Introduction
GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates provides a detailed study of the NHS and private earnings and expenses of GPs working in the NHS under a General Medical Services (GMS) or Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract in the UK in 2017/18.
Earnings and expenses estimates are based on a sample as at March 2019 from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRCs') Self Assessment tax database. All analyses are carried out by HMRC statisticians on an anonymised data set, which is adjusted to take into consideration individuals’ pension contributions. Only aggregate non-person-identifiable information is supplied to NHS Digital for publication in line with data protection legislation.
Earnings and expenses estimates have been rounded to the nearest £100. This means that in some tables and figures, the rounded figures presented for taxable income may not always equal gross earnings minus total expenses. As the population estimates provided in this report are not intended to be definitive, these are rounded to the nearest 50. In expenses tables, the percentage of total expenses for each category is displayed in parentheses.
Calculations such as percentage change and estimates of the expenses to earnings ratio (EER) are performed on data that have not been rounded.
All results presented are in cash terms. For real terms income before tax estimates, see the GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates Time Series, which supplements this report. The time series has been produced to collate results from the GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates reports from 2002/03 onwards.
This report has been agreed by the Technical Steering Committee (TSC), which is chaired by NHS Digital and has representation from the Department of Health and Social Care, UK Health Departments, NHS England and NHS Improvement, NHS Employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) which represents the interests of GPs.
NHS Digital welcomes feedback on the methodology, commentary, tables and charts within this publication. Please contact NHS Digital with your comments and suggestions by telephone on 0300 303 5678 or by email to [email protected] stating ‘GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates’ in the subject heading.
GPs included in the report
Only GPs working for the NHS in the UK are included in the report. The figures may include both NHS and private earnings.
GP type
The report contains results for contractor and salaried GPs only. “Combined GP” results are those of contractor and salaried GPs together, and consist of a weighted average of earnings and expenses data from self-employment for contractor GPs along with a combination of employment and medical self-employment figures for salaried GPs.
GPs that also work as Primary Care Organisation (PCO) Medical Directors are included. Fixed share partners bound to a practice via the partnership agreement are included in the contractor group.
PCO-employed GPs that are salaried are treated as salaried GPs employed by the practice.
It is possible that some salaried GPs may not need to complete a Self Assessment tax return. Such individuals do not appear in HMRC’s tax Self Assessment database and therefore cannot be included in the sample.
GPs who work solely as locums or freelancers are not included.
Contract type
Only GPs working under a GMS or PMS contract are included. GPMS results are those of GMS and PMS GPs together. No PMS contracts exist in Wales or Northern Ireland, so GPMS results shown for these countries relate to GMS GPs only. PMS GPs are referred to as Section 17c in Scotland. Primary Care Organisation (PCO) employed GPs that are salaried are given a GMS/PMS flag depending upon whether the contractor GP(s) for the practice hold a GMS or PMS contract.
GPs with multiple GMS or PMS contracts are removed, as are those GPs who are solely Alternative Providers of Medical Services (APMS).
Working hours
Full-time and part-time GPs are included. Figures are irrespective of working hours, except in Chapter 3 - Earnings and Expenses Estimates Weekly Working Hours and Gender for England GPs.
Accounting year
Only GPs whose information HMRC could trace and who had an accounting year ending in the final quarter of the fiscal year (i.e. between 1 January and 5 April 2018) are included.
Interpreting the results
Important definitions
The report uses the following terms:
Gross earnings – self-employment and/or employment income from NHS and private work before the deduction of total expenses.
Total expenses – business expenses from NHS and private work allowable for tax purposes.
Income before tax – taxable income before pension contributions are deducted, made up of gross earnings less total expenses, also known as net income.
Expenses to earnings ratio (EER) – the proportion of gross earnings taken up by total expenses.
Earnings
Gross earnings for contractor GPs are based on all medical income from self-employment sources. Income from employment sources is not included in averages for contractor GPs.
The majority of salaried GPs have a combination of self-employment and employment income. Therefore, their average total income before tax is based on medical income from self-employment sources and all employment income. The total expenses figure for salaried GPs will also be based on an average total of self-employment and employment data.
