Accountants for Doctors in the UK

ACCOUNTANTS FOR DOCTORS

Specialist accountants for doctors, GPs, hospital consultants, locum and resident doctors across the UK.

Medicine pays well and taxes badly. A doctor can hold an NHS salary, a locum limited company, private practice income and an NHS pension that quietly generates a tax charge of its own — four different tax regimes in one career. General practice accountants rarely see all four together. We do.

TaxDigit are chartered certified accountants based in Guildford, acting for doctors throughout Surrey, London and the rest of the UK. We handle the accounts, the self assessment, the pension annual allowance calculations and the year-round planning, and we explain the answer in plain English rather than in tax code.

What we do for doctors

Self assessment tax returns for doctors

One return covering NHS employment, private practice profits, locum income, dividends, pension tax charges and any property income — with every allowable expense claimed and the payments on account explained before they land.

NHS pension and annual allowance advice

We calculate your pension input amount, check it against the annual allowance and any taper, apply unused allowance carried forward, and where a charge is unavoidable we advise on whether to pay it personally or elect for scheme pays.

Limited company, sole trader or umbrella

Incorporation is not automatically the right answer for a doctor. We model take-home pay under each structure using your real day rates and hours, including the corporation tax cost, dividend tax and the effect on pensionable pay.

IR35 and off-payroll working

Since April 2017 a public-sector client — including an NHS trust — decides the employment status of a contractor working through their own company, and since 6 April 2021 it must issue a formal Status Determination Statement. We review determinations, model the tax effect and keep the company compliant either way.

Private practice accounts and bookkeeping

Annual accounts, corporation tax returns, billing records, cloud bookkeeping and management figures for consultants, GPs with private lists and doctors running a practice through a company.

VAT for medical professionals

Most clinical care is exempt from VAT under Group 7, Schedule 9 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 — but not everything a doctor does is clinical care. We look at medico-legal work, cosmetic treatment, staff supply arrangements and dispensing, and we watch HMRC’s position closely: Revenue and Customs Brief 6 (2026) changed the position on supplies of locum doctors and opened up refund claims.

Payroll, MTD and HMRC enquiries

Payroll and auto-enrolment for practices, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax readiness, and representation if HMRC opens a compliance check.

Who we help

• GP partners and GP practices — partnership accounts, profit shares, drawings and superannuation certificates.
• Salaried GPs — tax codes, expense claims, Type 2 pension returns and the move to partnership.
• Locum GPs and locum doctors — structure, IR35, pensioning locum work and expenses.
• Hospital consultants — NHS salary alongside private practice, incorporation and annual allowance planning.
• Resident doctors (formerly junior doctors) — tax code errors, professional subscriptions, exam and course costs, and refunds where relief has been missed.
• SAS and specialty doctors, surgeons, anaesthetists, radiologists and psychiatrists — mixed NHS and private income.
• Dentists and dental practices and pharmacists and pharmacies.
• Nurses, physiotherapists and allied health professionals working on a self-employed or locum basis.

Expenses doctors can claim

Employed doctors can claim tax relief on professional fees and subscriptions where they pay personally, the body is relevant to their duties and nobody reimburses them. Your General Medical Council registration fee qualifies as a statutory fee. Subscriptions to bodies on HMRC’s List 3 also qualify — including the Medical Protection Society and the Royal Colleges — and relief on the British Medical Association subscription is restricted to 85% of the annual amount.

Ordinary commuting between home and a permanent workplace is not allowable. Travel between hospital sites in the course of your duties usually is. Postgraduate examination fees are not deductible as a general rule, but HMRC accepts that certain medical examinations and courses do qualify where a doctor is on a training contract and the education forms part of the duties of the employment — which is exactly the kind of point that is worth asking about rather than assuming.

