If you're a self-employed associate dentist, every pound of genuine business cost you claim reduces your taxable profit. Miss a claim and you pay more tax than you need to. Claim something you shouldn't, and you risk a correction or penalty from HMRC.
This is a focused, line-by-line checklist for the 2026/27 tax year. We walk through the one test that decides everything (wholly and exclusively), then go down the list every associate sees: GDC fees, indemnity, your professional body, loupes, scrubs, lab fees, travel and the rest.
It's written for associates who file their own Self Assessment as well as those who hand it to us. If you want the bigger picture on dental tax, this checklist sits underneath our associate dentist tax guide, so use this when you need the detail on a single cost.
One thing to settle first. From 6 April 2023 HMRC withdrew the long-standing concession that treated associates on a standard BDA or DPA contract as automatically self-employed. Your trading status now rests on the ordinary employment-status tests. We cover that below, because it decides whether this checklist even applies to you.
What is the wholly and exclusively test?
In short: a cost is allowable only if you incur it wholly and exclusively for the purposes of your dental trade. If a cost has a private purpose mixed in, it usually fails.
That test comes from section 34 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, and HMRC explains it in its Business Income Manual. The key point in BIM37007 is that the rule is only met if your sole purpose for spending the money was the trade. If there's a second, private purpose, the whole cost is disallowed, because there's no general rule that lets you deduct a "business proportion" of a dual-purpose expense.
There's an important exception. Where you can identify a definite, measurable part of a cost that is purely for the trade, you can claim that part. The classic examples are a mobile phone used for both work and home, or a car used for both, where you split the cost on a fair and consistent basis.
So when you look at any cost below, ask two questions. Was it incurred for the trade? And is there a private benefit baked in? Get those right and the rest of the checklist follows.
Are you actually self-employed in 2026/27?
This matters before you claim a single expense. Allowable business expenses only exist if you're trading as a self-employed associate. An employee can't claim them in the same way.
HMRC's Employment Status Manual page for dentists, ESM4030, was withdrawn with effect from 6 April 2023. It now points you to the general status guidance at ESM0500 and to HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool. HMRC has said this doesn't change the underlying rules, but it does mean an associate is no longer treated as self-employed simply for being on a model contract. Status is judged on the real working relationship.
In practice, most genuine associates, those who control their clinical work, take real financial risk, can send a locum, and aren't integrated like an employee, remain self-employed. But if you've never tested your position, do it. If you're employed, the rest of this checklist won't apply to you in the same way, and you'd look at employment expense rules instead.
The associate dentist allowable expenses checklist
Here are the costs associates most commonly incur, with how each is treated. Every line below either passes the wholly and exclusively test in BIM37007 or follows specific HMRC guidance, which we cite.
| Expense | Allowable? | Notes for 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| GDC Annual Retention Fee | Yes | £698 for dentists in 2026. You can't practise without it, so it's a clear trade cost. |
| Professional indemnity / protection society | Yes | Required to treat patients. A wholly and exclusively trade cost. |
| BDA or other professional body membership | Yes | Allowable where the body relates to your profession. |
| Loupes and clinical equipment | Yes | Claimed as plant and machinery, usually via the Annual Investment Allowance. |
| Scrubs, tunics and protective clothing | Yes | Protective and uniform clothing is allowable; ordinary clothing is not. |
| Laboratory fees you pay personally | Yes | Direct cost of providing treatment, if you bear it under your contract. |
| Materials and consumables you fund | Yes | Allowable where you, not the practice, pay for them. |
| CPD courses and refresher training | Usually | Allowable to update existing skills; new-trade training can be capital. |
| Accountancy and bookkeeping fees | Yes | Cost of running the business and meeting tax obligations. |
| Business mileage (own car) | Yes | 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p. |
| Mobile and home-office proportion | Part | Only the identifiable business proportion is allowable. |
| NHS Pension Scheme contributions | Yes | Both employee and employer elements you pay are relievable. |
GDC Annual Retention Fee
You can't legally practise dentistry in the UK without GDC registration, so the Annual Retention Fee is a textbook wholly and exclusively cost. The GDC confirmed the ARF for 2026 is £698 for dentists (and £108 for dental care professionals). Keep the GDC receipt.
