Who We Work With
Our medical consultant accounting services are designed for:
- NHS consultants with private practice income
- Hospital doctors moving into independent practice
- Locum doctors and medical professionals
- GP partners and salaried GPs with additional income
- Private practice consultants across all medical specialties
- Medical professionals operating through a limited company or as sole traders
Whether you are just starting to build your private practice or managing a well established independent income alongside NHS work, we have the experience to support you.
The Accounting Challenges Medical Consultants Face
Medical consultants face a combination of financial complexities that most accountants encounter rarely if at all.
NHS and private practice income
Managing two distinct income streams, one through PAYE as an NHS employee and one through self employment or a limited company for private work, requires careful tax planning to avoid overpaying and to make sure each stream is reported correctly.
The NHS pension and the annual allowance
The NHS pension is one of the most valuable in the country, but for higher earning consultants it creates a significant tax challenge. The tapered annual allowance reduces the amount higher earners can contribute to pensions tax free, and unexpected annual allowance charges have caught many medical consultants off guard. This is one of the most important areas where specialist advice makes a material financial difference.
Private practice structure
Should your private practice income be taken personally or through a limited company? The right answer depends on your income level, your NHS pension position, and how much you want to extract versus retain. Getting this wrong is expensive and can be difficult to unwind.
Expenses specific to medical practice
Medical indemnity insurance, GMC registration fees, Royal College membership, CPD costs, and equipment all represent legitimate deductible expenses that a generalist accountant may not think to capture fully.
IR35 for locum doctors
Locum doctors working through a limited company need to understand their IR35 position carefully. Depending on the nature of the engagement and who sets the terms of work, locum income may fall inside IR35, significantly affecting take home pay.
Our Services for Medical Consultants
We provide a full accounting service for medical consultants and healthcare professionals, including:
- Self assessment and personal tax returns covering NHS and private income
- Limited company setup and ongoing accounts for private practice
- Corporation tax returns
- Tax efficient salary and dividend planning
- Annual allowance and NHS pension charge planning
- Business expense management
- VAT registration and returns where applicable
- Bookkeeping and payroll
- Annual accounts submission to HMRC and Companies House
- Business advisory and growth support
Everything is handled on a fixed monthly fee with no unexpected bills.
Why Medical Consultants Choose APH
We understand the complexity of medical finances
NHS income, private practice, pension annual allowance charges, locum arrangements. These are not straightforward accounting situations. We understand how they interact and how to plan around them effectively.
Paul’s background
Our MD Paul spent nine years as a Management Accountant at Bristol Myers Squibb and three years as Group Financial Controller at Enron, at the time the largest company in the world. He has since owned and managed multiple successful businesses. That depth of real world financial management experience informs everything we do at APH.
Plain English, always
No jargon, no overcomplicated explanations. You will always know exactly where you stand with your accounts and your tax position.
Fixed fees, no surprises
Clear, predictable monthly fees from day one. No hourly billing, no unexpected invoices.
What Our Clients Say
Mike Waywell
“I can’t recommend APH highly enough. They’ve been brilliant supporting me across two different businesses, handling everything from regular tax submissions and bookkeeping right through to restructuring shares and selling one of the companies.”
Paul Foster
“We are scaling our business and needed to find a company who understood the challenges we were faced with. After speaking to five other companies, APH stood out as the business that had the most knowledge and experience.”
Medical Consultant Accounting FAQs
NHS income is taxed through PAYE, so your employer handles the tax deduction at source. Private practice income is taxed through self assessment, either as sole trader profits or through a limited company. The interaction between the two affects your overall tax position and needs careful planning to avoid overpaying or underpaying.
The annual allowance limits the amount you can save into pensions tax free each year. For higher earning consultants, the tapered annual allowance further reduces this limit. If your pension growth exceeds your annual allowance, you face a tax charge. Planning around this requires specialist advice and ideally involves both your accountant and an independent financial adviser familiar with the NHS pension scheme.
It depends on your income level, your NHS pension position, and your longer term plans. For some medical consultants a limited company offers significant tax advantages. For others, particularly those with large NHS pension accrual, the interaction with the annual allowance makes the picture more complex. We will assess your specific situation and give you a clear recommendation.
Allowable expenses typically include medical indemnity insurance, GMC registration fees, Royal College membership, CPD and training costs, specialist equipment, home office costs, travel to private practice sites, and accountancy fees. We make sure all legitimate expenses are captured correctly.
Yes. We are based in Wallasey, Wirral, but work with medical consultants and healthcare professionals across the UK on a fully remote basis.
Fixed monthly fees tailored to your situation. Get in touch for a no-obligation quote with no commitment required.
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