National Insurance Review

Many consultants have at least two sources of income:

  • NHS 
  • Private Practice

Both these sources of income are liable to national insurance contributions (NIC’s).  A consultant will pay NIC’s on their NHS salary as well as NIC’s on their private practice income.

There is however a maximum amount of national insurance contributions which any individual tax payer has to pay in any year.

Normally your accountant will be apply to have the national insurance contributions on private practice income cancelled or ‘deferred’.  This is because normally a consultant will have paid the maximum national insurance contributions due on their NHS salary alone.

However, in our experience it is not uncommon for this “deferment” to be missed by an inexperienced or non specialist accountant.  If the accountant does not request that the national insurance contributions are deferred the consultant will pay more national insurance than is due.  The Inland Revenue has no procedure to prevent this from happening and it would not be unusual for a consultant to pay £2500 per annum in unnecessary contributions.
The consultant receives no additional benefits for these additional contributions.

How We Can Help

One of the first things we will do when appointed to act for a consultant is to check what national insurance contributions are being paid.  If contributions have been over paid in the past we are able to reclaim the overpayment. There is a 6 year limit in reclaiming National Insurance where clients have paid in error.