can offer a level of separation between your personal finances and the business. Companies also come with more setup, admin, and compliance requirements. 

Most freelancers in screen start as sole traders because it’s simple, then consider a company later as their income, risk, or business complexity grows.

For now, we’ll focus mainly in on the sole trader business style. 
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Tax isn’t just “set aside a percentage”

As a sole trader, you pay tax on your profit, not just your income. That means income minus expenses equals what you’re taxed on. Sounds simple. It rarely is. Phones, internet, travel, gear, software, working from home. Some things are deductible, some partly, some not at all. IRD is interested in what’s genuinely business-related, not what sounded convincing at unit base. Not what someone told you on set.
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The screen-specific bit: schedular payments

If you’re working on a contract-for-services basis, production may deduct withholding tax before paying you. The standard rate is usually 20%. That directly affects your cash flow. If you don’t know what rate is being deducted, you’re guessing your tax position. That’s where people get caught. Also worth knowing: payments you receive as a contractor, excluding GST, are generally treated as your gross income. That can include money intended to cover expenses if it’s rolled into your payment. If you don’t provide the correct tax rate notification when required, the deduction rate can be much higher. Not something you want to discover later.
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GST: the one that creeps up on people

GST becomes relevant faster than many expect. You must register if your total income (before expenses) goes over $60,000 in any 12-month period, or is expected to. In screen, income can spike quickly. One solid run of jobs can push you over the threshold before you’ve really noticed. If you’re getting close, check early, not months later. If you’re GST registered, it’s worth treating GST as money you’re holding, not money you’ve earned. It needs to be set aside and paid when due, and catching up later can get expensive quickly.

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ACC: not just background noise

If you’re self-employed, you’re automatically covered, but your levies are based on your income. That matters more than people think. If your income is low or uneven, your cover may be too. There is also an option to agree on a set level of cover instead of relying on fluctuating income. In an industry where gaps between jobs are normal, it’s worth knowing what ACC would actually pay out, not just assuming it’ll be fine. We’ve broken this down properly in our article on ACC and CoverPlus Extra.
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Provisional tax: the sequel nobody warned you about

Then comes provisional tax. Usually in your second year. It spreads your tax across the year instead of leaving one large bill. That second-year tax bill can catch people off guard. The goal isn’t to stress. It’s to know it’s coming.
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Record-keeping: boring but powerful

You need to keep records of income and expenses. Invoices, receipts, statements. And you need to keep them for at least seven years. Not for the sake of being organised, but because you’ll understand how you’re actually doing, you won’t panic at tax time, and you’ll have something solid if IRD asks questions. Rebuilding a year from memory is not a strategy.
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Five things to check this week

If you’re freelancing right now, start here:

• Do you know what tax is being deducted from your payments, if any? 
• Are you setting money aside regularly, or hoping it works out later? 
• Are you tracking expenses properly with records to support them? 
• Are you getting close to the GST threshold? 
• Do you actually know what your ACC cover looks like?
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Being a sole trader does put you in the driving seat. But it also means you’re running the backend of your own operation. Accounts, admin, planning. This is the part of freelance life no one really explains. Get this part right, and the rest of the job gets a lot easier to deal with.
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Screen Guild members can also access a benefit with Hnry, a digital accounting service for freelancers and sole traders that takes care of invoicing, expenses, tax calculations, payments, and filings in one place. Activate your subscription now to receive $50 worth of Hnry credit.|
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We’ve also created the Screen Workers Business Toolkit, a series of workshops designed to help you get a handle on how this all works, from tax and invoicing to planning ahead. As a Guild member, you’ll have access to the tools and support to stay on top of it, not chase it.