Working as a locum gives you flexibility and often better pay, but it comes with financial responsibilities that employed clinicians simply do not have to think about. You are responsible for your own tax, you may be working for several different agencies or trusts in the same year, and you must decide whether to work as a sole trader or through a limited company. Add in IR35 questions on top of expenses like travel between assignments, professional registration and CPD, and generic tax return services quickly fall short. We work with locum doctors, GPs, dentists, nurses and pharmacists who need someone who already understands how locum income actually works.
Whether you are just starting out as a locum or have been doing it for years, we cover everything you need to stay organised and compliant.
We prepare and file your annual tax return, pulling together all your income from every agency and assignment and making sure it is declared correctly and on time.
We look at your earnings and working pattern and give you a straight answer on whether operating through a limited company would save you money, and set it up and run it for you if it does.
Travel between assignments, professional registration fees, medical defence, CPD courses, specialist equipment and home office costs can all reduce your tax bill. We make sure nothing is missed.
We keep a running record of all your income as it comes in so that by the time your tax return is due everything is already organised, with no scramble to find old payslips or invoices.
We review your working arrangements and advise whether IR35 applies to any of your contracts, and help you manage it correctly or document your position if it does not.
We help you understand how much tax to set aside each month and plan for your payment on account, so you are never caught short when the bill arrives.
Complete visibility of all your income across every assignment and agency
A clear picture of what you owe in tax so you can set money aside with confidence
All deadlines managed and every expense claimed so your tax bill is as low as it can be
Someone who understands how locum work operates, not just a generic tax service
We work with you throughout the year, not just when a deadline is due.
When you start locum work, the money coming in can feel straightforward. You do a shift, you get paid, you move on. But at the end of the year when your tax return is due, pulling together income from five different agencies, remembering every expense, working out what you owe in tax and National Insurance, and figuring out whether you have paid anything on account already can quickly become overwhelming.
There is also the question of IR35. If you work through a limited company and HMRC decides your working arrangement looks more like employment than self-employment, you could face a significant tax bill. This does not catch everyone, but it is worth understanding your position, so you are not exposed to it unexpectedly.
Something we see regularly: locums who have been working for one or two years, assuming their tax will just sort itself out, and then discovering they owe HMRC a large sum they had not budgeted for. The tax does not disappear, it accumulates, and by the time HMRC catches up with it, interest and penalties can be added on top.
Getting set up properly from the start costs far less than fixing the problem later.
Beyond your annual tax return, this is where a specialist accountant makes the biggest difference.
IR35 status reviews for each contract or agency engagement, with documentation to support your position if HMRC ever asks.
Sole trader to limited company modelling, so you know exactly when incorporating starts to save you money as your locum earnings grow.
Payment on account planning, so a large tax bill twice a year never catches you off guard.
Expense reviews covering travel, professional registration, medical defence, CPD and home office costs, so nothing allowable is left unclaimed.
Income reconciliation across multiple agencies and trusts, so every payment is accounted for even when remittances arrive at different times.
Our locum packages start at £30/month for a sole trader with income up to £60k, covering your self-assessment tax return, expense reviews and ongoing tax planning. Locums operating through a limited company, or with income above £60k across multiple agencies, typically sit in the £60–£120/month range, which includes your company accounts, corporation tax return and payroll. Fixed fee, agreed upfront.
It depends on your total earnings and how much of your income you need to draw out to live on. Below roughly £40k–£50k a year, sole trader is usually simpler and just as tax-efficient. Above that, a limited company can start to save you meaningful tax, but it comes with extra compliance. We model both options against your actual numbers before you decide.
It can, particularly for locums working through a limited company on longer NHS or trust engagements where the working arrangement looks similar to employment. We review each contract and working pattern individually rather than assuming a blanket answer, and help you document your position either way.
We handle it for you. We contact your previous accountant, request professional clearance and your records, and get you set up on Xero within a couple of weeks. There is no gap in your compliance and nothing for you to chase.
Xero, paired with a simple mobile app for logging expenses and mileage as you go. Most locums we work with spend less than ten minutes a week keeping on top of it, which makes the year-end tax return far less stressful.
Yes. R&R is regulated by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). All work is signed off by an ACCA-qualified accountant.
Our head office is in Blackburn, and we work with locum doctors, nurses and pharmacists in Preston, Burnley, Accrington, Chorley, Leyland, Bolton, Wigan, Bury and Manchester. Being cloud-based means we can work with locums wherever their assignments take them — most of our locum clients never need to set foot in the office — but face-to-face meetings are available at our Blackburn office when you want them.
Related specialities: Accountants for doctors · Accountants for dentists · Accountants for pharmacies · Self-assessment tax returns · Tax planning
Book a free consultation. We’ll review your current income tracking, your expense claims and your sole trader versus limited company position, and give you three concrete things to change — whether or not you switch to us. Call 01254 839543 or book online.
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74 St James Road, Blackburn, BB1 8ET
We work with clients in Blackburn and across the North West, so you can get support wherever you are.
