Our latest guide provides everything that you need to know about claiming expenses as a locum pharmacist.

Note this guide should serve as a guideline and not professional advice, we recommend also seeking professional advice from an account when filing expenses in your tax return.

Office, property and equipment

As a self-employed person, you need to do an amount of admin to keep on top of your accounts, expenses and taxes. And with that, you incur claimable business expenses.

You can claim for:

  • Office consumables such as printer paper and ink
  • Phone and internet bills plus software subscriptions - such as online accounting
  • Rent and rates for business premises even if you use your home as your office

You cannot claim for:

  • Buying a property to use for the business
  • Personal-only use mobile phones
  • Purchasing equipment, such as computers, unless you use cash basis accounting (otherwise equipment is considered a capital allowance).

Car and travel expenses

All locums incur travel expenses. These may vary from shift to shift and month to month depending on where you are working. The good news is that many of your travel expenses can be claimed back:

You can claim for:

  • Insuring, maintaining and running a vehicle including breakdown cover
  • Parking costs or bus, train, air or taxi fares
  • Hotel rooms and meals on overnight stays

You cannot claim for:

  • Parking or speeding fines
  • Travel to and from work

Clothing expenses

Whilst new clothing isn’t an everyday expense, you do use specialist clothing as part of being a pharmacist. A pharmacy may require you to use their branded protective clothing but you can choose to provide your own too.

You can claim for:

  • Protective clothing such as a lab coat or eye safety glasses

You cannot claim for:

  • Ordinary clothing - even if you wear it to work

Remember that accountant who helped you set up as a self-employed locum pharmacist? Well - good news - they are an allowable business expense.

You can claim for:

  • Professional indemnity insurance premiums
  • Business bank account and credit card charges
  • Interest on business loans or hire purchase agreements
  • Hiring an accountant or solicitor

You cannot claim for:

  • Fines for breaking the law
  • Loan or hire purchase repayments

Marketing, entertainment and subscriptions

The Locate a Locum app brings all the shifts to you so have little need to market or advertise your services. However, there are some still expenses that you can claim back in this section.

You can claim for:

  • Professional memberships such as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society or the General Pharmaceutical Council - this includes your pre-registration fees.
  • Relevant trade publications
  • Advertising and website costs

You cannot claim for:

  • Gym membership or payments to political parties
  • Buying your pharmacy manager a drink at the pub after your shift has ended

For any item that has both personal and business use - such as your car or phone - you claim for the portion that is being used for your work. If all this seems too complicated, you have the option to use HMRC Simplified Expenses that offers straightforward flat rates to calculate your claimable expenses.

Thanks for reading, have a great day!
Locate a Locum Team