Whether you own a dental practice or work as an associate dentist, the Budget raises some practical questions. Will your staffing costs rise? Could the trading allowance help with a small amount of self-employed income? Are you keeping the right mileage records? Here are the main points to check.
1. Check your staffing costs
From 1 April 2027, the announced hourly minimum for employees aged at least 21 is £13.21. Younger employees and certain apprentices have separate rates.
If you own a dental practice, review the pay of your dental nurses, receptionists and other staff. Check the effect on the whole team, including more experienced staff. Add your employer National Insurance and pension costs so that you can see what the change means for your monthly bills.
If you are an associate dentist who does not employ staff, focus on the allowance and mileage points below.
2. Could the trading allowance help you?
A proposed change for 6 April 2027 would lift the trading allowance to £3,000, up from £1,000. Subject to legislation, eligible small-scale self-employment receipts within that amount could be exempt from income tax.
For dentists, the allowance may be useful if you have a small amount of eligible self-employed income. It is not an extra deduction from your salary, your company’s income or your share of partnership profits. Payments from your employer or certain businesses linked to you can also be excluded.
For the same eligible receipts, you generally need to decide whether to use the flat trading allowance or deduct actual allowable costs; the two approaches cannot be combined, including for mileage.
As an associate dentist, your laboratory bills, professional cover and other allowable work costs may be more than the allowance. Compare the two before deciding what to claim.
Check what you keep after running the practice
If you own a dental practice, look at your NHS and private income alongside staff, laboratory and other regular bills. This will help you decide whether your current fees and appointment capacity cover your costs.
Mileage, future plans and your next steps
3. Keep track of your business mileage
Dental professionals using a personal car or van for qualifying business trips should note the stated 2026/27 rates: 55p per mile up to 10,000 business miles, then 25p. An announced measure would retain 55p for the first band and raise the higher-mileage rate to 35p from 6 April 2027, subject to legislation.
If you are a dentist working at several practices, keep a record of the journeys you make for work. Travel between work locations may qualify, depending on your circumstances. Travel from home to your regular practice will usually not qualify. Having several practice addresses does not make every journey claimable.
For each journey, note when and why you travelled, the departure and destination, distance and any reimbursement.
Employed dentists may qualify for tax relief on a shortfall between approved mileage amounts and employer reimbursements, rather than receiving the whole mileage figure back. Eligible self-employed dentists using simplified mileage instead deduct the amount when calculating taxable profit. Different rules apply to company cars.
4. Planning to sell your practice or business?
If you plan to sell your dental practice, speak to your accountant before agreeing the terms. The amount a buyer pays is not the same as the profit used to work out your tax. The way you own and sell the practice also matters.
When an eligible dental business is disposed of, Business Asset Disposal Relief can reduce the tax due on qualifying gains. The Budget proposes cutting the lifetime gains ceiling from £1 million to £500,000 for disposals from 6 April 2027; qualifying gains are stated to face an 18% rate. The proposal awaits legislation.
Eligibility and the timing of a dental-practice disposal need careful review. An agreement signed before April does not necessarily secure the earlier threshold, because anti-forestalling or other special rules may apply.
5. Higher Income Tax on Rental Properties and Dental Practice Premises
Dentists with rental property interests may face a greater tax burden following the Autumn Budget’s proposed changes to property income taxation. From April 2027, the relevant Income Tax rates are set to increase to 24%, 44% and 49%.
This development is especially important for dental professionals who have invested in buy-to-let properties or retain personal ownership of commercial buildings occupied by their own practice or another business.
Consider a dentist whose taxable rental profits amount to £20,000 and fall within the higher-rate tax band. Under the revised rates, their annual Income Tax bill could increase by £800.
For practice owners whose dental premises are legally held outside the trading business, the additional tax cost makes it worthwhile to examine how rental payments are structured and whether the current property ownership model remains suitable.
Those with wider property portfolios should also factor the higher tax charge into their investment returns and cash-flow forecasts before the new rates take effect in April 2027.
What should you do now?
- Practice owners: update your staff budget and check your regular practice bills.
- Associate dentists: compare your allowable expenses with the trading allowance.
- Keep mileage records and seek advice early if you are planning a sale.
Speak to SIAL Accountants about your dental practice or your tax as an associate dentist. Visit www.sial-accountants.co.uk.
General information as at 28 October 2026. Announced changes may change before they become law. What you can claim depends on your circumstances.