As a locum doctor, you are likely paying for GMC, BMA and medical indemnity.
A typical locum doctor pays £727 to £1,672 a year on these. £281 to £633 of it can come back from HMRC, if you keep the receipts.
Estimates from published fees for a typical full-time locum doctor. Yours might differ. Fees checked on against each body’s own fee page.
Locum doctor take-home pay after tax ›Locum doctor tax rebate on fees, back four years ›
What you pay, receipt by receipt
Three fees come with locum work. The GMC charges an annual fee to keep you registered. The BMA charges for membership. Medical indemnity is an estimate, because the MDU, MPS and MDDUS each quote individually.
That is £727 to £1,672 a year. The GMC and BMA show ranges because the rate depends on your year. With no college or exam in a typical locum year, the last slip adds up just these three. All three count for tax back: HMRC returns the income tax you paid on that money, once you claim it.
GMCreceipt.pdf
GMC annual fee
With a licence to practise
Total£481.00
✓ HMRC tax back
BMAcard statement
BMA membership
Annual subscription
Tax back on 85% of the fee
Rate depends on your year
Total£166 to £591
✓ HMRC tax back
Locum doctora typical year
You pay in total£727 to £1,672
HMRC, 40%£281 to £633
Logos belong to their owners and show where each fee goes. Reimbsr is not affiliated with these bodies.
Who pays you back
Only HMRC pays you back at this grade, and only once you ask. Your trust pays back nothing to a locum doctor.
Nothing for this grade
Trusts in England pay back exam fees for sittings from 1 April 2026, and membership fees from April 2027, for resident doctors and locally employed doctors. A locum post is not covered, so every fee above is for tax back.
GMC, BMA and medical indemnity
On fees you pay yourself, HMRC gives back tax at your income tax rate. The estimate uses 40% for a locum doctor. For the BMA, it counts 85% of the subscription.
If you are self-employed or work through a limited company, you claim through Self Assessment, not a P87. If you are employed, you claim on the P87, HMRC's form for claiming tax back on work costs you pay yourself (like GMC and BMA fees). It covers this tax year and the last four. Over £2,500 in a year, you use Self Assessment instead.
Claiming is easy. Proving it, a year later, is not.
Nothing here is paid back on its own, and no employer claims it for you. The GMC, BMA and your medical indemnity bill you on different dates, and HMRC wants you to show what you paid. By the time you come to claim, the receipts have scattered.
- The GMC fee receipt is in an email you have since cleared out.
- The BMA renewal goes out on its own date, and the only proof is a line on a card statement.
- Medical indemnity is a separate invoice from a separate body, so it sits apart from the rest.
- Whether it is Self Assessment or a P87, you need a year of statements, gathered in one sitting.
Keep each receipt the day it arrives, and the claim is ready when you are.
Reimbsr keeps the proof from the day you pay
Whether you claim on the P87 or through Self Assessment, a year of GMC, BMA and medical indemnity receipts is already in one place. No old emails to search, no year of statements to piece together.
- 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, if you are an employed locum, so you get tax back. If you are self-employed or work through a limited company, you claim through Self Assessment, with your receipts already in one place.
Doctors like you (Locum doctor) are typically eligible for £281 to £633 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.