Professional indemnity and protection society fees
Indemnity cover is a condition of treating patients, so the premium or subscription is allowable. This is a cost you incur purely to carry on the trade. If you pay annually, claim the cost in the period you incur it.
BDA and other professional subscriptions
Membership of a professional body connected to dentistry is allowable. The test is whether the body relates to your profession and supports your trade, not personal interest groups.
Loupes, instruments and clinical equipment
Loupes, handpieces and similar kit are capital items, not day-to-day running costs, so you don't simply deduct them as an expense. You claim capital allowances. For most associates the Annual Investment Allowance gives 100% relief in the year you buy, up to £1,000,000 of qualifying spend, which comfortably covers a set of loupes. If an item has private use, you restrict the claim to the business proportion.
Scrubs and protective clothing
This one trips associates up. HMRC's BIM37910 is clear that ordinary clothing worn for work is not allowable, even if you'd never wear it outside the surgery, because it still clothes you (the Mallalieu v Drummond principle). But protective clothing and genuine uniforms are allowable. Clinical scrubs, tunics, protective eyewear and similar items pass; a smart outfit you wear to work does not.
Laboratory and material costs
Where your associate contract makes you responsible for lab bills or certain materials, those are direct costs of earning your income and are allowable. If the practice pays them and you don't bear the cost, you can't claim them. Read your contract, then match your claim to what you actually pay.
CPD and training
HMRC's general guidance for the self-employed allows training that's related to your business, such as refresher courses. Updating or maintaining your existing skills is allowable. Training to move into a genuinely new trade can be treated as capital and disallowed, so keep CPD focused on the dentistry you already do.
Business travel and mileage
Travel between practices for work, or to a course, is allowable. Your ordinary commute from home to your main base is not. If you use your own car, the simplest route is HMRC's approved mileage allowance: 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p per mile after that. Keep a mileage log. You can sense-check the relief with our self-employed tax calculator.
Phone, home office and other part-private costs
A mobile used for both work and personal calls, or a room at home used for admin, is a dual-purpose cost. Under BIM37007 you can claim the identifiable business part on a fair, consistent basis, but not the private part. Keep a note of how you worked out the split.
NHS Pension Scheme contributions
If you're in the NHS Pension Scheme as a self-employed practitioner, you pay both the employee and the employer contribution yourself, and HMRC's BIM54020 confirms both are relievable as member contributions. We cover the pension mechanics below.
Which costs are usually not allowable?
Some costs feel business-related but fail the test. Common ones for associates:
- Everyday clothing you wear to work, including smart shoes and suits, per BIM37910.
- Your home-to-main-practice commute, which is ordinary travel, not business travel.
- Costs the practice actually bears, such as lab fees or materials you don't personally pay.
- Client entertaining, which is specifically disallowed.
- Fines and penalties, including parking fines incurred while working.
- The private share of any dual-purpose cost like your phone or car.
When in doubt, go back to the two questions: was it for the trade, and is there a private benefit?
Illustrative example: totalling one associate's expenses
Illustrative example. Priya is a self-employed associate dentist for the full 2026/27 tax year. She pays her own indemnity, GDC fee and lab costs, and drives between two practices. Her figures are made up to show the method, not a real client.
| Expense | Amount |
|---|---|
| GDC Annual Retention Fee (2026) | £698 |
| Professional indemnity cover | £2,400 |
| BDA membership | £600 |
| Laboratory fees she pays personally | £4,500 |
| Loupes (claimed via Annual Investment Allowance) | £1,200 |
| Clinical scrubs and protective eyewear | £300 |
| CPD refresher courses | £800 |
| Accountancy fees | £700 |
| Business mileage: 3,000 miles at 45p | £1,350 |
| Total allowable expenses | £12,548 |
Check the mileage line: 3,000 miles x £0.45 = £1,350, all within the first 10,000 miles so the full 45p rate applies. Adding the column: 698 + 2,400 + 600 + 4,500 + 1,200 + 300 + 800 + 700 + 1,350 = £12,548.
If Priya's gross associate income for the year were £90,000, deducting £12,548 of allowable expenses leaves taxable profit of £77,452 before any pension relief or personal allowance. Those expenses sit in the basic-rate and higher-rate bands, so the tax and National Insurance saving from claiming them in full is real money. This is why a tidy records habit matters. Good bookkeeping for your practice income makes the year-end claim faster and safer.
