What expenses can I claim as a locum doctor?

Professional subscriptions, indemnity, relevant courses and exams, medical equipment you buy, and travel to locum workplaces that are not ordinary commuting. Keep invoices and a mileage log. We only put a figure on the return if the record supports it.

Can I claim travel to the hospital?

Ordinary commuting from home to a regular base is not allowable. Travel between sites, or to a locum booking that is not your permanent workplace, often is. We apply the workplace tests, not a flat mileage rate on every journey.

Do I need a limited company?

Only if the tax, the clients or limited liability make it worthwhile. Plenty of locums should stay on Self Assessment. If a company is right, formation is £150 and the Locum & Medical package takes the accounts.

What records should I keep?

Invoices, timesheets, P60s, bank statements, receipts, mileage, and pension statements. Photograph receipts in the month they happen. Reconstructing a year in January is how claims get dropped.

I also do NHS bank shifts on PAYE. Can you still file?

Yes. PAYE and locum invoices go on the same personal return, or the PAYE sits beside company drawings if you have incorporated. That mix is normal on our locum files.

Send the form on this page, call 01615 314179, or choose the Locum & Medical package. Identity checks follow once we take you on. Write or call before 3pm for a same-working-day reply.

Solaratax Limited · Doctors and locums · Locum doctors

Locum doctor accountants — invoices, expenses and the right structure

Locum weeks are not a regular salary. Agencies, banks and clinics pay in different ways. We track the income, claim what HMRC allows, and file Self Assessment or limited-company accounts so January is not a reconstruction of the year.

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Where locum files usually go wrong

Invoices in email, PAYE from a bank shift, and a personal account used for both.
Travel claimed for ordinary commuting, or genuine locum mileage never logged.
A limited company set up because a forum said so, with IR35 never looked at.
No Type 2 form when the pension rules required one.

What we take off you

A bookkeeping rhythm that matches how you actually work — weekly locum or mixed PAYE.
Expense claims that survive an HMRC look: GMC, indemnity, courses, kit and locum travel.
A clear note on sole trader versus company, including formation at £150 if you incorporate.
Agency status references from the named accountant, not a template PDF with no file behind it.

How locums get paid — and how we file it

Some sessions are PAYE through the trust or an umbrella. Some are gross invoices to your name or your company. Private clinics may pay a share of fees. We map each stream before the return is built. Mixing them on one line is how locums overpay or under-report.

PAYE: P60s and P11Ds, with expenses only where they are not already settled
Self-employed locum: Self Assessment or an MTD package if you are in scope of MTD for Income Tax
Limited company: accounts, CT600, payroll for your salary, and a director Self Assessment
VAT: most healthcare is exempt; we check before anyone registers you for the wrong thing

Expenses locums actually incur

We claim what the law allows on the facts of your year. Typical items are professional subscriptions, indemnity, royal college and exam fees, medical equipment you buy, and mileage or rail fares to locum sites that are not your ordinary commute. Home-to-hospital every day is usually commuting. A locum day at a different trust is often a business journey. We draw that line with you rather than copying a blog list.

IR35 and agencies

If a public body or agency treats you as off-payroll, the tax sits with them. If you invoice through a company, we look at supervision, substitution and whether you are in business on your own account. Status is a facts test. We write references for agencies from the file we already keep.

How it works

Step 1
Send a month of invoices
Plus last year’s return if you have one. We tell you if Self Assessment, MTD or a company package is the fit.
Step 2
Pick a structure
Stay in your own name, or form a company for £150 and move onto Locum & Medical.
Step 3
We run the year
Books, payroll, the personal return and Type 2 if it applies. You approve before anything is filed.

Choose the structure that fits the work

Sole trader locum

You invoice in your own name. Income Tax and National Insurance sit on Self Assessment. If you are in scope of MTD for Income Tax, quarterly digital updates apply — use an MTD package. Simpler, until clients or tax make a company the better option.

Limited company locum

The company invoices. You take a salary and dividends. Corporation tax, accounts and payroll sit on the Locum & Medical package. Formation is £150. We will say if IR35 or low turnover makes this the wrong move.

Questions people ask

Write to enquiries@solaratax.co.uk or call 01615 314179 before 3pm for a same-working-day reply.

Speak to a Solaratax accountant about a medical file

Locums, GPs, consultants and NHS pension forms. Named accountant. UK-wide by video.

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Related services

Solaratax provides tax and accounting services across Manchester, London, and the UK. 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX. 01615 314179.

Send an enquiry

The same form as our contact page. Write to enquiries@solaratax.co.uk or call 01615 314179 if you would rather not use the form.

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