Category
Financial Management
Pricing your services, tax and VAT, collecting payment and what private general practice can earn.
Pricing Strategy
3 guides
As a private GP, should I charge separately for pathology and tests?
Yes, most private GPs charge for pathology, ECGs and other tests on top of the consultation fee, because the tests each patient needs vary and each one has real costs. Price each test from its full cost, not just the lab fee, publish your prices and tell the patient what they will pay before you take the sample. Use packages for defined services such as health checks.
How much should I charge as a private GP?
Published private GP fees in the UK run from about £55 to £70 for a 15-minute video appointment, and from about £75 to £150 for 15 to 30 minutes face to face, with hour-long appointments at £240 or more. Set your own fee by working out your costs per clinic hour and how many appointments you will realistically fill, then check it against local competitors. If you work under practising privileges, the clinic usually sets the price.
Private GP pricing and break-even: how many patients do you need?
Divide your monthly fixed costs by what each appointment leaves after its own direct costs. That gives the number of appointments a month you need to break even. Add what you want to pay yourself to the fixed costs to find a sustainable target. Then check it fits your available slots, and work out how many active patients produce that many appointments.
Revenue & Earnings
4 guides
Can patients pay for private GP appointments with insurance?
Usually not directly. Most UK private medical insurance does not pay independent private GPs; policies tend to include the insurer’s own remote GP service instead, and a few offer a face-to-face benefit in the insurer’s clinics or a GP add-on that reimburses the patient. The practical approach is for patients to pay you and claim back if their policy allows, with direct billing only against a written guarantee of payment from the insurer before the appointment.
How much does a private GP earn?
There is no official figure for private GP earnings, because income depends on how you work: employed by a clinic, paid by the session, or running your own service. A useful way to think about it is per weekly session per year: one four-hour session a week for 47 weeks is 188 clinic hours, and what you keep depends on your fee, how full the session is and your costs. Private income is not pensionable in the NHS Pension Scheme.
How should I collect payment for private GP appointments?
Take payment when the patient books online or before they leave, rather than invoicing afterwards: it cuts admin, missed appointments and unpaid bills. Publish clear terms on what the fee covers, cancellations and refunds, make sure your online booking meets consumer law on cancellation rights, and never add a card surcharge. Keep invoicing afterwards for employers and insurers who have given a guarantee of payment.
Private medical insurance, Healthcode and insurer-funded GP work: how billing works
Most private GP income is self-pay, because most UK health insurance steers members to the insurer’s own GP service rather than paying independent GPs. To bill an insurer directly, each insurer must first recognise you and give you a provider number. You then invoice electronically, usually through Healthcode’s clearing service. Otherwise, take payment and give the patient a receipt to claim from their insurer if their policy allows it.
Tax & Accounting
2 guides
Do private GPs need to charge VAT?
Usually not. Medical care by a registered doctor is exempt from VAT when its main purpose is to protect, maintain or restore the patient’s health, which covers most private GP consultations, tests, screening and vaccinations. Reports and medicals done mainly for a third party, such as pre-employment medicals and medico-legal reports, are standard-rated, and you must register once that taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any 12 months.
What are the tax implications of running a private GP service?
Private GP profits are taxed like any other business income: as a sole trader you pay Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance through Self Assessment, and through a company you pay Corporation Tax and then tax on what you draw. Most consultations are exempt from VAT, and private fees are not NHS pensionable. The things that catch new private GPs out are payments on account, Making Tax Digital for sole traders with income over £50,000, and higher-rate tax from the first session if you also have NHS pay.
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Guides on every part of running a private general practice, from regulation to growing your list.
