By the time this is published, much will have been written about the planned Budget changes – but here is a brief summary of some of the parts that will affect sessional GPs most.
Pension tax relief changes for high earners
There will be further restrictions on tax relief on pension contributions, starting when net taxable income (after deducting pension contributions) exceeds £110,000. The rules, as usual, are complex and involve calculating pension inputs – that is, the deemed pension contributions based on the increase in pension earned from one year to the next. When the net income plus deemed pension contributions exceeds £150,000, then the £40,000 annual allowance is reduced, £1 for every £2 of excess income until it is reduced to £10,000 at earnings of £210,000.
This will mean that more doctors will fall into the annual allowance charge net and will need to make the decision whether to pay the additional tax or to elect for the scheme to pay it. Expert pensions’ advice is needed to help make this decision.