Expenses
Expenses are split into the following categories:
- Office and General Business
- Premises
- Employee
- Car and Travel
- Interest
- Other, which includes:
- ‘Advertising and business entertainment costs’ (which were classified as business expenses up to 2006/07)
- Interest for businesses where turnover is <£85,000 and interest is not reported separately
- Expenses for businesses (where turnover is low) and detailed expense breakdown not available
- Cost of drugs for dispensing GPs
- Net Capital Allowance.
Expenses figures exclude disallowable expenses.
Report population - the identifiable sample of GPs from the NHS workforce census and workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS) who qualify for inclusion in the report, used by HMRC to match against self-assessment tax returns.
The report population is not the same as the totals of populations published in the GP censuses in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the General Practice Workforce publication in England. The totals in these publications are based on a count of unique General Medical Council (GMC) numbers, whereas for this report, certain types of GPs are excluded (see above). Additionally, incomplete coverage within the data source also has the effect of lowering the report population when compared to the published totals of GPs in the four countries (see ‘Change in data source’). Some other GPs were subsequently excluded from HMRC’s sample for data quality reasons. For more information, please see the Methodology section.
HMRC sample - the number of GP records that HMRC traced and was able to match to a Self Assessment tax return. These records must pass validation checks and have an end-date in quarter four. In addition, contractor GPs must have self-employment income in order to be included in the sample. Salaried GPs must not have solely self-employment income but must also have employment income for all quarters of the financial year to be included.
The results presented in this report are estimates based on samples. To give a more accurate result, HMRC weights its sample to the report population when calculating averages.
Figures are subject to sampling error. Differences between groups and subgroups of GPs and differences in results when compared to previous years may not be statistically significant. Standard errors to support the statistical significance of the income before tax results are available in the Excel Annexes 1 and 2.
In addition, small populations for some subgroups mean that extreme values can have noticeable effects upon the averages. In such cases, results may be subject to additional uncertainty. Footnotes identify results based on a sample size of fewer than 125 GPs, which should be treated with caution.
Tables A and B show comparative figures for population counts. The Known Issues section below provides more information on the report population and sample counts in this report.
Table A: Census population, report population and HMRC sample, GPMS, 2016/17 and 2017/18, UK
|
UK Census Population 2016/17 |
UK Census Population 2017/18 |
Report Population 2016/17 |
Report Population 2017/18 |
HMRC Sample 2016/17 |
HMRC Sample 2017/18 |
| Contractor GPs |
30,069 |
29,144 |
26,150 |
26,400 |
15,350 |
15,350 |
| Of which: Dispensing |
: |
: |
3,900 |
4,050 |
2,050 |
2,150 |
| Non-Dispensing |
: |
: |
22,500 |
22,350 |
13,300 |
13,200 |
| Salaried GPs |
12,184 |
12,711 |
9,450 |
10,350 |
5,600 |
5,900 |
| Total |
42,253 |
41,855 |
35,600 |
36,750 |
20,950 |
21,300 |
Notes on Table A: 1. In England, prior to 2015 figures were sourced from NHAIS GP Payments (Exeter) System. From 2015 England GP information has been sourced from the workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS). Data completeness for the wMDS collection has improved each year since September 2015 meaning the report population and consequently, the size of the matched HMRC sample, has also increased each year. See Change in data source for more information. 2. UK census population figures are the totals of populations published in the GP censuses in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the General Practice Workforce publication in England. The total row includes only contractor and salaried GPs, and not GPs outside the scope of this publication, such as locums. 3. 2016/17 census population numbers differ from those published in the 2016/17 report due to revised figures in the General Practice Workforce publication.
Table B: Report population by contract type, 2017/18, UK
|
GPMS |
GMS |
PMS |
| Contractor GPs |
26,400 |
20,500 |
5,900 |
| Of which: Dispensing |
4,050 |
3,300 |
750 |
| Non-dispensing |
22,350 |
17,150 |
5,200 |
| Salaried GPs |
10,350 |
6,800 |
3,550 |
| Total |
36,750 |
27,250 |
9,500 |
Averages, rounding and suppression
All averages are means unless otherwise stated. In addition to providing the mean taxable income from NHS and private work, the median is also provided in places. Standard errors and medians for all taxable income results are provided in the open data text file (csv) published alongside this report.
