Self Employment Guide for Healthcare Practitioners
If you are a Self Employed health practitioner (as distinct from practising through a limited company) you are classified as being a “Sole Trader” for UK tax purposes.
As a Self Employed person, you should file your UK tax return by Self Assessment.
HMRC regard you as “in business” and “running a business“.
We provide a Self Assessment Tax Return filing service for our healthcare clients.
We will make your tax filing as simple as possible. We provide our services throughout England and Wales.
We provide a free spreadsheet for your business records which saves you the cost of online software. Or we support Free Agent and QuickBooks if you prefer.
As the expressions ‘Self Employed’ and ‘Sole Trader’ are interchangeable, we prefer to say ‘Self Employed’ when describing healthcare professionals.
If you are Self Employed:
- There is no legal distinction between you and the business itself
- You are not an employee of the business
- You are entitled to keep the profits of the business, after paying any tax
- You have unlimited liability for the debts of the business
Self Employment responsibilities include:
- Paying the business bills and debts arising from anything in the business
- Keeping records of the business’s sales and expenses
- Filing a Self Assessment Tax Return every year
- Paying Income Tax on the Profits the business
- Paying National Insurance: Class 2 and Class 4
Tax
We prepare and file your accounts with HMRC.
Self Employed health practitioners must register their business with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for Self Assessment.
The potential taxes include:
- Income Tax
- Class 2 National Insurance
- Class 4 National Insurance
- PAYE (If you employ staff)
Please note also that Self Employed people pay Student Loan repayments through the Self Assessment Tax Return process.
The HMRC Tax Payments On Account will also usually apply to healthcare practitioners.
Our Tax Guides
Please see our tax guide web pages:
Staff
Self Employed people are not employees of the business.
You can employ staff: ‘Sole Trader’ means that you are responsible for the business, not that you have to work alone.
If you employ staff you will probably need to operate a PAYE scheme, depending on how much you pay your staff.
Business Names
When you are Self Employed, you may use your own name, a trading name, or other business name, but are there are some ‘do’s and don’ts’ when choosing a business name. Please refer to the government guidance webpages through the links below.
You must include your own name and business name (if you have one) on any official paperwork, especially your website, invoices and letters.
Limited Companies
This website has more information on running your business through a limited company.
Links to Government and HMRC guidance:
Set up as a sole trader
First steps to register as self-employed