If you run an optical practice or work as a locum optometrist, you need to know which Budget points affect you. Start with staff costs, the trading allowance and mileage. These are useful checks for your everyday finances, whether you own a practice or work independently.
1. Check your staffing costs
Optical businesses should budget for the announced £13.21 hourly minimum for staff aged 21 and over from 1 April 2027. Separate statutory rates cover younger workers and certain apprentices.
If you own an optical practice, check the pay of your reception, dispensing and support staff. Allow for the effect on more experienced team members as well. Add employer National Insurance and pension costs to work out the full increase in your staff budget.
If you are a locum optometrist with no employees, the trading allowance and mileage sections may be more relevant to you.
2. Could the trading allowance help you?
A locum optometrist with limited qualifying side income may benefit from the proposed £3,000 trading allowance, compared with £1,000 currently. The announced start date is 6 April 2027, although parliamentary approval is still required.
For an optometrist with a small amount of eligible self-employed locum or teaching income, the allowance may be worth checking. It does not apply to your salary, your optical company’s sales or your share of partnership profits. Payments from your employer or certain businesses linked to you can also be excluded.
The flat allowance is an alternative to deducting actual allowable expenses from the same income, not an additional deduction. Compare both methods, particularly where travel costs are significant.
As a locum optometrist, compare the allowance with the professional and travel expenses you could otherwise claim. If your allowable expenses are higher, claiming those costs may be better.
Review your practice’s monthly bills
If you own an optical practice, check your stock purchases, rent and staff costs against the money coming in. If you expect help with business rates, check your own property’s eligibility with the local council before including a saving in your plans.
Mileage, future plans and your next steps
3. Keep track of your business mileage
For eligible journeys in an optometrist’s own car or van, the stated 2026/27 mileage amounts are 55p for each of the first 10,000 business miles and 25p thereafter. A legislative proposal would lift the latter rate to 35p from 6 April 2027 while leaving the first band at 55p.
As an optometrist, you may drive between branches or visit patients at home. Keep a record of each work journey and why you made it. Some trips may qualify, but travel from home to a regular branch will usually not. Taking locum bookings at different branches does not make every journey claimable.
Record the branch or patient location visited, the business purpose, travel date, distance and any amount repaid by an employer.
Where an optical employer pays less than the approved amount for qualifying mileage, an employee may claim relief on the gap; the whole allowance is not refunded. Eligible self-employed optometrists using mileage deductions offset them against business profit. Company cars are treated differently.
4. Planning to sell your practice or business?
If you are thinking about selling your optical practice, ask for a tax review before agreeing the terms. The rules depend on what you own and what you sell. If you own the practice premises personally, mention that to your accountant too.
An optical-practice sale may attract Business Asset Disposal Relief if the relevant conditions are satisfied. Under the announced proposal, the lifetime cap on qualifying gains would fall from £1 million to £500,000 for disposals from 6 April 2027. The stated tax rate on qualifying gains is 18%, and the cap change still requires legislation.
The ownership structure and disposal date can affect whether relief is available. Do not rely on signing a sale agreement before April as a guarantee of the current cap; specialist advice is important.
5. Higher Tax on Rental Income and Optical Practice Properties
From April 2027, property income will be subject to increased Income Tax rates of 24% for basic-rate taxpayers, 44% for higher-rate taxpayers and 49% for additional-rate taxpayers.
For independent opticians, the changes are particularly relevant where practice premises are held in personal ownership and leased to the operating company or partnership.
The impact may extend beyond commercial property. Locum optometrists and optical business proprietors generating income from buy-to-let accommodation or other rental assets could see a rise in their personal tax obligations.
To illustrate the potential cost, an additional-rate taxpayer with £25,000 in taxable rental profits may incur approximately £1,000 more in Income Tax each year.
With the new rules approaching, optical practice proprietors may wish to reassess how their premises are held, evaluate income generated through property holdings and consider whether their existing tax strategy remains appropriate.
What should you do now?
- Practice owners: update your staff budget and check stock, rent and other bills.
- Locum optometrists: compare the trading allowance with your allowable work expenses.
- Keep clear records of branch visits and patient visits.
Speak to SIAL Accountants about your optical practice or locum optometry work. 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.