Tax query - declaring earnings

Morpheus1980

Good morning! Not sure whether this is the right place to pose a tax question, but thought I'd give it a shot.

A friend has asked for some advice. He has run a free-entry monthly night in a small bar for the past three years, and the bar give him a cut of their takings for his trouble. None of this money goes into his pocket - it's put to once side and used to pay the bands or to cover posters and flyers - anything that's left stays in a shoebox. The key point is that he doesn't keep any of the money.

The question is whether he should be declaring any of this as earnings for tax purposes. It's a pretty small amount, there's never been more than about £200 in the kitty at one time. He has been wondering, though, what would happen if the venue gets audited and they trace the money that's gone out to him. Does he have any liabilities to HMRC?

Also, would his obligations change if he was to set up a Clubs and Societies bank account to pay the cash into?

I would be grateful for any help/advice that anyone could shove my way...thank you!

BIG WAL

This doesn't look like a business being run for profit, - seems to be more like a hobby, - so can't see
HMRC being interested.