Healthcare professionals often mix employment, locum work, private income and sometimes a company, which makes tax more complex than for many other trades. Getting the mix right matters.
We work with doctors, dentists, locums, therapists and care professionals across the UK, keeping returns accurate and structures efficient, with discreet, professional support.
The tax challenges healthcare professionals face
- Mixing employed income with locum or private self employed work
- Claiming professional fees, indemnity, training and equipment correctly
- Deciding whether a limited company suits private income
- Pension and high earner tax considerations
- Several income sources on one tax return
What we help with
- Self Assessment covering all your income sources
- A full review of professional and allowable costs
- Advice on sole trader versus company for private work
- Company accounts where you trade through one
- Tax planning for higher earners
- One discreet, dedicated accountant
Common mistakes to avoid
Useful tax tips
- Keep records of indemnity, registration, training and equipment, as these are often allowable
- Declare every income source, as employment and self employment can sit on one return
- Review whether a company suits your private income once it is steady
- Plan ahead if you are approaching higher rate or the allowance taper
A locum with several income sources
A locum had a salaried role plus locum shifts and some private work, and was unsure how it all fitted together. We brought every source onto one accurate return, claimed professional costs in full and planned the following year, giving them clarity and confidence.
Fixed fees from £19.99 a month for self employed clinicians, and from £30 a month for limited companies. Your exact quote is agreed up front, and takes about 2 minutes to get.
The locum who was paying tax twice
A locum doctor came to us with agency work taxed through payroll and direct sessions invoiced separately, all mixed in one bank account. Her previous return had effectively declared some income twice and missed most of her professional costs. We rebuilt the year from payslips and invoices, corrected the return, claimed the registration fees, indemnity and exam costs she was entitled to, and set up simple tracking per source. The correction produced a refund, and the following January her return took one short call because every session had landed in the right place all year.
Your first month with us
- Week 1: income sources mapped, payslips, agency remittances and private invoices all identified
- Week 2: professional costs gathered, registration, indemnity, courses and subscriptions
- Week 3: an estimate of the year ahead so the right amount is being set aside monthly
- Week 4: records set up per income stream so employed and self employed work never blur again
Locums, associates and private practice, handled properly
Healthcare pay structures are unusual. A locum GP, a dental associate, a hospital doctor with private work, and a pharmacist owning a shop all sit in different tax positions, sometimes several at once. The common thread is that income arrives from multiple sources through the year and nobody tells you what to set aside. We track it as you go and tell you the number, so January never arrives as a shock.
- Multiple income streams kept straight: NHS pay, locum invoices, private work and any teaching or cremation fees on the same return
- Professional costs claimed properly: GMC, NMC or GDC fees, indemnity insurance, exams, courses and royal college subscriptions
- Advice on whether a limited company makes sense for your private work, which depends heavily on how much you draw and your pension position
- Practice accounts for dental practices, pharmacies and clinics, including staff payroll and pensions
- Clean records that stand up to scrutiny, which matters in a profession where registration and reputation are everything
The pension question every high earning clinician should ask
For consultants and GPs, the interaction between earnings and pension annual allowance charges can turn extra sessions into surprisingly poor value if nobody is watching the numbers. We do not give pension advice, and the scheme rules sit with NHS Pensions and your IFA, but we make sure the taxable income side of the calculation is right, the annual allowance position is visible early, and any scheme pays election deadline does not slip past while you are busy. The clinicians who get caught are almost never the ones with an accountant watching the thresholds.