If you own a community pharmacy, staff bills and the money available to pay suppliers are likely to be on your mind. If you are a locum pharmacist, work expenses and travel may matter more. Here are the Budget points to check, starting with the ones most likely to affect your day-to-day finances.
1. Check your staffing costs
From April 2027, pharmacy operators face an announced hourly minimum of £13.21 for staff aged 21 and above. Different minimums remain relevant for younger staff and some apprentices.
If you own a pharmacy, review the pay of your dispensing, counter and support staff. Check the effect across the whole rota, including more experienced staff. Add employer National Insurance and pension costs to see what the change means for your monthly bills.
If you work as a locum pharmacist and do not employ anyone, focus on the trading allowance and mileage sections below.
2. Could the trading allowance help you?
For pharmacists earning a little qualifying freelance income, the Budget proposes an annual trading allowance of £3,000 instead of £1,000 from 6 April 2027. This could remove income tax on eligible receipts within the threshold, if the proposal becomes law.
For pharmacists doing a small amount of eligible self-employed locum work, the allowance may be worth checking. It does not apply to your salary, your pharmacy company’s income or your share of partnership profits. Payments from your employer or certain businesses linked to you can also be excluded.
The trading allowance cannot be stacked on top of deductible expenses for the same earnings. A locum should compare the flat amount against eligible costs, including business travel, before selecting a method.
As a locum pharmacist, compare the allowance with your allowable professional and travel expenses. Do not assume that the bigger allowance is better than claiming your actual work costs.
Check when money comes in and bills go out
If you own a pharmacy, look at when NHS payments arrive and when you need to pay staff and suppliers. Check your stock spending too. A national NHS funding announcement does not tell you how much more your own pharmacy will receive, so use confirmed amounts in your plans.
Mileage, future plans and your next steps
3. Keep track of your business mileage
A pharmacist claiming qualifying travel in their own car or van should use the stated 2026/27 mileage bands of 55p for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p for additional miles. The Budget proposes 35p for miles beyond 10,000 from 6 April 2027, retaining the 55p initial band; legislation is pending.
If you are a locum pharmacist covering several pharmacies, keep a log of your work journeys. Some travel between work locations may qualify. Travel from home to a regular workplace will usually not. Working at several pharmacies does not make every journey claimable.
Maintain a journey-by-journey record showing the pharmacy locations, date, business reason, distance and employer reimbursement, if any.
An employed pharmacist might obtain tax relief where qualifying mileage is reimbursed below the approved amount; this is not reimbursement of the entire mileage figure. A qualifying self-employed locum using the mileage method deducts the amount in computing profit. These figures do not apply to company cars.
4. Planning to sell your practice or business?
If you are planning to sell your pharmacy, get advice before agreeing the terms. The tax treatment depends on how you own the business and what you are selling. The sale price alone does not tell you how much tax you will pay.
Pharmacy owners contemplating a qualifying business disposal should consider Business Asset Disposal Relief. The announced change would halve the lifetime qualifying-gains limit from £1 million to £500,000 for sales from 6 April 2027, while the applicable rate on qualifying gains is stated as 18%. The new limit remains subject to legislation.
A pharmacy sale must satisfy the relief’s conditions. The contractual signing date alone may not determine which limit applies, so seek transaction-specific advice rather than rushing to complete.
5. Higher Income Tax on Pharmacy Premises and Rental Properties
Pharmacy proprietors with property interests should take note of the Chancellor’s decision to raise the taxation of rental profits. Beginning in April 2027, the applicable Income Tax bands for property income will move to 24%, 44% and 49%.
The revised rates may have financial consequences for pharmacists who own their business premises independently of their pharmacy operation and charge rent to the company or partnership occupying the property.
Exposure to these higher rates is not limited to pharmacy buildings. Professionals within the sector who receive income from residential lettings or other investment properties may experience increased taxation on those earnings.
A pharmacist falling within the higher-rate tax band and generating £40,000 in taxable rental profits, for instance, could incur an extra £1,600 in Income Tax over a year.
Where pharmacy premises and the trading business operate under different ownership arrangements, assessing the existing lease, ownership structure and anticipated tax costs could help proprietors prepare for the forthcoming changes.
What should you do now?
- Pharmacy owners: update your staff budget and check payment dates and stock spending.
- Locum pharmacists: compare your allowable expenses with the trading allowance.
- Keep mileage records and get advice early if you plan to sell.
Speak to SIAL Accountants about your community pharmacy or locum pharmacist 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.