29/09/2026
Specialist Accountants for GPs, Consultants & Locum Doctors
Accountants for Doctors in Melksham
Specialist accounting and tax support for doctors working in Melksham and the surrounding area. Whether you are a GP, hospital doctor, consultant, locum or private practitioner, we help you make sense of Self Assessment, NHS and private income, bookkeeping, professional expenses and tax compliance — so your finances stay accurate, organised and filed on time, and you can focus on medicine rather than paperwork.
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Which Doctors Do We Support?
Doctors rarely fit into a single financial box, and their accounting needs reflect that. We support GPs working within practices and partnerships, hospital doctors and consultants on salaried contracts, locum doctors moving between assignments, and private practitioners running their own clinics or consultancy work. Many doctors also combine several strands at once — NHS income alongside private fees, part-time salaried work with locum shifts, or consultancy income sitting alongside a pension. Each of these arrangements can change how income is reported, which expenses are allowable, whether Self Assessment is required, and whether a partnership or limited company might suit your circumstances. Because tax treatment depends on your employment status, income sources, business structure and personal situation, we take the time to understand how you actually work before recommending anything.
GPs
Accounting and tax support for GPs with NHS income, private work, practice interests or additional professional earnings.
Hospital Doctors
Support with Self Assessment, professional expenses and tax matters alongside employment income and other professional earnings.
Consultants
Accounting support for consultants managing NHS employment, private practice income, professional expenses and tax obligations.
Locum Doctors
Support with Self Assessment, locum income, allowable expenses, bookkeeping and relevant business structure considerations.
Salaried Doctors
Tax and accounting support for salaried doctors with additional professional income or expenses requiring reporting.
Private Practitioners
Accounting support for doctors providing private medical services through individual practices, partnerships or companies.
Accounting and Tax Services Built Around Medical Careers
Our accounting support for doctors covers the areas that tend to matter most across a medical career. That includes Self Assessment and tax returns where you have NHS income, private medical income, locum fees or consultancy earnings, along with bookkeeping to keep income and expenses recorded properly throughout the year. For doctors running a private practice or consultancy, we can prepare annual accounts, management accounts and financial reporting, and advise on business structures such as sole trader, partnership or limited company. Where a practice or medical business operates through a limited company, we can assist with Corporation Tax, payroll and VAT, including registration and returns where these are relevant. We also look at tax planning around multiple income sources, allowable professional expenses such as medical indemnity and professional subscriptions, training and development costs, equipment, travel and mileage, and pension considerations, so that the way your affairs are structured reflects how you work.
Self Assessment Tax Returns
Preparation and support for doctors with employment, locum, private practice or other taxable income.
NHS & Private Income
Help organising accounting records where income comes from NHS work, private services, locum assignments or other professional activities.
Accurate records built around the way GP practices, partnerships and locum doctors actually work, with cloud software set up for you.
Tax Planning for Doctors & Consultants
Incorporation reviews for private practice, profit extraction, capital allowances and timing of income to keep your effective tax rate down.
Locum Tax & IR35 Support
Contract and IR35 status reviews, limited company versus sole trader comparisons and expense claims for locums working across multiple trusts.
Common Accounting and Tax Challenges for Doctors
Doctors often juggle several income streams, tight clinical schedules and a set of tax rules that do not always behave the way people expect. These are the areas where specialist support tends to make the biggest difference.
- Multiple income sources: NHS salary, private fees, locum payments and consultancy income can arrive in different ways and on different timescales, which makes it harder to track total earnings, understand your tax position and plan ahead with confidence.
- Self Assessment and reporting deadlines: doctors with private income, locum work or consultancy earnings usually need to report and pay tax through Self Assessment, and missing deadlines or underestimating liabilities can lead to penalties and unexpected bills.
- Allowable professional expenses: medical indemnity cover, professional subscriptions, registration fees, training and professional development, specialist equipment and travel or mileage may all be claimable in the right circumstances, but only where they meet the rules and are properly evidenced.
- Record keeping across the year: receipts, invoices, mileage logs and expense records are easy to postpone during busy clinical periods, and rebuilding them months later is time-consuming and can mean legitimate costs are overlooked.
- Pension considerations: annual allowance and contribution rules can interact with NHS pension arrangements and private income, so doctors often need pensions considered alongside their wider tax position rather than in isolation.