Pension, VAT and Making Tax Digital points for associates
A few wider rules shape how you handle expenses and filing.
NHS Pension contributions and the annual allowance
As a self-employed practitioner you pay both contribution elements, and per BIM54020 both are relievable. Watch the pension annual allowance if you're a higher earner. The standard annual allowance is £60,000, and it can taper down where your income is high. HMRC's tapered annual allowance guidance sets threshold income at £200,000 and adjusted income at £260,000, with the allowance reducing by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income above £260,000, down to a minimum of £10,000.
If you have an annual allowance charge, the NHS Scheme Pays mechanism can pay it from your pension. NHSBSA's annual allowance guidance explains the process; the standard deadline for a voluntary Scheme Pays election is 31 July following the Self Assessment deadline for the relevant tax year. Note that contributions you pay are excluded when working out your threshold income for the taper, so the taper test can still be passed even after large pension input.
VAT: dental services are usually exempt
Most associate income is VAT-exempt. Under VAT Notice 701/57, services are exempt where the primary purpose is protecting, maintaining or restoring health and they're supplied by a registered professional. Purely cosmetic work, where the main aim is appearance rather than health, is standard-rated. Because exempt income doesn't count towards the £90,000 VAT registration threshold, most associates never register. If you do a lot of cosmetic work, check whether you're approaching the threshold on that standard-rated slice.
Making Tax Digital is coming for associates
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax begins on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, then over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028, per HMRC's sign-up guidance. Qualifying income is your gross income before expenses, also called turnover, as HMRC defines it. For most associates, gross fees comfortably exceed these levels, so digital record-keeping and quarterly updates are on the way. Building a clean expense record now makes that transition painless.
If you'd rather not track all this yourself, our Self Assessment service for associates handles the return, the expense claims and MTD readiness together.
Frequently asked questions
Can associate dentists claim their GDC fee as an expense?
Yes. You can't legally practise without GDC registration, so the Annual Retention Fee is wholly and exclusively a trade cost. For 2026 the dentist ARF is £698. Keep the receipt and claim it in the period you pay it.
Are scrubs allowable but a suit isn't?
Correct. Clinical scrubs and protective items are allowable as protective clothing or uniform under HMRC guidance. Ordinary clothing worn to work, including a suit, is not allowable, because it still clothes you privately, even if you only wear it at the surgery.
Can I claim my drive to the practice?
No. Your ordinary commute from home to your main place of work is private travel. Travel between two practices, or to a CPD course, is business travel and is allowable. If you use your own car, claim 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the year and 25p after that.
How do I claim loupes?
Loupes are capital equipment, so you claim capital allowances rather than deducting the cost outright. Most associates use the Annual Investment Allowance, which gives 100% relief in the year of purchase up to £1,000,000 of qualifying spend. If there's any private use, restrict the claim to the business proportion.
Do associate dentists need to register for VAT?
Usually not. Dental services are VAT-exempt where the primary purpose is protecting or restoring health and you're a registered professional, so that income doesn't count towards the £90,000 registration threshold. Purely cosmetic work is standard-rated, so monitor that income separately if you do a lot of it.
When does Making Tax Digital affect associate dentists?
MTD for Income Tax starts on 6 April 2026 for those with qualifying gross income over £50,000, then £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Qualifying income is your turnover before expenses, so most associates will be in scope. You'll need digital records and quarterly updates.
Book a free Tax Health Check →
Key takeaways
- Every claim turns on one test: was the cost wholly and exclusively for your dental trade?
- GDC fee (£698 for 2026), indemnity, professional bodies, lab fees you pay, scrubs and business mileage are clear allowable costs.
- Loupes and equipment are capital, claimed through the Annual Investment Allowance.
- Ordinary clothing, your commute and the private share of mixed-use costs are not allowable.
- Check your self-employment status first, plan for MTD from April 2026, and keep tidy records all year.
Want a second pair of eyes on your associate expenses before you file? Book a call with a Zmartly accountant and we'll make sure you claim everything you're entitled to, and nothing you're not.
