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 employers or agencies in the same year, and you must decide whether to work as a sole trader or through a limited company. We help locum doctors, GPs, dentists, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals get moreover, so the financial side of locum work does not become a source of stress.
Whether you are just starting out as a locum or have been doing it for years, we cover everything you need.
We prepare and file your annual tax return, pulling together all your income from every source and making sure it is declared correctly and on time. No last-minute panics and no missed deadlines.
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 if so, we set it up and run it for you.
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 and there is no scramble to find old payslips or invoices.
We review your working arrangements and advise whether IR35 applies to any of your contracts. If it does, we help you manage it correctly. If it does not, we make sure you have the documentation to demonstrate that.
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.
Locum work should give you freedom. The financial side of it should not hold you back.
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
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.
Expert Chartered Certified Accountants helping UK businesses protect and grow their income.
Friendly support from a local team that understands your business. Book your free consultation today and take the first step towards financial clarity and peace of mind.
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74 St James Road, Blackburn, BB1 8ET
We work with clients across the UK, so you can get support wherever you are
