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Do doctors need an accountant? It's a question that many medical professionals ask themselves, but the real question is this: Do I need an accountant that deals specifically with doctors?
While it's not a legal requirement for doctors to have an accountant, there are many arguments in favour of the idea. To go further, it's clear that most doctors can benefit greatly from hiring dedicated accountants for doctors, like those provided by Auditox Accountancy.
The medical profession is a complex world where lines are often blurred between the NHS and the private healthcare sector. Some staff are self-employed contractors and consultants, while others are classed as employees of the NHS.
As a rule, GPs have always been considered self-employed, although many are on the NHS payroll - especially those who also spend time working in hospitals. Because of this, it's very easy to get confused and make honest mistakes in your accounts or even to be completely unaware of some of the complex issues involved.
Engaging an accountant who deals specifically with medical professionals is an excellent way of avoiding any penalties or unpleasant surprises relating to tax, pensions and all aspects relating to your financial affairs.
At Auditox Accountancy, our highly-trained and dedicated accountants for doctors are conversant with all aspects of accounting in relation to the medical profession. As such, they have highlighted several key reasons why engaging specialist medical accountants is an excellent idea.
While a standard accountant would be able to help you to an extent, they don't possess the same degree of understanding when it comes to the finer details and complexities of the medical profession.
A specialist medical accountant, on the other hand, is well-versed in these matters and is always on hand to offer advice whenever you need it.
Our services are available to medical professionals of all kinds, from hospital doctors to GP practices, whether there's one doctor or several. We can help locums, consultants and surgeons, and we also have specialist medical accountants for those connected with a dental practice.
Here are some examples of the different areas where Auditox accountants for doctors can assist you:
If you are on the PAYE system, it is up to you to ensure that you are on the correct tax code. If you are discovered to be on the wrong code (which can go unnoticed for several years), you may be liable to penalties in addition to any underpaid tax.
Our accountants for doctors will perform a full tax check to make sure all is in order and help to resolve any issues arising.
Anyone who is working in a private practice as well as for the NHS must declare their private income to HMRC. If you haven't done this, it should be done immediately to avoid any financial repercussions.
Any National Insurance contributions can be affected by your working arrangements, and you need to be very clear as to which entity is paying you and when.
Your Auditox accountant will give you expert advice on these matters to help you stay within the guidelines and avoid any penalties.
If you contribute to the NHS pension scheme, it's possible for you or your employer to pay too much, in which case, you could be subject to a tax charge.
Final salary schemes are particularly prone to this problem, as contributions are related to the change in pension pot value rather than the figure you pay in.
Our specialist medical accountants are familiar with the intricacies and inherent problems of the NHS pension scheme and will help you to avoid the pitfalls.
It's a job that few people look forward to, which is why so many self-employed people put it off until the last minute! And for doctors, there's the added stress of finding the time to complete their tax return, as well as the worry of making mistakes on the many forms.
Auditox Accountancy services include specialist advice on completing your tax returns quickly and efficiently.
From April 6 2024, all self-employed doctors will need to complete their tax returns online under the new Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative. It will no longer be legal to submit paper copies, and all software must be compatible with the government's MTD system.
Our accountants for doctors will offer guidance to help GP practices and medical professionals to transition to the MTD system smoothly.
Depending on your contract, you may be able to claim tax relief on any costs incurred during the time you were training. This also applies to indemnity insurance and any professional subscriptions you hold.
Our medical accounting specialists will explore this avenue for you to see what you are entitled to.
Paying the wrong amount of tax can lead to confusion and hassle that you can do without. Overpayments are generally easier - and more welcome - as HMRC will usually pay this automatically by adjusting your tax code the following year or making a payment at year-end.
Underpayments, however, are less welcome and usually unexpected. HMRC will get in touch to tell you that they intend to adjust your tax code to claim back the shortfall or provide several options on how you can pay back the money.
Our specialist accountants will help you to avoid these situations altogether by ensuring that you pay precisely the amount of tax that you owe.
The above issues illustrate the need for independent specialist medical accountants for doctors. In our experience, medical professionals have little enough time to fit everything in. Often, their work is their life. Everything else has to be squeezed into the precious hours when they're not busy treating patients and saving lives.
Dealing with bookkeeping, accounts, tax returns, pensions, etc., whether at home or at work, takes up valuable time that could be better spent. If you are a medical professional, there's a good chance that you have neglected your tax or accounts, as you either don't have the time or you put things off simply because you prefer to be engaged in other pursuits.