Key figures for 2026/27

• Pension annual allowance: £60,000, tapered by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income over £260,000 where threshold income also exceeds £200,000, down to a floor of £10,000.
• Carry forward: unused allowance from the previous three tax years, provided you were a member of a registered pension scheme in those years.
• Lifetime allowance: abolished on 6 April 2024 and replaced by the lump sum allowance of £268,275 and the lump sum and death benefit allowance of £1,073,100.
• Personal allowance taper: withdrawn between £100,000 and £125,140 of adjusted net income, creating an effective 60% marginal rate for taxpayers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Corporation tax: 25% main rate, 19% small profits rate, marginal relief between £50,000 and £250,000 — limits divided by the number of associated companies.
• VAT registration threshold: £90,000.
• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: already in force from 6 April 2026 for qualifying income over £50,000, extending to over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028.

Why doctors choose TaxDigit

• Chartered certified accountants who act for clinicians across the whole career, not a general firm with a medical page.
• Proactive planning around NHS pensions, annual allowance charges and incorporation — not a once-a-year compliance exercise.
• Fixed, transparent fees agreed before work starts.
• Based in Guildford, serving Surrey, London and doctors UK-wide, working remotely wherever you are.

Frequently asked questions

Do doctors really need a specialist accountant?

For a salaried doctor with one income and no complications, not necessarily. The moment you add private practice, locum work through a company, or an NHS pension large enough to trigger an annual allowance charge, the answer changes — those three areas are where general practice accountants most often get it wrong, and the cost of getting them wrong is measured in thousands.

Should I set up a limited company as a locum doctor?

Sometimes. It depends on your day rate, how much you need to draw personally, whether the engagements fall inside IR35, and whether you want the work to remain pensionable in the NHS scheme — work done through a limited company generally is not. We model it on your figures before you commit.

What is the NHS pension annual allowance and why have I been charged?

The annual allowance caps the pension growth that can be built up tax-free each year, currently £60,000. In a defined benefit scheme like the NHS scheme, the measure is the growth in the value of your promised pension, not the contributions you paid — so a promotion, a clinical excellence award or merged service can produce a large input amount and a tax charge without your take-home pay changing much at all.

Can you help me pay an annual allowance charge from my pension instead of my salary?

Yes. Where your total annual allowance charge for the year exceeds £2,000 and the pension input amount in that scheme exceeds the standard annual allowance, you can require the scheme to pay the charge in exchange for a reduction in your benefits. The NHS scheme also offers a voluntary route in other cases. We calculate the charge, prepare the election and report it correctly on your tax return.

Can I claim travel between hospitals or clinics?

Travel undertaken in the performance of your duties, including between sites during a working day, is normally allowable. The journey between home and a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and is not, however inconvenient the rota.

Can I claim my GMC, BMA, defence body and Royal College fees?

Generally yes, where you pay them yourself and are not reimbursed. GMC registration is a statutory fee. Bodies on HMRC’s approved List 3, including the Royal Colleges, qualify for relief on subscriptions; BMA relief is capped at 85% of the subscription. We check the current list each year rather than relying on last year’s.

Can I reclaim tax on exam fees and courses?

Not as a general rule — exam fees taken to obtain a qualification are usually not deductible. HMRC does, though, accept a list of medical examinations and courses as qualifying where the doctor is on a training contract and the education is part of the duties of the employment. It is worth checking rather than assuming either way.

How do you handle NHS salary and private income together?

Your NHS employment is taxed at source through PAYE; the private work is not. We bring both into one self assessment, use the tax code to smooth the liability where sensible, and forecast payments on account so the January bill is never a surprise.

How does IR35 affect me as a locum working for an NHS trust?

The trust, as a public authority, determines your status and issues a Status Determination Statement. If the engagement is inside the rules, income tax and National Insurance are deducted before your company is paid, which changes the arithmetic of running a company considerably. We review determinations and challenge them through the client-led disagreement process where there are grounds.

Do you work with doctors outside Surrey?

Yes. We are based in Guildford and act for doctors across the UK, working by video, phone and secure portal. Nothing about the work requires you to be local.

Information correct as at 12 August 2026. This page is general information about UK tax and is not advice for any particular person or situation; tax depends on individual circumstances and rules change. Please speak to us before acting on anything you read here.