As a DCT1, you are likely paying for GDC, BDA, dental indemnity, RCS England and MFDS Part 1.
A typical DCT1 pays £2,020 a year on these. £1,288 of it can come back from your trust and HMRC, if you keep the receipts.
Estimates from published fees for a typical full-time DCT1 passing first time. Yours might differ. Fees checked on against each body’s own fee page.
DCT1 take-home pay after tax and NHS Pension ›DCT1 tax rebate on fees, back four years ›
What you pay, receipt by receipt
This page is for dentists in dental core training year 1. Every DCT1 pays three things. The GDC charges a yearly retention fee to keep you on the dental register. The BDA charges for membership. Dental indemnity is an estimate, because each body quotes individually.
Together that is £1,205 a year, before any college fee or exam. You can get tax back on all three, if you claim it.
GDCcard statement
Annual retention fee
Retention year 2026
Total£698.00
✓ HMRC tax back
BDAcard statement
Membership
Graduate year 2
£29.75 a month
Total£357.00
✓ HMRC tax back
Then your college and exam
DCT1 has one pathway. You pay the RCS England dental affiliate fee and sit MFDS Part 1. You get tax back on the affiliate fee, and your trust pays back MFDS Part 1 for your first two attempts.
The slip at the end adds it all up, including the three costs above.
MFDS Part 1booking email
Exam fee
First two attempts
From Feb 2027
Total£800.00
✓ Your trust pays back
DCT1a typical year, with the three costs above
You pay in total£2,020
Your trust£800
HMRC, 40%£488
Logos belong to their owners and show where each fee goes. Reimbsr is not affiliated with these bodies.
Who pays you back
Two places pay you back, and neither does it unless you ask. Your trust pays back MFDS Part 1 when you send a claim. HMRC gives tax back on the rest when you claim it.
MFDS Part 1, first two attempts
This covers dental exams sat in England from 1 April 2026. Pay for the exam yourself, then claim the fee from your employer with the receipt showing the fee and the sitting date. You cannot also get tax back on a fee your trust pays.
From April 2027 your trust will also pay back royal college membership and portfolio fees. Until then, you get tax back on the RCS England affiliate fee instead.
GDC, BDA, dental indemnity and RCS England
HMRC gives back tax on fees you pay yourself, at your income tax rate. The estimate uses 40% for a DCT1.
Claim on the P87, HMRC's form for claiming tax back on work costs you pay yourself (like GDC and BDA fees). It covers this tax year and the last four. Over £2,500 in a year, use a Self Assessment tax return instead.
Claiming is easy. Proving it, a year later, is not.
Your trust wants the receipt showing the fee and the sitting date. But the GDC, the BDA, your indemnity provider, RCS England and the exam are all paid on different dates. Leave it until you rotate, and your trust's claim window can close first.
- The MFDS Part 1 receipt is in a booking email, and your trust needs the fee and sitting date from it.
- You cannot say which attempt it was, and your trust pays for the first two.
- Dental indemnity is quoted individually, so the quote you saw may not match the invoice you paid.
- GDC, BDA and college fees leave your account on different dates, with no single record.
Keep each receipt the day it arrives, and the claim is ready when you are.
Reimbsr keeps the proof from the day you pay
Nothing to remember: snap or forward each receipt when it arrives. Reimbsr reads the amount and date, works out who pays you back, and builds the claim for your trust when you are ready.
- Snap it or forward itSnap the receipt, forward the email to your own Reimbsr address, or add a drive. It reads the amount, date and claim deadline for you.
- See who pays you backEach expense is sorted into what your trust pays back and what HMRC gives tax back on, with the rule behind it. Not sure? Ask Reimbsr. It answers from published NHS and HMRC guidance, with sources, and in a grey area writes the question for you to send to medical staffing.
- Check it, then send itReimbsr builds one PDF with every line and receipt, and drafts the email to whoever approves your expenses. You check it and send it from your own email.
- Get your tax backIt fills in your P87 at the end of the tax year, on Free and Pro, so you get tax back on the fees your trust does not pay.
Doctors like you (DCT1) are typically eligible for £800 reimbursed and £488 back as tax relief a year.It will be free to try; you may never need to upgrade. Pro is £49.99 a year (£0.96 a week), only if it saves you more than it costs. See pricing ›
Free to start. Upgrade only if it pays.
In keeping with making financially savvy decisions, Reimbsr will be free to try. Only upgrade to the Pro version (£0.96 a week) if you think the app can help you save more money than it costs.