Artist's Resale Right

1. What is Artist's Resale Right?

Following a European Directive in 2006, the Artist's Resale Right entitles creators of original works of art to a royalty each time their work is resold, with the involvement of an auction house, for 1,000 Euros or more. (From 1 April 2024, this will revert to £1000 or more).

This right covers sales of work by living artists and also the beneficiaries and heirs of artists deceased within the last 70 years of the sale.

2. How are resale royalties calculated?

The artist’s royalty depends on the hammer price (sale price without any VAT or Buyer's Premium). The higher the sale price of the artwork, the lower the overall royalty rate.

The royalty is worked out according to a sliding scale from 4% to 0.25%. (Please note, the hammer price will be calculated in Pounds Sterling from 1 April 2024).

Hammer Price	Royalty
From 0 to €50,000	4%
From €50,000.01 to €200,000	3%
From €200,000.01 to €350,000	1%
From €350,000.01 to €500,000	0.5%
Exceeding €500,000	0.25%

3. What is the qualifying threshold?

An artwork must sell for more than €1,000 to qualify for a royalty. The law defines the price threshold in Euros and, because the exchange rate between the two currencies changes daily, the equivalent in Pounds Sterling must be worked out according to the exchange rate on the date the artwork was sold. (This will revert to a sale price of £1000 or more from 1 April 2024).

4. What nationality must an artist be to qualify?

The Artist’s Resale Right applies to the sale of artworks in the European Economic Area (EEA). The following countries are in the EEA:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, plus the United Kingdom, and Australia (as of 31 March 2024) for the purposes of ARR.

Artists who are nationals of these countries are therefore generally eligible to receive resale royalties. The nationality criteria only applies to the artist and not to the beneficiaries or heirs.

5. Are all sales of artwork covered?

The Artist’s Resale Right does not apply to all sales of artworks. A royalty is only due if the following conditions are met:

the artwork is a copyright protected work of graphic or plastic art;
it is sold for more than €1000 (£1000 from 1 April 2024);
it is sold in the secondary market with the involvement of an art market professional (e.g. auction house);
and it is sold in the UK, Australia, or a country in the European Economic Area (EEA).

This royalty, where applicable, will be charged to the purchaser. It is exempt of VAT.