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Digital

Publication, Part of

GP Earnings and Expenses - 2004-05

Publication Date:
Date Range:
06 Apr 2004 to 05 Apr 2005

Summary

This report presents the main results from the GP Earnings and Expenses Enquiry for the financial year 2004/05.

The report has been agreed by the technical steering committee (TSC), which includes representatives from the four UK health departments, NHS Employers and the BMA.

The results are based on a sample of 17,897 GPs who report one or more source of self-employment income with accounting year ending in the final quarter (1 January 2005 to 5 April 2005). The data source for the survey is HM Revenue and Customs (HMRCs) tax self-assessment (SA) database.

Figures relate to earnings, expenses and income derived from all self-employed sources, as reported on tax returns, and so include private as well as NHS work. The figures also include GPs personal earnings that do not contribute towards the NHS Pension Scheme, and will therefore differ to average pensionable earnings figures sourced from the UK pensions agencies.

This enquiry is the first to be affected by the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract.

The Information Centre (The IC) has worked with statisticians at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to assess the extent to which the average net income figures in the paper "GP Earnings and Expenses Enquiry 2004/05 - Headline Results" are affected by the change in recording practice for the 14 per cent employer's superannuation contributions in GPs' tax returns. The attached technical note clarifies and quantifies the impact of this.

Highlights

  • In 2004/05, average net income, for GPMS GPs (those GPs working under General Medical Services (GMS) or Personal Medical Services (PMS) contracts) in the UK, was:
    - 102,388 for non-dispensing GPs (an increase of 30.4 per cent since 2003/04)
    - 127,924 for dispensing GPs (an increase of 31.2 per cent since 2003/04).
  • In 2004/05 average net income was:
    - 102,437 for GMS GPs (an increase of 32.8 per cent since 2003/04)
    - 116,583 for PMS GPs (an increase of 26.5 per cent since 2003/04).
  • For GPMS GPs (non-dispensers and dispensers combined) in the UK in 2004/05, average net income was 106,404, an increase of 30.5 per cent since 2003/04.
  • The average GPMS gross earnings in 2004/05 was 236,330. The average expenses was 129,926.
  • In 2004/05, the UK GPMS expenses to earnings ratio (the percentage of GPs overall earnings accounted for by tax-allowable expenses) was 55.0 per cent. This is a decrease from the 2003/04 expenses to earnings ratio of 59.5 per cent, reflecting the higher increase in overall earnings compared to expenses over this period.
  • In 2004/05, PMS net income was 13.8 per cent higher than GMS net income (116,583 compared to 102,437); the corresponding figure in 2003/04 was 19.5 per cent (92,168 compared to 77,152).
  • In 2004/05, GMS dispensers had a 28.3 per cent higher average net income than GMS non-dispensers (125,516 compared to 97,825). PMS dispensers earned 19.3 per cent more than their non-dispensing counterparts (135,638 compared to 113,649). These differences are largely unchanged from 2003/04.

Resources

Last edited: 1 April 2019 2:25 pm