We sort your Self Assessment for you. £169, all in.

Fast, effortless and 100% online.  Learn more

We sort your Self Assessment for you. £169, all in.

What expenses can a locum dentist claim?

  • 2 min read
  • Last updated 28 Mar 2023

A locum dentist is basically a self-employed dentist i.e. one who works for themself instead of being employed by a practice. And what with the growth of the gig economy and short-term work platforms, the popularity of locum professionals is ever-growing.

Locum dentist tax implications

As part of the self-employed workforce, you’re responsible for paying tax yourself at the end of each tax year. There are three steps to this:

  1. Declare your self-employed income to HMRC by registering for Self Assessment 
  2. Record all of your income and expenses each year between 6th April-5th April
  3. File your tax return

The tax you owe depends on what you earn. Here are this tax year’s Income Tax rates:

IncomeTax rate
Up to £12,5700%Personal allowance
£12,571 to £50,27020%Basic rate
£50,271 to £125,14040%Higher rate
over £125,14145%Additional rate

Calculate exactly what you owe with our self-employed tax calculator.

What expenses can I deduct?

As a general rule, if you spend on your locum dentist business, you can expense it back to reduce your tax bill. But make sure this is within reason!

Here’s a list of allowable expenses if you’re a locum dentist:

  • General Dental Council fees
  • Insurance
  • Accounting and legal costs
  • Admin costs (e.g. dental magazines, printing, stationery)
  • Equipment (e.g. goggles, overalls)
  • Training (continued personal development – not initial qualification training costs)
  • Mileage
  • Marketing costs
  • Subscription costs (e.g. to the British Dental Association)
TaxScouts Newsletter

Want regular tips from us?

Sign up for important updates, deadline reminders and basic tax hacks sent straight to your inbox.

"*" indicates required fields

Category
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.