What expenses can NHS dentists deduct?

Self-employed NHS dentists can deduct legitimate business expenses from their gross earnings before calculating taxable income. Common allowable expenses include practice costs (premises, rates, utilities), clinical staff wages (nurses, receptionists), laboratory fees, equipment and instruments, professional indemnity insurance, professional body subscriptions, continuing professional development costs, clinical supplies and materials, and motor expenses for business travel. The NHS England Digital data shows average expenses of £84,500 in 2024/25, which is 50% of average gross earnings. Associates working from a principal's practice have a different expense profile, primarily limited to indemnity, CPD and equipment they personally own.

How do NHS dentist earnings compare with private dentistry?

The NHS Digital earnings data covers only dentists earning primarily from NHS contracts. Private dental income is not captured. In practice, many dentists work in a mixed NHS and private model, and the private component can substantially increase total earnings above the NHS-only figures shown here. Some fully private dentists earn significantly more; others earn less if they are early in their career or in less affluent areas. The figures here provide a reliable NHS benchmark, not a ceiling.

Are these figures for associates or principals?

The NHS Digital dataset covers all self-employed primary-care NHS dentists, including both providing-performer (principals who hold the NHS contract) and associate (performer-only) dentists. The dataset segments by Business Arrangement in its full detail, but the headline figures shown here are for all types combined. Associates typically earn less than principals because associates pay a percentage of their UDA receipts to the practice (or work on a fee-share arrangement) and do not hold the capital value of the NHS contract. Principals have higher gross earnings but also higher expenses.

Where does this data come from?

The earnings and expenses figures come from the NHS England Digital Dental Earnings and Expenses Estimates publication, produced annually from HMRC self-assessment records and NHS payment data. The edition used here covers 2024/25 and was published on 30 July 2026. The data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The England time series runs from 2017/18 to 2024/25: earlier years exist in the workbook for the UK as a whole, but England is marked 'Not applicable' before 2017/18, so no England figures are shown for those years.

NHS Dentist Earnings and Expenses Tracker

NHS dentist average net income was £83,000 in 2024/25

Name: NHS Dentist Earnings and Expenses Tracker: annual earnings data for self-employed NHS dentists
Creator: Dental Finance Partners
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Annual gross earnings, expenses and net income for self-employed primary-care NHS dentists in England, from NHS England Digital. England time series 2017/18 to 2024/25, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 and free to cite with attribution.

average net income before tax, 2024/25: £83,000average net income before tax, 2024/25
median net income before tax, 2024/25: £69,200median net income before tax, 2024/25
average gross earnings, 2024/25: £167,500average gross earnings, 2024/25
change in average net income against 2023/24: +£4,800change in average net income against 2023/24

Key findings (2024/25)

Self-employed primary-care NHS dentists in England earned an average of £167,500 gross in 2024/25, with average expenses of £84,500, leaving average net income before tax of £83,000.
Expenses ran at 50% of gross earnings. Everything after that is still before income tax and national insurance.
The median net income was £69,200, below the average. A smaller number of high-earning dentists, typically principals of larger practices, pulls the average up, so the median is the better read for a single dentist.
Net income rose +£4,800 against 2023/24, when the average was £78,200.
The survey covers an estimated 20,250 NHS primary-care dentists in England in 2024/25.

Source: NHS England Digital, Dental Earnings and Expenses Estimates, 2024/25, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures may be cited with attribution to Dental Finance Partners.

Earnings trend: 2017/18 to 2024/25

Average gross earnings, expenses and net income before tax for self-employed NHS dentists in England. The series starts at 2017/18 because the published UK time series marks England as not applicable from 2008/09 to 2016/17, so no England figures exist for those years. The 2020/21 figures carry NHS Covid support payments to dental contractors and are not comparable with the years either side of them.

Average gross earnings, expenses and net income before tax for self-employed primary-care NHS dentists in England, by year
Year	Average gross earnings	Average expenses	Average net income before tax
2017/18	£146,700	£78,100	£68,500
2018/19	£147,100	£78,500	£68,600
2019/20	£144,700	£76,100	£68,600
2020/21	£141,400	£68,900	£72,500
2021/22	£156,100	£78,200	£77,900
2022/23	£155,200	£79,300	£75,800
2023/24	£158,100	£79,900	£78,200
2024/25	£167,500	£84,500	£83,000

Gross earnings, expenses and net income (2024/25)

The same year read as three bars. Expenses take 50% of gross earnings, and net income is what is left before income tax and national insurance.