- Choosing a business structure: whether private or consultancy work should sit as a sole trader, within a partnership or inside a limited company depends on income levels, risk, control and long-term plans, and the right answer can change over time.
- Partnership and practice finances: doctors in partnership often need profit share allocations, partnership accounts and tax returns coordinated, along with clear records for practice income and shared costs.
- Separating personal and professional finances: where private work, locum income or a practice is run alongside employment income, keeping everything clearly separated makes tax reporting more straightforward and reduces the risk of errors.
- VAT and payroll obligations: once private medical services, consultancy activity or a practice reach the relevant thresholds or employ staff, VAT registration and payroll duties can arise and need to be managed accurately.
- Tax planning as circumstances change: moving between training grades, changing contracts, reducing sessions, retiring or scaling back private work all affect your tax position, and planning ahead is usually more effective than reacting afterwards.
Why Doctors Choose CruseBurke
Doctors tend to come to us for two reasons: time and clarity. Working with an accountant who understands medical income means you are not explaining how locum payments, NHS pay elements or private fees work from scratch every time something changes. We take a practical approach — gathering the detail of your income sources and working arrangements, reviewing what you already have in place, and then advising on the areas that genuinely matter for your circumstances. Communication is kept straightforward and jargon-free, with clear explanations of what is required, what can be claimed and what deadlines apply. For doctors with a mix of employment and self-employment, that often means coordinating Self Assessment, bookkeeping and expense records so nothing is missed. For those running a practice or company, it means accounts, Corporation Tax, payroll and VAT handled in an organised way. We work with doctors in different arrangements and at different career stages, and we adapt our support rather than applying one template to everyone.
Healthcare Focus
We support GPs, locum doctors, consultants and other medical professionals with accounting and tax matters tailored to their individual circumstances.
Every Allowable Expense Claimed
GMC and indemnity fees, royal college subscriptions, exams, courses, equipment and mileage — nothing left on the table.
NHS Pension Specialists
We calculate your pension input amount, check tapering and advise on Scheme Pays before a charge becomes a problem.
IR35 & Locum Confidence
Status reviews on your engagements and a clear answer on limited company versus sole trader for your circumstances.
Deadlines Handled for You
Returns, accounts and payroll filed on time, with reminders well in advance so penalties never happen.
Fair, Fixed Fees
One agreed monthly fee, quoted up front, with no hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
Our Simple 3-Step Process
Getting the right accounting support in place does not need to be complicated. It starts with a conversation about how you work — whether that is a salaried NHS role, GP partnership, locum shifts, private practice, consultancy work, or a combination of these — and what income sources you currently have. From there, we review your accounting and tax requirements, including any existing Self Assessment obligations, bookkeeping arrangements, business structure and upcoming deadlines, and flag anything that needs attention. Once we understand the full picture, we put support in place that suits your circumstances, with clear records, agreed responsibilities and a straightforward way to keep us updated as your work changes.
1. Initial Consultation (It’s Free):
We begin by getting to know your practice and understanding your unique needs. This step ensures we have a clear picture of your operations and your goals.
2. Customised Plan:
Based on our initial discussion, we create a personalised plan designed specifically for you. The aim is to keep everything organised and easy to follow. You can rest assured that your numbers are being handled with expert precision.
3. Ongoing Support & Updates:
From there, we take care of the ongoing work and keep you updated with reports. You’ll always know what’s happening, and we’re always here to answer your questions, ensuring you have a clear picture of your financial health at all times.
What Makes CruseBurke Different for Doctors
What sets our approach apart is the way we connect the different parts of a doctor’s financial life rather than treating each in isolation. Employment income, private fees, locum work and consultancy earnings are considered together, so your Self Assessment and tax position reflect the whole picture. We pay close attention to professional expenses that doctors commonly overlook — indemnity cover, subscriptions, registration and training costs, equipment and travel — and make sure claims are properly supported. Where you run a practice or company, we bring bookkeeping, annual accounts, Corporation Tax, payroll and VAT into a single, organised process. And because business structures and tax rules can change as your career develops, we review your arrangements as circumstances shift rather than leaving them on autopilot. The result is accounting support that is accurate, well explained and genuinely useful for the way doctors work.
Technology Driven
We use Xero, Quickbooks, Sage & many other online software.
Dedicated Medical Accountant
Meet, call or email the same qualified accountant who knows your practice and your pension position.
Unlimited Support
Free telephone & email support
throughout the year.
Experienced Team
Our team have over 100 years of combined experienced.
