Locum accounting (medical and dental)
Accountants for locum doctors and dentists in Glasgow.
Specialist locum accounting for Glasgow — ACCA-regulated, fixed-fee, with a named accountant on direct contact.
Countify for Glasgow locums
Local context
that actually matters.
Glasgow's locum market is shaped by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, the largest Health Board in Scotland and one of the largest in the UK. The substantive locum-bank demand comes out of the QEUH (Queen Elizabeth University Hospital) campus, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Royal Hospital for Children at Govan, and the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre — most of those shifts are NHS-PAYE through the GG&C staff bank, with full NHS Pension accrual. Sessional GPs cover both NHS GG&C-commissioned services and HSCP (Health and Social Care Partnership) out-of-hours work. The dental locum side splits cleanly between high-volume NHS-Scotland practices across the East End and South Side, and the private-mix practices clustered in the West End (G12) and Southside premium areas (G41/G77) — and the income split between GDS payments and private fees has real consequences for both pension accrual and self-assessment. We see a steady cohort of Glasgow consultants tripping the NHS Pension annual allowance in their first post-CCT consultant year, especially in surgical and radiology specialties where the salary uplift from training grade is sharp.
Sector context
What locum accounting actually involves.
Locum tax sits awkwardly between employment and self-employment, and the wrong assumption costs money. Locum work paid through NHS payroll is taxed under PAYE and pensionable through the NHS Pension Scheme; locum work paid through a personal service company or directly to you as self-employed is taxed under self-assessment and not NHS-pensionable. Most locums run both — substantive sessions on PAYE plus ad-hoc shifts as self-employed — and the mix determines whether a Ltd is worth the overhead, whether SIPP top-ups make sense alongside the NHS Pension, and whether the tax-free personal allowance still applies once both income streams are summed. Countify handles the SA103 self-employment pages, claims GMC/GDC, BMA/BDA, indemnity (MDU/MDDUS), CPD and travel where allowable, and reviews NHS Pension annual allowance exposure for higher-earning consultants.
How we help Glasgow locums
Locum doctors and dentist-specific scope, fixed fees.
Self-assessment with SA103 self-employment pages
Locum sessions, agency income and direct fees reconciled. Allowable expenses (GMC/GDC, MDU/MDDUS/Dental Protection, courses, travel) claimed correctly.
NHS Pension annual allowance review
For higher-earning consultants and GPs: pension growth modelled against the £60,000 annual allowance and tapering. Scheme Pays elections handled where relevant.
Ltd vs sole trader decision for fees-only locums
Modelled with your actual fee mix. Locums working >£75k of non-NHS fees often benefit from a Ltd; below that, the overhead rarely earns out.
GDS/PDS-aware dental locum accounting
For dental locums working into NHS Scotland practices: UDA equivalents, GDS payments, NHS superannuation versus private fee income split correctly.
Run the numbers
Calculators built for locums.
Pension Tax Relief Calculator
Basic/higher/additional rate relief, annual allowance, carry-forward note. Scottish rates supported.
Sole Trader vs Ltd Co Calculator
Side-by-side take-home comparison: sole trader vs Ltd Co salary + dividends.
Scottish Income Tax Calculator
All six Scottish bands for 2026/27. Side-by-side comparison with rUK rates included.
Questions we hear weekly
Locum doctors and dentists FAQs.
Should a locum work through a limited company?
Usually not, for two reasons. First, NHS Trusts and Health Boards almost universally pay locum work either through their staff bank (PAYE, pensionable) or via agency umbrella — direct Ltd-company engagements are increasingly rare and trigger IR35 review at the employer end. Second, NHS Pension contributions are only available on PAYE-paid sessions: every hour billed through a Ltd is an hour not building NHS pension. For locums whose mix is mostly NHS-bank with smaller direct fees, sole-trader self-assessment on the direct fees is cleaner and cheaper than a Ltd.
What can I claim as a locum expense?
GMC/GDC registration, indemnity (MDU, MDDUS, Dental Protection), BMA or BDA membership, CPD courses and conference fees, mandatory training, travel between locum sites (but not to a single regular site), professional journals, and a portion of home office costs where applicable. You cannot claim ordinary commuting, food during a normal working day, or training that qualifies you for a new field. Lifelong-learning logbook subscriptions, college exam fees and clinical equipment carried between sites are all allowable.
How does the NHS Pension annual allowance affect higher-earning locums?
The standard annual allowance is £60,000 of pension growth per tax year, tapered down to £10,000 for the highest earners (adjusted income above £260,000). NHS Pension growth in the 2015 scheme is calculated on a deemed-input basis that can spike dramatically in a high-earning year, and the resulting tax charge can exceed actual pay rise. The NHS Pension Scheme Pays facility lets you settle the charge from your pension rather than from cash — but the election deadline is strict. We model this every year for higher-earning consultant clients.
Do I pay Scottish income tax on my locum work?
If your main home is in Scotland for the tax year, yes — on all your non-savings, non-dividend income, regardless of which Health Board pays you. NHS Lothian and NHS GG&C apply Scottish PAYE codes (prefix S) automatically. The difference matters at higher rates: from £43,662 upward, Scottish locums pay the 42% higher rate where rUK locums would pay 40%, and at advanced/top rates the gap is larger again.
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