Is my BMA membership tax deductible?
Yes, you can claim tax relief on your British Medical Association membership fee and it can be backdated for the last 4 years.
British Medical Association members are entitled to claim tax relief on a variety of expenses incurred at work. Each one has its own eligibility criteria and they can all be included on the same submission to HMRC.
Can BMA members claim other tax reliefs?
BMA members are likely to incur other costs which HMRC will allow tax relief on. They can be claimed for at the same time as your BMA tax rebate claim.
These are other tax reliefs worth considering in addition to BMA tax rebate claim; it is not an exhaustive list:
- Membership of other professional organisations such as the GMC and JRCPB. There must be an agreement with HMRC which allows their members to claim tax relief on registration costs.
- MRCP(UK) examination fees.
- MDU professional indemnity insurance.
- Laundering of uniform.
- Purchases of equipment for work use – you will require receipts as evidence for this one.
- Using your own private vehicle to make work journeys to temporary workplaces; such as clinics being run in another hospital, or visiting patients in their own home. Even if you are paid some mileage by your employer HMRC will pay the difference if you don’t receive the maximum entitlement of 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p over that limit. It is a good idea to keep a travel log to back up your claim.
How to claim BMA tax relief from HMRC
The way in which you claim tax relief on your BMA membership fee depends on if you complete a self assessment tax return in the year of your claim.
Self Assessment BMA tax rebate claim:
If you complete a tax return you will need to include the value of your BMA membership along with any other allowable professional fees and tax reliefs in the employment section of your tax return.
HMRC will calculate and repay any income tax owed to you relating to your BMA claim after they have processed your tax return.
P87 BMA tax rebate claim:
If you don’t complete a tax return the form P87 should be used to submit your claim. You can complete the P87 online or download and post it to HMRC.
A claim for up to four tax years can be included on one P87 form so you can make a BMA tax rebate claim for multiple years quite easily.
BMA tax relief and your tax code
After HMRC has processed either your P87 or tax return you should receive a new tax which will reflect the value of your annual BMA membership fee along with any other professional fees and allowable reliefs.
Updating your tax code in this way means you will receive tax relief for your expenses of employment during the tax year by paying less tax each each month.
You will still need to include your BMA membership fee in all future tax returns where appropriate.