Earnings and expenses estimates have been rounded to the nearest £100. This means that in some tables and figures the rounded numbers presented for taxable income may not equal gross earnings minus total expenses, and the sum of numbers in a table may not equal the total. As the population estimates provided in this report are not intended to be definitive, these are rounded to the nearest 50 unless otherwise stated. In expenses tables, the percentage of total expenses for each category is displayed in parentheses.
Calculations such as percentage change and estimates of the expenses to earnings ratio are performed on data prior to rounding unless otherwise stated.
Symbols used in tables
- c = confidential
Results have been suppressed by HMRC due to low sample numbers
- z = not applicable
Used when an observation is not applicable
- : = not available
Data unavailable for reasons other than those already specified
Superannuation contributions
The results for contractor GPs exclude an estimate of employers’ superannuation contributions but are before the deduction of employees’ contributions.
The results for salaried GPs include an estimate of employees’ superannuation contributions and Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs). This puts the salaried results on a comparable basis with the contractor results and allows results for combined GPs to be produced for the report.
For more information, please see the Methodology section.
Change in data source
In England the primary source for GP data changed in September 2015 from the National Health Authority Information System (NHAIS) to the workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS), now collected via the National Workforce Reporting System (NWRS) but before 1 April 2019 via the Primary Care Web Tool (PCWT) Workforce Census module and the workforce Minimum Data Set Collection Vehicle (wMDSCV).
Although data for England are now extracted on a quarterly basis, this report uses data that were extracted shortly after 30 September, which is in line with the previous NHAIS extracts and is consistent with the timing of the annual GP census data still used for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Data completeness for the wMDS collection has improved each year since September 2015 meaning that the report population - the identifiable sample of GPs which HMRC used to match against self assessment tax returns - and consequently, the size of the matched HMRC sample, has also increased each year.
NHS and private earnings
Earnings and expenses results relate to both NHS and private work. It is not possible to provide an NHS/private split using HMRC as a data source as most GPs submit a Self Assessment tax return which contains information on all of their self-employment earnings while practising as a GP, but which cannot differentiate between NHS and private earnings. GPs can perform both NHS and private work inside or outside the practice, including the NHS Out of Hours service.
As a guide to NHS/private earning proportions, the average NHS superannuable income for GPMS contractor GPs was 94 per cent of income before tax in 2014/15, which is the latest year for which pensions data are available.
Small samples
As noted under Populations and samples used in the report, the results from the sample count are weighted up to the report population and are subject to sampling error. Differences between groups and subgroups of GPs or comparisons between years may not be statistically significant. In addition, small samples for some subgroups mean that extreme values can have noticeable effects on the averages. In such cases results may be subject to additional uncertainty. Footnotes identify results based on a sample size of fewer than 125, which should be treated with caution.
Working hours
WMDS includes information on working hours for GPs in England. As a result, earnings estimates by weekly working hours and gender are provided for these GPs in Chapter 3.
All other data used in the analysis are for both full and part-time GPs, as the analysis is on a headcount basis.
It is not possible to estimate the average earnings of full-time GPs or their average full-time equivalent earnings for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or UK GPs as information on their working hours is not available.
Multiple contracts in England
Some GPs in England hold contracts with several practices, leading to more complex business arrangements. GPs with multiple contracts are excluded from the data set.
The count of GPs holding multiple contracts will be monitored over time. Workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS) figures for 2016 and 2017 show an increase from 1,034 to 1,409 GPs holding multiple contracts.
GPs who are solely APMS are not included in the report. However, if a GP holds both a GMS/PMS contract and an APMS contract, their earnings and expenses from that contract may be included and reported within their GMS/PMS figures.
Dispensing-only income
Income received solely from dispensing cannot be separately identified as this is not recorded separately on the Self Assessment tax return.
Clawback
Earnings and expenses reflect any Primary Care Organisation (PCO) clawback or reimbursement for previous years. This may occur if the GP or PCO had over or under-estimated predicted earnings for the year.