Accountants for Healthcare in Hove

The work covers everything from routine compliance to forward planning. In practice, that usually means preparing and filing your Self Assessment tax return or company accounts, keeping your bookkeeping current, running payroll for clinical and administrative staff, handling VAT registration and returns where relevant, and advising on how your income should be structured. For healthcare clients there is more to it than that: NHS and private income often need to be reported together, pension contributions can create technical tax questions, and VAT treatment of medical versus non-medical services is not always obvious. We also spend time on planning — how to take money out of a practice or company efficiently, when to invest in equipment, and what your tax bill is likely to be before it arrives.

A competent general accountant can produce accurate accounts, but healthcare has quirks that are easy to miss if you do not see them regularly. The treatment of NHS pension figures, profit sharing between GP or dental partners, VAT exemption on clinical services versus standard-rated cosmetic work, and the off-payroll rules affecting locum doctors and consultants are all areas where sector experience makes a difference. If your affairs are simple — a single salaried role, for example — specialist knowledge matters less. If you have mixed income, a partnership or a limited company, working with accountants who deal with healthcare clients reduces the risk of something being misreported or overlooked.

Yes. Reporting mixed income is one of the most common situations we handle. NHS salary is usually taxed through PAYE, while private fees, locum work, medico-legal reports and insurance work are generally reported through Self Assessment. Because PAYE only collects tax on the employed element, private income can push you into a higher band and create an additional liability plus payments on account. Accurate record keeping across both streams, awareness of when payments on account are due, and a realistic estimate of what you will owe all help avoid surprises. Additional rate exposure and pension annual allowance questions can also arise, which is worth reviewing before the tax year ends rather than after.

Many services provided by registered health professionals are exempt from VAT, which means no VAT is added to the fee and you generally cannot reclaim VAT on related costs. However, the exemption does not cover everything. Cosmetic and aesthetic treatments, some retail sales, non-medical products, and certain administrative or consultancy services are typically standard-rated. Once your taxable turnover passes the VAT registration threshold, you may need to register even if much of your work is exempt. Mixed businesses need their income analysed service by service so that returns are accurate and patients are charged correctly. We review what you provide, identify which elements fall inside or outside the exemption, and set up reporting that reflects the reality of your practice.

The general rule is that costs must be incurred wholly and exclusively for your work. In practice, commonly claimed items include professional registration and regulatory fees, professional indemnity insurance, membership of relevant bodies, continuing professional development that maintains existing skills, specialist equipment and its maintenance, uniforms and laundry where appropriate, business mileage, and a proportionate share of home costs if you genuinely work from home. Records matter — receipts, mileage logs and a clear rationale for each claim. Where an expense has a private element, only the business proportion is allowable. We review your spending annually to make sure you are claiming what is legitimate and can support it if HMRC asks.

Yes. Practice payroll typically involves salaried clinicians, associate or locum payments, reception and administrative staff, and sometimes bank or variable hours. We handle payslips, Real Time Information submissions to HMRC, statutory payments such as sick pay and family leave, starter and leaver processing, and pension auto-enrolment duties including assessing staff and managing contributions. Where a practice has a mix of employed and self-employed clinicians, we also advise on the distinction so that status is defensible. Running payroll in-house is possible, but it is one of the areas where errors attract HMRC penalties quickly, so many practices prefer it handled externally.

Running a limited company can be a sensible structure, but locum engagements bring specific considerations. The off-payroll working rules mean the NHS body or agency engaging you may make its own determination about whether your engagement is effectively employment for tax purposes, which can shift the tax and National Insurance liability. You also need to think about director remuneration, dividends, Corporation Tax, company accounts and Companies House filings, plus VAT if your turnover exceeds the registration threshold. Contracts, working practices and how you operate day to day all feed into that assessment, so it is worth reviewing your position rather than assuming previous arrangements still apply.

Yes — accounting support can be delivered remotely without any loss of quality. Cloud accounting software allows records and reports to be shared securely, and video calls or phone calls work well for reviews and planning discussions. The first step is usually a conversation about how you work, how you are paid, what you already have in place and what concerns you. We then review your accounting and tax position before recommending what should change. If you are switching accountants, we can manage the handover and request records from your current firm. Once support is in place, we agree who handles what, when returns and payments are due, and how we will keep in touch during the year.