Tax deductible expenses self-employed associate dentists can claim on their tax returns

1. Mouthwash, toothpaste, flosses and brushes.
2. Filling materials.
3. Ointments.
4. Materials used in cosmetic procedures.
5. Dentures, wires, fillers and retainers.
6. Dressings, bandages, masks, protective glasses.

1. Business travel costs for public transport, taxis and airfares are tax-deductible. This will be mainly for attending any training events and interviews.
2. Home-to-work travel is not deductible if attendance at that workplace is ‘regular and predictable’, e.g. from your home to your dental practice.
3. Any travel incurred for personal and business reasons must be apportioned. An example could be when a dentist goes on a course on a Friday, stays and visits their family on Saturday, travels back on Sunday, and is away for two days, one-day business and one day private. It seems fair to only allow half of the travel costs.
4. If you are using a car you own, could you provide a list of journeys with the date, start and finish locations, mileage and reason for travel, and we will claim qualifying journeys for you using the 45p a-mile rate set by HMRC – We can provide a spreadsheet for this.
5. Speeding, parking and congestion charge fines are not tax-deductible.
6. Tolls, congestion, clean air charges and parking costs are allowed for business travel.
7. Subsistence costs, where a meal or drink is bought during business travel, are tax-deductible.
8. Accommodation costs are also allowable where the travel is allowable as business travel.

Box 21 Rent, rates, power and insurance costs

1. Public liability, professional indemnity and locum cost insurance premiums.
2. An allowance for using your home as an office or consulting room can also be deducted. This is available for those who run surgeries or consulting rooms from home or those who deal with business administration at home.
   1. Most associates use the HMRC simplified expenses, given they use their homes for small business admin. You can claim a flat rate of £10 pm for using your home with no evidence provided you use it for at least 25 hours a month or more.  Just tell us how many hours you are working from home each month,
   2. Or if it is using your home for more significant admin, consulting or surgeries, which is unlikely as an associate, you can claim a calculated proportion of costs (I can provide a spreadsheet for this), including a share of
      1. Council Tax
      2. Mortgage interest or rent
      3. Utilities and water rates
      4. Home Insurance.

Box 22 Repairs and maintenance of property and equipment

1. Hammers, implant tools, etc
2. Small drills.
3. These may alternatively be included as the cost of goods above.
4. Repair costs to any equipment would also qualify.
5. IT equipment includes cameras, laptops, tablets, smartphones, desktops, monitors, keyboards, mouse, printers etc. 3D, travel bags/cases, etc. – Apportioned between personal and business use.
6. If you buy higher-value equipment items with a two-year life or more, these might need to be claimed as a ‘capital allowance’ in Box 49/50; however, you would get 100% tax relief such as scanners and lopes.

1. Business use of mobiles and home phones and broadband. – Apportioned between personal and business use
2. Pens, paper, ink, stamps, envelopes etc. used in the business.
3. Trade magazines/periodicals are used to keep you up to date.
4. Subscriptions, IT costs and software used for your business, e.g. accounting software, dental software, business apps including Amazon Prime and Spotify if there is an element of business use

Box 24 Advertising and business entertainment costs

1. Paid adverts online or offline
2. Costs of running a website, e-commerce and any social media

1. Cost of financing the equipment purchase, e.g. hire purchase interest for a loan for scanner.
2. Bank charges or credit card charges, where it can be shown they are business-related. It is easiest to prove if the associate has a separate bank CC account or
3. If you are using the cash basis of accounting, there is a £500 cap on bank charges and interest, but this expenditure cap has no requirement to be business-related, meaning you could claim up to £500 interest paid on your home mortgage.

1. Trade association or professional body membership fees and subscriptions. e.g. BDA
2. Accountancy fees for preparing your accounts. Your tax return cost can also be included, provided your only income is as a self-employed associate dentist.
3. Legal or consultancy costs related to a practice or patient dispute.

1. NHS Levey, hygienist, credit charges, licence fees and any other deductions taken by practices for using their equipment, facilities and staff. We may also include these in the costs of sale above, and we will get them from your practice statements.
2. NHS superannuation deductions do not form part of your tax-deductible expenses. They are deemed to be personal drawings. The tax relief is a separate claim on the tax return.
3. All GDC registration fees are allowed, except for any GDC exam fees, which are not allowed.
4. Protective clothing and disposable PPE, such as face masks, gloves or aprons. You cannot claim for ordinary clothing, e.g. shoes and clothing worn under protective clothing.
5. Cost of a uniform where you have to wear one or where you have a logo.
6. Laundry costs of protective or uniform clothing.  Unless a dedicated laundry service is used, the actual costs can be hard to identify if washed with other personal household laundry items.
7. Training costs, where you are keeping skills up to date. The cost of training for a new skill or obtaining a new qualification, including all exam fees, is a capital cost and is disallowed.

These are not expenses that you claim on self-employment expenses. Tax relief of these expenses is claimed on the principal tax return, Page TR 4.