Annual accounts aren't always necessary, but some medical professionals are obliged to prepare these, such as Primary Care Networks. These basically deal with income, expenses and a summary of any profits to be shared by partners.
They are useful for many reasons, including:
Although accounting for medical professionals is very different from business accounting, the principles are much the same, with issues such as the profit and loss account, accruals basis, balance sheet, working capital, etc.
Our qualified accountants for doctors will tailor these to your specific circumstances and advise you as to the best way to manage your finances.
Unfortunately, this usually leads to an investigation by HMRC, followed by penalties, especially if they discover items that haven't been declared for several years. This is increasingly more likely these days, as the UK government has instructed HMRC to be more rigorous in its scrutiny of certain industries, including the healthcare sector.
With Auditox Accountancy's independent specialist medical accountants and tax investigation cover, you recover more of that time as we take most of the hard work off your hands. And for the tasks that you need to do yourself, we are on hand to provide specialist advice to resolve any issues quickly.
While you might not avoid being the subject of a tax enquiry*, we will ensure that the outcome is a positive one.
Learn more: How likely are you to be investigated by HMRC?
Learn more: How far back can HMRC go?
Learn more: 5 Stages of tax investigation
*Anyone who is registered as self-employed can be investigated at any time, whether compliant or not.
Change is inevitable; partners will come and go, whether to or from other practices or through retirement. It's essential that your practice continues to offer an efficient service during these times without negatively impacting your patients.
We support and guide clients through the whole process, helping them to create a coherent plan that benefits everyone involved.
While your current accountant may offer a satisfactory service, evidence shows that hiring specialist medical accountants eliminates the common errors made by those without knowledge of medical accounting.
The process is simple and hassle-free, as you can leave all the work to us! All you need to do is to inform your present accountant that you no longer require their services, and we'll handle everything else.
If you're a medical professional in need of an accountant, contact Auditox Accountancy services to discuss your needs and to receive the very best advice.
We provide the first consultation for free, and once we have all of the details, we will offer a fixed fee quote tailored to your specific circumstances.
Specialist medical accountants for doctors understand that you need to focus on your patients and your career. We don't believe that you should have to spend valuable time dealing with (and worrying about) your accounting and other things that distract you from your work.
So, sit down and chat with us, and we'll select one of our accountants for doctors to handle all of your accounting issues. With Auditox Accountancy, we guarantee one thing: your dedicated accountant will be a true specialist. Your accounts will be in good shape, and you'll have expert advice whenever you need it, leaving you to do what you do best.
Yes, we have extensive experience with the specific tax deductions available to healthcare professionals. Our accountants are knowledgeable about the unique tax benefits that doctors can utilise, and we will work closely with you to ensure you maximise your deductions and minimise your tax liability.
We do offer payroll services for medical staff. Our team can handle everything from calculating pay and deductions to processing payments and submitting all necessary tax documents, ensuring your practice remains compliant with UK payroll regulations.
We can certainly assist with audits for healthcare providers. Our skilled accountants can conduct comprehensive audits of your medical practice's financial records, ensuring accuracy and compliance with UK accounting standards. We also provide recommendations to improve your financial processes and overall practice management.
We are adept at managing accounts payable and receivable for doctors. We'll keep track of all incoming and outgoing transactions, ensuring timely payments to vendors and prompt collection of patient payments. Our expert accountants will help maintain a healthy cash flow for your medical practice, allowing you to focus on providing quality patient care.
Yes, we have extensive experience with the specific tax deductions available to healthcare professionals. Our accountants are knowledgeable about the unique tax benefits that doctors can utilise, and we will work closely with you to ensure you maximise your deductions and minimise your tax liability.
We do offer payroll services for medical staff. Our team can handle everything from calculating pay and deductions to processing payments and submitting all necessary tax documents, ensuring your practice remains compliant with UK payroll regulations.
We can certainly assist with audits for healthcare providers. Our skilled accountants can conduct comprehensive audits of your medical practice's financial records, ensuring accuracy and compliance with UK accounting standards. We also provide recommendations to improve your financial processes and overall practice management.
We are adept at managing accounts payable and receivable for doctors. We'll keep track of all incoming and outgoing transactions, ensuring timely payments to vendors and prompt collection of patient payments. Our expert accountants will help maintain a healthy cash flow for your medical practice, allowing you to focus on providing quality patient care.