Accountants for Dentists in Bingham: Specialist Tax and Accounting Support for Dental Professionals

In most cases, yes. If you receive self-employed income as an associate dentist, a locum or a sole trader, you will usually need to report that income through Self Assessment, and the same applies to other untaxed income such as rental or dividend income above the relevant allowances. If you are employed and tax is already deducted through PAYE, you may still need a return if you have additional income sources or higher income. The precise position depends on your circumstances, so it is worth reviewing before assuming you do or do not need to file.

The main practical difference is record keeping. NHS income and private fee income often need to be tracked separately so that the figures feeding into your accounts, tax return or VAT returns are accurate and properly supported. Practice costs such as laboratory fees, materials, staff wages and premises costs then need to be allocated sensibly so the profitability of different parts of the practice can be understood. How this is presented can vary depending on whether the practice trades as a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company.

Yes. Bookkeeping and payroll are two of the areas where dental practices most often look for support, particularly where there is a mix of clinical and administrative staff, and where associate payments or hygienist arrangements need to be processed correctly. Payroll for practice employees involves the usual considerations of PAYE, National Insurance and pension duties where applicable, while bookkeeping keeps your day-to-day records in a position to support annual accounts and any VAT obligations.

There is no single answer that suits every dentist, because the right structure depends on your income level, how many people you work with, how you want to take money out of the business and your longer-term plans. A sole trader or partnership structure is common for smaller arrangements, while a limited company can sometimes be appropriate for practice owners or higher earners. Each structure carries different reporting, tax and administrative obligations, so it is sensible to look at the numbers and the practical implications before making a change.

Dentists commonly claim costs that are incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of their profession. These can include professional indemnity insurance, GDC and professional body subscriptions, continuing professional development, specialist equipment, laboratory costs, certain uniforms and, where relevant, a proportion of costs relating to a home office or travel between sites. Whether a particular cost is allowable can depend on the detail, so it is worth checking rather than assuming, particularly with mixed personal and professional use.

VAT treatment for dental services is not uniform. Some dental treatment and related services can fall within an exemption, while other work, such as certain cosmetic or purely aesthetic treatments, may be standard-rated. Because of this, practices with a mixed income profile need to look carefully at registration thresholds and at how income is categorised. Where VAT does apply, the way invoices are raised and records are kept becomes an important part of day-to-day bookkeeping.

It helps to have a clear picture of how you work and what you earn it from. In practice, that usually means details of your income sources, whether NHS, private, employed or self-employed, along with recent accounts or tax returns, bank and card statements, invoices, expense records, payroll information if you employ staff, and any correspondence from HM Revenue & Customs. If your records are incomplete, that is not a barrier to starting, but the earlier the position is reviewed, the more straightforward it tends to be to bring everything up to date.

Switching accountants is usually more manageable than people expect. We would typically ask for your authorisation to contact your current accountant so that records, workings and any outstanding filings can be handed over, and we would review what has been done previously to make sure nothing has been missed. Once the information is in place, we can confirm what needs to be filed and by when, and set out how the ongoing relationship will work, including how often you will hear from us and what you need to send through.