The dental accountant who knows your chair time.

Often yes, but it's no longer automatic. HMRC withdrew the old guidance (ESM4030) that treated a standard BDA/DPA associate contract as self-employed from 6 April 2023. Your status is now judged on the actual terms of your agreement and how you really work, tested under normal employment-status rules and CEST. HMRC have confirmed they won't reopen pre-6 April 2023 years on this basis, but going forward both you and the principal should be able to evidence genuine self-employment. We review your contract and working practices to help you do that.

Yes. As a self-employed associate you pay both the 'employee' and 'employer' shares of the NHS Pension yourself, and for tax purposes both count as your member contributions and attract relief at your highest rate, typically 40% or 45%. The relief is claimed on the self-employment pages of your tax return (box 3 on TR4). We reconcile this to your annual superannuation figures so the full relief is captured.

Clinical dentistry carried out to protect, maintain or restore a patient's oral health, by a registered professional, is exempt from VAT. The exception is cosmetic work with no health purpose, teeth whitening for appearance, purely cosmetic veneers, Botox and facial aesthetics, which is normally standard-rated. If those taxable supplies exceed the VAT registration threshold you must register, and we then manage partial exemption so you reclaim the input VAT you're due.

Your GDC annual retention fee, professional indemnity, BDA membership, CPD and courses, lab fees you bear, professional clothing, equipment, a proportion of motor and home-office costs where you work from home, and accountancy fees. NHS pension contributions get relief separately as above. We make sure every legitimate cost is claimed without straying into areas HMRC challenges, like ordinary commuting or dual-purpose training.

Usually, yes. Dental chairs, CBCT and intra-oral scanners, autoclaves, imaging equipment and practice software qualify for the Annual Investment Allowance, which lets you deduct the full cost in the year of purchase (up to the £1m AIA limit). Timing the purchase around your year-end can accelerate the relief, which we'll plan with you.

It depends. A limited company can reduce tax through corporation tax and dividend planning, but company associates can't be members of the NHS Pension Scheme, which is a significant cost for NHS work. We model both routes, including goodwill on transfer and your overall extraction strategy, before recommending a path, rather than incorporating on autopilot.

Fixed monthly pricing of £99, £199 or £499 depending on whether you're a single associate, a practice owner or an incorporated group, with no surprise bills. It's rolling monthly with a named qualified accountant, we reply within 72 hours, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. We work in Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage.