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

1. Mouthwash, toothpaste, floss 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.
7. Materials for use with 3-D printers

1. Home-to-work travel is not deductible if attendance at that workplace is ‘regular and predictable’, e.g. commuting from your home to your usual dental practice as outlined in the location of work in your contract.
2. Any travel incurred for personal and business reasons must be apportioned. An example could be when you go on a course on a Friday, stay and visit your family on Saturday, travel back on Sunday, and are away for two days, one day business and one day personal reasons. It seems fair to only allow half of the travel costs.
3. 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.
4. Business travel costs for public transport, taxis, ferries, and airfares are tax-deductible. This will be mainly for attending any training events and interviews.
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 that they use their homes for small business admin. You can claim a flat rate of £10 per month 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. Inter oral scanners
4. 3-D printers
5. Lopes
6. Red light lasers
7. IT equipment includes cameras, laptops, tablets, smartphones, desktops, monitors, keyboards, mouse, printers, etc. 3D, travel bags/cases, etc. – Apportioned between personal and business use.
8. These may alternatively be included as the cost of goods above.
9. Repair costs to any equipment would also qualify.

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.

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 a 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; otherwise, the costs need to be apportioned between personal and dental expenditures

1. Trade association or professional body membership fees and subscriptions. e.g. BDA
2. Accountancy fees for preparing your accounts only. Your tax return cost can also be included, provided your only income is as a self-employed associate dentist. Fee protection cover for tax investigations is not tax-deductible
3. Legal or consultancy costs related to a practice or patient dispute.
4. Dental legal defence cover subscriptions to providers such as:
   • Dental Defence Union (DDU)
   • Dental Protection
   • Dental Defence Society

1. NHS Levey, hygienist, credit charges, practice licence fees and any other deductions taken by practices for using their equipment, facilities and staff. These costs may be allocated to the cost of sale in Box 17. At SmallBiz Accounts, we will collate these expenses from your practice statements as part of our annual accounts work, so you don’t have to.
2. All General Dental Council (GDC) registration fees are allowed.
3. 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.
4. Cost of a uniform where you have to wear one or where you have a logo.
5. 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.
6. Training costs for both continued professional development (CPD) and further qualifications within dentistry are usually tax-deductible if they update or improve skills, help to adapt to new technology and best practice and cover ancillary skills (e.g. patient service training), but not if they relate to starting a new or unrelated existing business you may have.
7. Trade magazines/periodicals are used to keep you up to date.
8. 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

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.