From your first shift to your first company structure — we handle the tax and accounts of locum general practice with people who actually understand it.
The rules for locum general practice sit at the intersection of NHS pension law, self-employment tax, and specialist expense claims. A generalist accountant — even a very good one — will miss things unless they see locum GPs regularly.
Every locum shift generates pension contributions that need reconciling annually against your actual earnings. Miss the form and HMRC eventually notices. Most accountants have never seen a Type 2 form — we file them as standard.
The wrong structure can cost thousands per year. Generalist accountants often default to sole trader — sometimes correctly, sometimes not. We model both options against your actual figures before recommending either.
Indemnity, GMC fees, mileage between practices, professional subscriptions, home-office and CPD costs — the claimable list is longer than most locums realise. Under-claiming is the norm.
We work exclusively with medical professionals, so the accountancy is built around how locum GPs actually earn — not adapted from a generic template.
Sole trader vs limited company modelled on your actual numbers — not a generic rule of thumb. We show you the tax cost of each side by side.
If a limited company is right for you, we handle the Companies House registration, VAT if required, PAYE scheme, and business bank account referrals.
Prepared and filed annually with your PCSE office. We track the deadlines so you don't have to think about them.
Self-assessment for sole traders and directors, plus corporation tax where relevant. Filed early so you know your tax bill months before it's due.
Xero or QuickBooks set up and maintained so you can see where you stand any time. Real-time expense tracking means nothing gets missed at year end.
Every February, a call to review your position and make tax-planning moves before the year end — not after, when your options have already closed.
The single biggest tax decision most locum GPs face. Below is the honest side-by-side — but the right answer depends on your actual figures, your NHS pension exposure, and your longer-term plans.
Every locum GP who does NHS work generates pensionable earnings that need annual reconciliation. The mechanism is the NHS Pension Type 2 self-assessment form, submitted to your relevant Primary Care Support England (PCSE) office each year.
The form does one job: it reconciles the pension contributions deducted at source (usually via your payer or GPs' locum agency) against your actual pensionable pay for the year. If contributions were under-collected, you owe the balance. If over-collected, you're refunded.
If you've missed Type 2 filings in previous years, don't panic. We can also work through prior-year reconciliations and get everything current.
If you work through a limited company, IR35 rules apply to each engagement. Traditional shift-based locum work — where you cover multiple practices, use your own indemnity, and control which shifts you take — is generally outside IR35.
But longer-term placements at a single practice, especially if you're integrated into a rota or providing services indistinguishable from a salaried GP, can bring you inside IR35 — which means the practice may need to operate PAYE on your fees.
We review each engagement, flag anything borderline, and where useful draft the contract language and working practices that keep you clearly outside.
Typical allowable expenses for a locum GP include:
Whether you'd rather pick a time and chat, or write to us first — we're set up for both.
The fastest way to know if we're the right fit. Pick a time, we'll send a Google Meet link, and you'll leave the call with clear answers — no commitment, no pressure.
Pick a timePrefer to put your situation in writing first? Head to our homepage contact form with a few details and a member of the team will be in touch.
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