Film Accounting Glossary
Kit fee
What is a kit fee?
Also called kit rental.
A kit fee is a payment to a crew member for supplying their own consumables and small equipment, common for hair, makeup, sound, and script departments.
It is functionally the same instrument as a box rental: compensation for equipment rather than labor, reported separately from wages when properly documented. Because it is not wages, it does not carry fringes, which is precisely why auditors check that the amounts are reasonable and supported by an inventory.
Example
A makeup artist on a $250 weekly kit fee for 8 weeks receives $2,000 for supplying consumables and tools, supported by an inventory list. Because it is not wages it carries no fringes, which is precisely why an auditor checks that the amount is defensible.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Set in the deal memo and budgeted separately from the wage line, most often in hair, makeup, sound, and script departments.
Common mistake
Setting a kit fee with no inventory behind it. Undocumented, it reads as wages dressed as equipment rental, which removes the fringe treatment it was set up for.
Related questions
- What is the difference between a kit fee and a box rental?
- Functionally none. Both compensate a crew member for supplying their own tools or consumables, with kit fee more common in hair, makeup, sound, and script.
- Does a kit fee count as wages?
- Not when properly documented against a real inventory. It is equipment rental, which is why it carries no fringes and is reported separately from the wage.