As an ST1, you are likely paying for GMC, BMA, medical indemnity, your college and an exam.
A typical ST1 pays £1,405 to £1,674 a year on these, depending on specialty. £763 to £1,005 of it can come back from your trust and HMRC, if you keep the receipts.
Estimates from published fees for a typical full-time ST1 passing first time. Yours might differ. Fees checked on against each body’s own fee page.
ST1 take-home pay after tax and NHS Pension ›ST1 tax rebate on fees, back four years ›
What you pay, receipt by receipt
Three fees come with every ST1, whatever the specialty. The GMC annual fee keeps you registered, at the reduced rate for doctors within five years of qualifying. The BMA charges for membership. Medical indemnity is an estimate, because the MDU, MPS and MDDUS each quote individually.
That is £923 a year before any college or exam. 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
£24.33 a month
Total£292.00
✓ HMRC tax back
Then your college and exam, by pathway
Your college and exam depend on your specialty. These three are shown: anaesthetics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics. Each adds a college or trainee fee, which counts for tax back, and an exam, which your trust pays back for the first two attempts.
The last slip in each row adds it all up, with the three fees above.
Anaesthetics two more receipts
RCoAreceipt.pdf
Membership
Anaesthetist in training
Total£207.00
✓ HMRC tax backPrimary FRCA MCQbooking email
Exam fee
First two attempts
Feb 2027 sitting
Total£420.00
✓ Your trust pays back
ST1 · Anaestheticsa typical year, with the three costs above
You pay in total£1,550
Your trust£420
HMRC, 40%£434
Obstetrics and gynaecology two more receipts
MRCOG Part 1booking email
Exam fee
First two attempts
Jan 2027 sitting
Total£589.00
✓ Your trust pays backST1 · Obstetrics and gynaecologya typical year, with the three costs above
You pay in total£1,674
Your trust£589
HMRC, 40%£416
Paediatrics two more receipts
MRCPCH Foundation of Practicebooking email
Exam fee
First two attempts
Feb 2027 sitting
Total£365.00
✓ Your trust pays backST1 · Paediatricsa typical year, with the three costs above
You pay in total£1,405
Your trust£365
HMRC, 40%£398
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 the exam once you send a claim. HMRC gives tax back on the other fees once you ask.
The exam, first two attempts
This covers sittings from 1 April 2026. You pay the College as usual, then claim it back from your employer with the College receipt showing the fee and the sitting date. A fee your trust pays back gets no tax back on top.
From April 2027 your trust pays back royal college membership and portfolio fees too. Until then, they count for tax back instead.
GMC, BMA, medical indemnity and your college
On fees you pay yourself, HMRC gives back tax at your income tax rate. The estimate uses 40% for an ST1. For the BMA, it counts 85% of the subscription.
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.
In a typical ST1 year, five fees go out on different dates and the receipts land in different places. Your trust wants the College receipt with the fee and the sitting date, and if you wait until you rotate, its claim window can close first. The P87 feels like a job for another day.
- The exam booking email is months old and buried.
- You cannot say which attempt it was, and your trust pays for the first two.
- Your first college receipt went to an inbox you no longer use.
- The P87 means finding a year of statements 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
When the exam claim is due, the College receipt and sitting date are already there, and Reimbsr nudges you before the claim window closes. At the end of the tax year, your GMC, BMA, medical indemnity and college fees are ready for your tax back.
- 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 (ST1) are typically eligible for £365 to £589 reimbursed and £398 to £434 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.