Dentist Accountants

DENTIST ACCOUNTANTS

Specialist accountants for dentists, dental associates, practice owners and hygienists across the UK.

Dentistry sits awkwardly between clinical practice and small business. An associate is usually self-employed but working inside somebody else’s premises under somebody else’s contract. A principal is running a business whose largest income line is set by an NHS contract measured in units of dental activity, while carrying goodwill, equipment finance and a payroll.

TaxDigit act for dentists at every stage — from a first associate position through to buying, growing and eventually selling a practice.

Dental associates

Employment status after the withdrawal of HMRC’s associate guidance

For many years HMRC published guidance in its Employment Status Manual accepting that associates working under approved association agreements were generally self-employed. That guidance was withdrawn with effect from 6 April 2023. Status now has to be decided under the ordinary principles of employment status, on the facts of the individual arrangement.

This is a withdrawal of guidance rather than an HMRC campaign against associates, and most well-drafted associate arrangements continue to be self-employed. But the shortcut is gone, so the terms of your agreement and how you actually work now matter in a way they did not before. It is worth a considered review rather than an assumption.

Self assessment and expenses

We prepare associate accounts and tax returns, claim what is properly allowable — General Dental Council registration as a statutory fee, indemnity, laboratory costs, equipment, loupes, relevant training that maintains existing skills, and travel between genuinely temporary workplaces — and forecast the payments on account that catch out most associates in their second year.

Dental practice owners

Practice accounts and management figures

Annual accounts that separate NHS contract income from private and plan income, track UDA delivery against the contracted value, and show associate percentages, laboratory costs and staff costs as the operational ratios they are — rather than as a single overhead line.

Buying, selling and valuing a practice

Goodwill, share sale versus asset sale, how the NHS contract is dealt with, finance projections for lenders, and the personal tax on the proceeds including whether Business Asset Disposal Relief is in point. The structure of a deal usually matters more to the net result than the headline price.

Incorporation

A dental company can be efficient, particularly where profits are retained or a practice is being grown. It also brings corporation tax at 19% or 25% with marginal relief between £50,000 and £250,000, and complications around transferring goodwill and the NHS contract. We model it rather than recommending it as a matter of course.

NHS pension for dentists

Performers in the NHS scheme have their own annual pension paperwork and the same exposure to the annual allowance as medical colleagues — £60,000 for 2026/27, tapered where threshold income exceeds £200,000 and adjusted income exceeds £260,000. We handle annual allowance calculations and scheme pays elections.

VAT in dental practice

Dental care provided by a registered dental professional for the purpose of protecting, maintaining or restoring health is exempt from VAT. Not everything a modern practice sells meets that description — purely cosmetic treatment and retail product sales can be taxable, and a practice making both exempt and taxable supplies is partially exempt with a recovery calculation to get right. Worth reviewing if your treatment mix has changed.

Payroll, staff and compliance

Practice payroll and auto-enrolment, nurse and hygienist arrangements, bookkeeping, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax readiness — already in force from April 2026 for qualifying income over £50,000, extending to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.

Frequently asked questions

Are dental associates still self-employed?

Usually, but it is no longer something you can take for granted. HMRC withdrew its long-standing Employment Status Manual guidance on associate agreements with effect from 6 April 2023, so status is now decided under general principles on the facts of each arrangement. Most properly drafted and properly operated associate agreements remain self-employed; the point is that the analysis now has to be done rather than assumed.

What can a dental associate claim against tax?

GDC registration as a statutory fee, indemnity, laboratory fees you bear, equipment and loupes, uniforms and PPE, courses that maintain your existing skills, and travel to genuinely temporary workplaces. Not ordinary commuting to a practice you attend regularly, and not the cost of obtaining a new qualification as a general rule.

Should I incorporate my dental practice?

It depends on how much profit you retain and what you plan to do with the practice. Retaining profit inside a company to fund growth or acquisitions is where incorporation genuinely earns its keep. If you draw everything each year, dividend tax removes most of the benefit, and transferring goodwill and the NHS contract adds cost and complexity.

How is goodwill treated when I buy or sell a practice?

It depends on whether the deal is a share sale or an asset sale, how the price is allocated, and what the buyer can obtain relief on. The tax outcome for a seller can differ substantially between two deals at the same headline price, which is why the structure should be discussed before heads of terms are agreed rather than after.

Do dentists get caught by the pension annual allowance?

Yes. NHS scheme members in dentistry face exactly the same test as doctors: pension growth above £60,000 in 2026/27, with a taper where threshold income exceeds £200,000 and adjusted income exceeds £260,000. Carry forward from the previous three years should always be checked before any charge is accepted as due.

Does my practice need to be VAT registered?

Dental care for a health purpose is exempt, so many practices are not registered. Practices with meaningful cosmetic-only treatment or retail sales can exceed the £90,000 threshold on their taxable supplies, and once both types of supply exist the practice is partially exempt. It is worth checking if your treatment mix has shifted.

Can you help me buy my first practice?

Yes — projections for lenders, review of the vendor’s figures, advice on structure and on how the NHS contract is handled, and the personal tax planning around the purchase. The earlier we are involved, the more of it is still decidable.

Do you act for dentists outside Surrey?

Yes. We are based in Guildford and act for dentists and dental practices across the UK.

Information correct as at 12 August 2026. This page is general information about UK tax and VAT and is not advice for any particular person or practice; employment status in particular depends on the facts of each arrangement. Please speak to us before acting on anything you read here.