Items you can claim as expenses against your taxable income vary according to whether the costs are set against your salary as an employee, or are deducted from your profits as a self-employed consultant in private practice.

Employed Doctor
You are only permitted to claim expenses that are wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of your duties. This generally rules out anything you have spent to put yourself to in a position to perform your job, such as travelling to the hospital or paying for training before you start the job.

When you need to pass certain exams before you start your job, make sure this requirement is written into your employment contract. Your employer can reimburse you for the cost of the exams and you will not be taxed on that reimbursed expense. If you pay for the cost of exams personally these will not qualify as tax deductible expenses against your employed salary.

You can claim the cost of your subscriptions to professional organisations if the body is included on the HMRC’s approved list, which includes most medical bodies. You can also claim for the cost of replacement specialist medical equipment or certain protective clothing that you need for your job, that your employer does not provide. You cannot claim for items not specifically designed for medical use, such as lap-top computers.

Self-Employed Consultant
You can deduct the cost of courses that update your knowledge, but not for training to perform a completely new specialisation or which provides you with a new qualification. Professional subscriptions are tax deductible as for employed Doctors.

When you use your own home for your private practice, if only to write up reports, you can claim a fraction of the all costs associated with your home. These costs will include mortgage interest, utilities, heat, light and insurance. You need to assess what area of the total property is used for the practice and how many hours you use the room. We can help you with that calculation.

The cost of any consumables used in your private practice is a tax deductible expense for the practice. The cost of equipment used for the practice is also tax deductible, but not generally all in one year. The total cost is spread over several years by claiming capital allowances.

If you employ an assistant to help with the administration of your practice their wage costs plus any benefits provided, such as a pension, are also tax deductible.