As a DCT3, you are likely paying for GDC, BDA, dental indemnity and RCS England membership.
A typical DCT3 pays £1,736 a year on these. With no exam, your trust pays back nothing, but £694 can come back from HMRC, if you keep the receipts.
Estimates from published fees for a typical full-time DCT3. Yours might differ. Fees checked on against each body’s own fee page.
DCT3 take-home pay after tax and NHS Pension ›DCT3 tax rebate on fees, back four years ›
What you pay, receipt by receipt
Every DCT3 pays three things. The GDC charges a yearly retention fee to keep you on the register. The BDA charges for membership. And you pay for dental indemnity.
Together that is £1,400 a year, with the college on top. The indemnity figure is an estimate, because the MDU, MPS and MDDUS each quote you individually. You can get tax back on all three, if you claim it.
GDCcard statement
Annual retention fee
Retention year 2026
Total£698.00
✓ HMRC tax back
Then your college, and no exam
DCT3 has no exam, so this part is short. The only college cost is RCS England dental membership, which you get tax back on.
The slip at the end adds up the year, including the three costs above.
RCS Englandreceipt.pdf
Dental membership
Standard member rate
Total£336.00
✓ HMRC tax back
DCT3a typical year, with the three costs above
You pay in total£1,736
HMRC, 40%£694
Logos belong to their owners and show where each fee goes. Reimbsr is not affiliated with these bodies.
Who pays you back
Only HMRC pays you back on the receipts above, and only when you ask. Your trust has no exam to pay back at DCT3.
No exam, so nothing to pay back
Your trust pays back royal college exams, and a typical DCT3 year has none. So none of the receipts above can be claimed from your trust for now.
From April 2027 your trust will also pay back royal college membership and portfolio fees. Until then, you get tax back on RCS England membership instead.
GDC, BDA, dental indemnity and RCS England
You pay all four fees yourself, so you get tax back on them at your income tax rate. The estimate uses 40% for a DCT3.
Claim on the P87, HMRC's form for claiming tax back on work costs you pay yourself (like GDC and BDA fees). It covers this tax year and the last four. Over £2,500 in a year, use a Self Assessment tax return instead.
Claiming is easy. Proving it, a year later, is not.
With no exam and no trust claim at DCT3, nothing prompts you to keep receipts as you go. But a P87 can cover this tax year and the last four, and these fees go to four bodies on different dates. By the time you claim, the paper trail has scattered.
- The GDC fee comes round once a year, so its receipt is easy to forget by the time you claim.
- If you pay the BDA monthly, a year of it is twelve separate lines on your statement.
- Your dental indemnity invoice is a PDF in an inbox you may not open again, especially if you change employer.
- Claiming for an earlier tax year means finding receipts from up to four years back.
Keep each receipt the day it arrives, and the claim is ready when you are.
Reimbsr keeps the proof from the day you pay
Nothing to remember: snap or forward each receipt when it arrives. Reimbsr reads the amount and date, works out who pays you back, and keeps it all ready for your P87.
- 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 (DCT3) are typically eligible for £694 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.