Doctors’ Allowable Expenses UK 2026/27: Latest Changes and Tax Relief
Checked on 16 October 2026. The 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
Doctors’ allowable expenses in the UK depend on how you work: as an employee, a self-employed practitioner or through a limited company. An NHS doctor and a self-employed locum may receive different tax treatment for the same purchase. This ZipTax guide brings together the latest verified 2026/27 changes and the core rules to check before claiming.
What has changed for 2026/27?
For employees using their own car on qualifying business journeys, HMRC’s approved rate is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, up from 45p. The rate thereafter is 25p.
From 6 April 2026, employees can no longer claim tax relief from HMRC for unreimbursed homeworking costs. This does not abolish the separate home-office expense rules for the self-employed.
England’s eligible doctors’ examination fee reimbursement scheme is being implemented. The government’s 30 September 2026 update said further claims guidance was still being finalised.
1. Start with your employment status
If your earnings are paid through PAYE, employee expense rules apply. Self-employed doctors can deduct allowable business costs when calculating trading profit. Limited company costs follow the rules applicable to the company. Being described as a locum does not, by itself, establish self-employed status.
If you combine NHS employment and private practice, allocate costs to the relevant work and avoid claiming the same amount twice. An employee can claim relief only for an eligible cost left unreimbursed by their employer.
2. GMC fees and professional subscriptions
An employed doctor may qualify for relief on personally paid professional fees required for their job and job-related annual subscriptions to HMRC-approved bodies. Review GMC registration, BMA and medical royal college payments, checking the eligibility of the specific payment and the allowable amount confirmed by the organisation.
Lifetime memberships and employer-paid amounts do not qualify. Keep receipts or subscription statements. Tax relief is not a full refund of the bill: for example, £500 of qualifying costs relieved entirely at a 40% Income Tax rate produces £200 of relief, not a £500 payment.
3. Mileage: 55p does not make every journey allowable
For 2026/27, the approved employee rate for an own car or goods vehicle is 55p for the first 10,000 qualifying business miles and 25p thereafter. Deduct the employer’s reimbursement when calculating the amount eligible for relief. The mileage rate covers vehicle running costs; fuel and repairs cannot be added again to the same mileage claim.
Ordinary travel from home to a permanent workplace normally does not qualify. For doctors on rotations, the employment contract and temporary-workplace rules matter: a single training contract can produce a different result from separate employments. A short rotation does not automatically make home-to-hospital travel deductible.
Example: 2,000 qualifying business miles × £0.55 = £1,100. If your employer reimbursed £600, the potential relief basis is £500. If that full amount is relieved at 40%, the tax saving is £200. Keep journey dates, purposes, mileage and start and end postcodes.
4. Exams and CPD: reimbursement is different from tax relief
England’s new examination reimbursement arrangements cover eligible resident doctors and locally employed doctors. The Academy’s guidance addresses the first two eligible exam sittings after 1 April 2026, subject to individual eligibility. This is not an automatic payment for every doctor across the UK.
When checked on 16 October 2026, the Academy’s page still described the claims system as due to go live shortly. Check the latest employer instructions. A reimbursed cost must not also be presented as an unreimbursed employee expense.
HMRC tax relief for training and examinations is a separate question. For employees, being useful for career progression or described as mandatory is not enough: the contractual duties and training-contract conditions must be met. Self-employed practitioners may claim training that maintains or develops skills relevant to their existing business; training to start a new, unrelated business does not qualify.
5. Self-employed locum doctor and private practice expenses
Depending on the circumstances, review business insurance, practice premises, accountancy, business phone use, professional journals and equipment required for the practice. Exclude private use and apply a reasonable business allocation to mixed costs. The treatment of equipment also depends on the accounting method.
A reasonable business share of homeworking costs may remain allowable for self-employed practitioners. Do not automatically apply the employee homeworking restriction to your private practice. If you use the £1,000 trading allowance, you cannot additionally deduct actual expenses against the same trading income.
6. Uniforms and evidence
Employees may qualify for relief on cleaning, repairing or replacing a uniform or specialist work clothing. Everyday clothes do not qualify simply because you wear them in hospital. You cannot claim for laundering your own uniform where your employer provides a free laundry service that you choose not to use.
Gather professional fee statements, course invoices and equipment receipts.
Record employer reimbursements separately from amounts you personally bear.
Maintain a mileage log and keep employment and training contracts.
Separate PAYE, self-employed and company expenses.
If you complete Self Assessment, claim through your tax return; otherwise check HMRC’s employee expense claim service.
Tax support for doctors from ZipTax
Need help reviewing GMC fees, locum doctor expenses or your Self Assessment records? ZipTax can help you assess your income sources, supporting documents and the costs eligible for a claim.
Sources
General information based on official guidance available on 16 October 2026. Your position depends on your employment status, contract and particular expenses. The examination reimbursement update discussed here applies to England.
