What can I claim for tax?
Filing your tax claims can certainly be complicated, as there isn’t a readily available hard-set list of do’s and don’ts on the subject.
To simplify the process, you can apply the ‘wholly and exclusively’ rule of thumb. Using this, you go down your list of claims and check that every item purchased has been solely for business use.
But for dental associates, this guide isn’t as straightforward and encompassing as it sounds.
Take the clothing you use for practicing dentistry, for example. Though you may consider their purchase as a business expense, under HMRC laws you can only claim for the laundering, repair and replacement of these garments, and not for the cost of their initial purchase.[i]
Another example is claiming against subscriptions and joining fees to certain professional organisations, as these are only allowed if they appear on the approved HMRC list.[ii]
The British Dental Association, for example, is listed by the HMRC as a recognised professional body. The Dental Professionals Association, however, is not. Even if you join organisations that are wholly and exclusively for dental professionals, you cannot automatically assume that their fees can be legally claimed.
Another topic seemingly left open to interpretation are the costs of training courses and seminars. The HMRC states that professional development courses are allowable only if they’re designed to further any existing professional skills. If the course is taken to acquire new skills and learning, their costs cannot be claimed.[iii] The question then becomes, how would you categorise a course on, say, implantology or orthodontics? Who do you ask for a definite answer?
As you can see, even the ‘wholly and exclusively’ rule does not wholly and exclusively answer all the questions you might have regarding your tax claims.
These are but a few examples of how tricky tax deductions for dental associates can be. While you can certainly do some research and try to work out the rules of tax claims on your own, this could take up a lot of your free time – time that you would rather spend practising dentistry and earning money. Or, worse, you can get to the wrong or incomplete answer, and miss claiming something, or claim something incorrectly!
Another solution that could end up saving you money is to turn to a professional to resolve all this for you, such as figurit.
figurit is a web-based accountancy and tax solution exclusively for dental associates that can maximise your tax savings with their specialist knowledge and turn your tax returns around within four weeks.
By using figurit you can also reduce the risk of an HMRC inspection, because you can be sure that they have a full grasp of both the nuances of your profession and the laws of taxation. And if you do happen to be unlucky enough to get investigated anyway, their inclusive insurance will mean no additional costs for you to get the enquiry dealt with.
Filing tax returns doesn’t have to turn into the mind-bending puzzle that it can be when you don’t know the law inside and out. You can hire specialists to take care of all that for you so you can do what you do best – practice dentistry with no further distractions.
For more information on our specialist accountancy and tax package
exclusively for dental associates, visit www.figurit.co.uk