Locum doctors: pension and tax to set aside
Locum fees arrive without tax taken off. Put a share of every payment aside for your NHS pension, income tax and National Insurance, so the bills are covered when they come.
Your answer
Enter your locum fees for the year.
About this calculator
For self-employed GP locums in England and Wales who work as sole traders. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own NHS pension schemes and rates. If you work through a limited company, you can't pension locum work through Forms A and B.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
Your pensionable pay is 90% of your fees. Its band sets your own contribution rate (5.2% to 12.5%), which applies to all of it. The practice adds the employer part, 14.38% of pensionable pay, to your fee, and you pass it straight on with your own part.
Your profit is your fees less your expenses. Class 4 National Insurance is worked out on that profit. Your own pension contribution comes off your income for income tax when you claim it on your tax return. We add the pension, income tax and Class 4 together, and show it per month and per £1,000 paid to you, with the dates the tax is due.
Worked example
Set aside about £2,995 a month (£35,942 for the year) for your NHS pension, income tax and National Insurance.
2026/27 tax year · England and Wales · self-employed sole trader · NHS Pension Scheme, 12.5% member rate
| Your locum fees for the year | £80,000 |
|---|---|
| Pensionable pay: 90% of your fees | £72,000 |
| Your own pension contribution: 12.5% of all your pensionable pay (the rate for its band) | £9,000 |
| The employer part: 14.38% of pensionable pay. The practice adds it to your fee and you pass it on | £10,354 |
| Less your practice expenses | − £5,000 |
| Your profit | £75,000 |
| Class 4 National Insurance: 6% of profit from £12,570 to £50,270, 2% above (your pension doesn't lower this) | £2,757 |
| Less your own pension contribution, claimed on your tax return | − £9,000 |
| Income for income tax | £66,000 |
| Income tax on it | £13,832 |
| To set aside: pension, income tax and Class 4 | £35,942 |
Worked out using HMRC's published rates for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), on a yearly basis.
Questions people ask
Do I get tax relief on the employer part?
We treat it as passing straight through: the practice pays it to you on top of your fee and you pay it to the scheme, so it doesn't change your tax. Some accountants show it in your accounts and claim relief on it instead. The tax comes out about the same; talk to us if you're not sure how yours is shown.
Why is my bill so big in my second January?
Once your tax bill is £1,000 or more, HMRC asks for half of it again in advance for the next year (payments on account). So on 31 January you pay last year's bill and the first advance payment together.
Does the annual allowance affect me?
It might if you earn a lot or your pension grows quickly. The allowance (£60,000) is measured on how much your NHS pension grows in the year, not on what you pay in. NHS Pensions sends a pension savings statement if you go over it.
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