Free - Email Reminders
Never Miss any deadline with our automated email reminders.
Yes, We Are Chartered!
We’re an ICAEW, ACCA & AAT accredited Firm.
How to Switch to Our Doctor Accountants
Take a back seat and let our specialist healthcare accountants handle everything. Switching part way through the year is straightforward and you never need to speak to your old accountant:
Get in touch
Reach out to us, and we’ll discuss your needs and how we can help your healthcare practice thrive.
Letter of Engagement
We’ll send over a simple letter to formalise our partnership and get everything in motion.
Previous Accountants
If you're switching, we’ll take care of contacting your previous accountants to make the transition smooth.
We Do the Rest
From there, sit back and relax. We’ll manage your accounts, taxes, and everything in between, keeping your practice running smoothly.
FAQs
Not every doctor does. If your only income is a salaried NHS role taxed through PAYE, your affairs may be straightforward. However, once you take on locum shifts, private practice, consultancy work, additional roles or untaxed income, Self Assessment usually becomes necessary, and the tax position gets more involved. An accountant can help make sure income is reported correctly, allowable expenses are claimed where the rules permit, and deadlines are met — which is often where the real value lies.
Locum work is generally treated as self-employment for tax purposes, which means registering with HMRC, keeping records of fees and expenses, and reporting profit through Self Assessment. Expenses such as medical indemnity, professional subscriptions, travel between assignments and necessary equipment may be allowable if they meet HMRC's rules. Because locum work is often combined with salaried employment elsewhere, it is worth looking at both together rather than in isolation.
In many cases, yes. Medical indemnity insurance, professional body subscriptions and registration fees are commonly claimed where they are necessary for the work you do. Training and professional development costs can also be allowable when they maintain or update skills in your existing role, though the rules are less generous for costs that train you into a new area of medicine. Keeping clear records and understanding how these relate to each income source matters.
Your NHS salary is normally taxed through PAYE, while private fees, locum income or consultancy earnings are usually reported separately through Self Assessment. Tax is then calculated across your total income, and payments on account may apply. This is one of the most common areas where doctors benefit from advice, because getting the split wrong — or missing expenses linked to the private side — can lead to either overpaying or facing an unexpected bill.
There is no single answer, because it depends on your income level, the type of work you do, how much risk you carry, whether you work with others, and your longer-term plans. Sole trader or partnership arrangements are common for private and consultancy work, while a limited company may suit certain structures. The tax and administrative implications differ in each case, so the decision is best made after reviewing your specific circumstances rather than copying what another doctor does.
VAT and payroll only become relevant in certain situations. Most medical services are exempt from VAT, but other activities, products or income streams may not be, and registration depends on your turnover and the nature of what you provide. Payroll arises if you employ staff, such as reception or administrative support in a private practice, or if you pay yourself a salary through a limited company. Both areas need to be reviewed against your actual activities.
Yes. Much of the information we need — payslips, invoices, expense records, bank statements and pension details — can be shared securely without face-to-face meetings. Many doctors prefer to handle their accounting this way because it fits around clinical rotas and busy schedules. What matters is that you have a clear way to send information and to ask questions when something changes in your working arrangements.
Switching is usually more straightforward than doctors expect. We would confirm what is needed to take over your records, contact your existing accountant for the relevant information and handover details, and review your position to check nothing has been missed. It also helps to start before a Self Assessment deadline rather than partway through a filing period, so there is time to review everything properly.
Start with a conversation about how you work and what income you receive — salaried NHS roles, private fees, locum shifts, consultancy work, practice profits or a mix of these. From there, we can review your current accounting and tax position, confirm which services are relevant to you and agree the next steps. Having details of your income sources and any existing filings to hand makes the first discussion more productive.
Speak to an Expert
Managing NHS income, private fees and Self Assessment alongside a full clinical schedule is demanding — specialist accounting support can take that weight off your shoulders. Talk to our team about accountants for doctors in Melksham and get your tax position properly organised.
Juggling NHS pay, private fees, locum income and consultancy earnings often means Self Assessment becomes more complex than expected, with allowable expenses such as medical indemnity and professional subscriptions easily missed. CruseBurke provides accounting and tax support for doctors, covering Self Assessment, bookkeeping and business structure advice so your records stay accurate and your reporting is clear. If your circumstances have changed or you simply want a second pair of eyes on your tax position, get in touch and we will take it from there.