Claiming expenses as a dentist

Like most people, you may not be aware of the costs associated with your working life that you are able to claim back. With this in mind, we spoke to  the Singing Dentist, Milad Shadrooh, about the expenses you may be able to claim for.

HMRC defines an expense as “something that can only be deductible if it is wholly, exclusively, and necessarily used in the performance of the duties of the employment.”

For dentists, there are many expenses that we have to pay in order for us to be able to practice. A lot of these costs are tax deductible, which means we can claim for or get tax relief on them.

Some of these costs include the memberships and subscriptions we have to pay for (for example, the GDC and BDA), the money that we pay our dental indemnity providers, and any memberships to royal societies.

You can claim back costs of business too, including mileage for your car and fuel – although that doesn’t include travelling from your home to your place of work. Dentists can also claim back the cost of buying specialist tools or materials (such as loupes), as well as uniforms and scrubs.

As dentists, we are required to carry out continued professional development (CPD). Any costs associated with completing CPD can be claimed back as long as they are intrinsic to your duties as a dentist. So, dental courses – good. Ethnical sales courses – great. Communication courses – wonderful. Cookery courses…not so much.

There are also many other costs we can claim for, so it’s important to get specialist tax advice from an accountant or financial adviser who has experience of working in the dental sector.

To sum up, it’s a good idea to make sure you have the correct support in place for claiming expenses from the minute you start working as a foundation dentist. It’s also worth noting that you can still make claims up to four years later.

If you would like to find out more about how to financially prepare for the working world, download The Next Step DFT financial survival guide.