Average gross earnings, expenses and net income before tax for self-employed primary-care NHS dentists in England, 2024/25
Measure	Average per dentist, 2024/25
Gross earnings	£167,500
Expenses	£84,500
Net income	£83,000

Earnings by UK country (2024/25)

Only England and Wales report a comparable all-dental-types, all-contract-types figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland run different NHS contract structures and are broken down on different categories in the source data, so putting them in the same column would be a false comparison rather than a missing one.

Average gross earnings, expenses and net income before tax by UK country, 2024/25
Country	Avg gross earnings	Avg expenses	Avg net income
England	£167,500	£84,500	£83,000
Wales	£169,000	£82,900	£86,100

Methodology and sources

Data source. Figures come from the Dental Earnings and Expenses Estimates, 2024/25 publication, released on 30 July 2026 and produced annually from HMRC self-assessment records and NHS payment data. The survey covers self-employed dentists who take a significant proportion of their income from primary-care NHS dental contracts (GDS and PDS). Employed dentists, such as salaried officers in community services, are excluded.

Measures. Gross earnings include all taxable income from dentistry, NHS and private alike. Expenses are total allowable business expenses. Income before tax, the net income figure used throughout this page, is gross earnings minus expenses, before income tax and national insurance. The publisher rounds to the nearest hundred pounds.

Caveats. The 2020/21 figures are distorted by NHS Covid support payments, which paid dentists without normal activity being delivered. The dataset under-represents dentists working mostly in private practice. Averages are pulled by a small number of very high earners, which is why the median is published alongside them. The headline and time series are England only; the country table adds Wales. Generated 2026-08-03.

Dental Earnings and Expenses Estimates, 2024/25 (CSV) (NHS England / NHS Digital)

Download the earnings time series (CSV)

Free to cite and republish with attribution to Dental Finance Partners. This page is a data summary and does not constitute tax or financial advice on any individual situation.

Making the most of your dental earnings

A benchmark only tells you where you sit. What you keep depends on structure, expenses claimed, pension treatment and how income is drawn. Whether you are an associate comparing yourself with the national average, a principal reviewing extraction, or a buyer reading goodwill against income, that is the work. We work with dental professionals only.

Tax for associate dentists Practice principal finance

The other three data series

All four data series

Frequently asked questions

What is the average NHS dentist salary in 2024/25?: NHS England Digital reports that the average income before tax for self-employed primary-care NHS dentists in England was £83,000 in 2024/25. This is average net income, meaning gross earnings minus expenses, before income tax and national insurance. The median net income (the midpoint, less influenced by high earners) was £69,200. These figures cover dentists who derive the majority of their income from NHS dental contracts.
What expenses can NHS dentists deduct?: Self-employed NHS dentists can deduct legitimate business expenses from their gross earnings before calculating taxable income. Common allowable expenses include practice costs (premises, rates, utilities), clinical staff wages (nurses, receptionists), laboratory fees, equipment and instruments, professional indemnity insurance, professional body subscriptions, continuing professional development costs, clinical supplies and materials, and motor expenses for business travel. The NHS England Digital data shows average expenses of £84,500 in 2024/25, which is 50% of average gross earnings. Associates working from a principal's practice have a different expense profile, primarily limited to indemnity, CPD and equipment they personally own.
How do NHS dentist earnings compare with private dentistry?: The NHS Digital earnings data covers only dentists earning primarily from NHS contracts. Private dental income is not captured. In practice, many dentists work in a mixed NHS and private model, and the private component can substantially increase total earnings above the NHS-only figures shown here. Some fully private dentists earn significantly more; others earn less if they are early in their career or in less affluent areas. The figures here provide a reliable NHS benchmark, not a ceiling.
Are these figures for associates or principals?: The NHS Digital dataset covers all self-employed primary-care NHS dentists, including both providing-performer (principals who hold the NHS contract) and associate (performer-only) dentists. The dataset segments by Business Arrangement in its full detail, but the headline figures shown here are for all types combined. Associates typically earn less than principals because associates pay a percentage of their UDA receipts to the practice (or work on a fee-share arrangement) and do not hold the capital value of the NHS contract. Principals have higher gross earnings but also higher expenses.
Where does this data come from?: The earnings and expenses figures come from the NHS England Digital Dental Earnings and Expenses Estimates publication, produced annually from HMRC self-assessment records and NHS payment data. The edition used here covers 2024/25 and was published on 30 July 2026. The data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The England time series runs from 2017/18 to 2024/25: earlier years exist in the workbook for the UK as a whole, but England is marked 'Not applicable' before 2017/18, so no England figures are shown for those years.