As a clinical fellow, you are likely paying for GMC, BMA, medical indemnity and your college.
A typical clinical fellow pays £927 to £1,708 a year on these. £353 to £648 of it can come back from HMRC, if you keep the receipts.
Estimates from published fees for a typical full-time clinical fellow. Yours might differ. Fees checked on against each body’s own fee page.
Clinical fellow take-home pay after tax ›Clinical fellow tax rebate on fees, back four years ›
What you pay, receipt by receipt
Three fees come with every clinical fellow post. The GMC charges an annual fee to keep you registered, at a reduced rate within five years of qualifying. The BMA charges for membership. Medical indemnity is an estimate, because the MDU, MPS and MDDUS each quote individually.
That is £808 to £1,372 a year before any college. All three count for tax back: HMRC returns the income tax you paid on that money, once you claim it.
GMCreceipt.pdf
GMC annual fee
With a licence to practise
Total£481.00
✓ HMRC tax back
BMAcard statement
BMA membership
Annual subscription
Tax back on 85% of the fee
Rate depends on your year
Total£292 to £591
✓ HMRC tax back
Then your college, and any exam you sit
A clinical fellow post has no training contract, so there is no set college or exam. The college line below is an estimated range across the main colleges, because it depends which one you join. For now it counts for tax back.
If you sit a college exam, your trust pays back the first two attempts. The exam gets no tax back, so it is not on the slip. The last slip adds it all up, with the three fees above.
Clinical fellowa typical year, with the three costs above
You pay in total£927 to £1,708
HMRC, 40%£353 to £648
Logos belong to their owners and show where each fee goes. Reimbsr is not affiliated with these bodies.
Who pays you back
Two places can pay you back, and neither does it unless you ask. Your trust pays back an exam if you sit one, once you send a claim. HMRC gives tax back on the fees above once you ask.
An exam, first two attempts
As a locally employed doctor in England, you get exam fees back for sittings from 1 April 2026. You pay the College as usual, then claim it back from your employer with the College receipt showing the fee and the sitting date.
A typical year has no exam, so your trust pays back nothing on the receipts above. From April 2027 it also pays back royal college membership and portfolio fees.
GMC, BMA, medical indemnity and your college
On fees you pay yourself, HMRC gives back tax at your income tax rate. The estimate uses 40% for a clinical fellow. For the BMA, it counts 85% of the subscription. An exam gets no tax back here, because a clinical fellow post has no training contract.
You claim on the P87, HMRC's form for claiming tax back on work costs you pay yourself (like GMC and BMA fees). It covers this tax year and the last four. Over £2,500 in a year, you use Self Assessment instead.
Claiming is easy. Proving it, a year later, is not.
A clinical fellow's fees go to different bodies on different dates, and the receipts land in different places. If you sit an exam, your trust wants the receipt with the fee and the sitting date, and its claim window can close before you get to it. The P87 feels like a job for another day.
- Your college membership is paid separately from your other fees, so its receipt is easy to lose.
- The GMC and BMA fees leave your account on different dates, with no single record.
- Medical indemnity is a separate invoice from a separate body, so it sits apart from the rest.
- The P87 means finding a year of statements in one sitting.
Keep each receipt the day it arrives, and the claim is ready when you are.
Reimbsr keeps the proof from the day you pay
At the end of the tax year, your GMC, BMA, medical indemnity and college fees are already in one place, ready for your tax back. If you sit an exam, the College receipt and sitting date are there too, and Reimbsr nudges you before the claim window closes.
- Snap it or forward itSnap the receipt, forward the email to your own Reimbsr address, or add a drive. It reads the amount, date and claim deadline for you.
- See who pays you backEach expense is sorted into what your trust pays back and what HMRC gives tax back on, with the rule behind it. Not sure? Ask Reimbsr. It answers from published NHS and HMRC guidance, with sources, and in a grey area writes the question for you to send to medical staffing.
- Check it, then send itReimbsr builds one PDF with every line and receipt, and drafts the email to whoever approves your expenses. You check it and send it from your own email.
- Get your tax backIt fills in your P87 at the end of the tax year, on Free and Pro, so you get tax back on the fees your trust does not pay.
Doctors like you (Clinical fellow) are typically eligible for £353 to £648 back as tax relief a year.It will be free to try; you may never need to upgrade. Pro is £49.99 a year (£0.96 a week), only if it saves you more than it costs. See pricing ›
Free to start. Upgrade only if it pays.
In keeping with making financially savvy decisions, Reimbsr will be free to try. Only upgrade to the Pro version (£0.96 a week) if you think the app can help you save more money than it costs.