FAQ: Which training costs can GP locums claim for?
The rules for salaried GPs and self-employed GP locums are different.
Salaried GPs
If you are a salaried GP you can only claim for courses that are ‘wholly, exclusively and necessarily’ in the course of your work. The ‘necessarily’ is the tricky bit – because that would mean absolutely anyone doing that job would have to do that course. The effect of this is that generally salaried doctors cannot claim training costs, so ideally get them built into the remuneration package so that the practice pay for them. Providing it is work related, it will not be a taxable benefit.
There was talk of training being treated differently just before the 2018 Budget, but nothing came of it. Be aware that the rules may change in the future.
GP locums
If you are a self-employed doctor, you can claim for courses that are ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the purposes of your work. This gives much more scope.
Generally any courses that are keeping you up to date or improving your existing skills will be deductible. Anything unrelated to your work won’t of course – so a GP couldn’t claim for a course on plumbing or bricklaying!
A new qualification – or something that enables you to do something that you cannot currently do – will be treated as ‘capital’ and will not be deductible. There is a grey line between what is a new skill and what is an extension of an existing skill – and that needs professional advice when it arises.
What does ‘wholly and exclusively’ mean? Generally there won’t be personal benefit in a course, but beware ‘holiday’ courses where HMRC could argue that the holiday element is more than an incidental part of the cost. Once there is ‘duality of purpose’ (such as a holiday with some training), HMRC are within their rights to refuse the whole of the claim.
What is the cost of the course? That will be the course cost itself, any related reading material etc, travel to get there, subsistence and reasonable accommodation (if it is not reasonable to return home).
What if you are both salaried and self-employed?
It will normally be acceptable to claim course costs against the self-employed income. If HMRC want to be awkward, they could argue duality of purpose – because you can’t learn something and only use it for your self-employed work. We had this point made in an investigation some years ago, but HMRC did back down and agree the cost in full against the self-employed work (but on a reasonable basis, rather than under the letter of the law). If you are trying to claim for a £5k course against £5k of locum work when you are employed full time, expect it to be questioned!
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