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Publication, Part of

GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates 2018/19

Official statistics,

Publication Date:
10 Sep 2020
Geographic Coverage:
United Kingdom
Geographical Granularity:
Country, Regions
Date Range:
01 Apr 2018 to 31 Mar 2019

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GPs included and how to interpret the results

Analysis by working hours bands

The nature of the General Practitioner workforce is changing. Increasing numbers of GPs are now developing portfolio careers, choosing to work in other roles in addition to general practice.

Typical examples of such work areas include:

  • Accident and emergency departments or out-of-hours provision
  • A special interest such as dermatology, diabetes, or minor surgery in a non-general practice setting
  • Working in a hospice or palliative medicine
  • Research or teaching

The earnings and expenses estimates published in this series of Official Statistics are calculated by HMRC using self-assessment tax return data. HMRC cannot distinguish between general practice earnings, income from other NHS work and private earnings. 

For three years, we have published some experimental analysis of earnings and expenses estimates by working hours bandings for GPs in England. However, while all earnings are included in the calculations, the working hours used reflect only those worked in general practice which inflates the income figures when considering earnings by working hours bands.  This should be taken into consideration when reviewing the working hours analysis in this release.

Because of the growing numbers of GPs working in additional roles as well as in general practice, we believe that analysis by working hours bands will become increasingly unreliable and therefore we do not plan to produce it in the future.  

Alternative sources of data are being investigated; however, these have not so far proved to be fit for purpose.

 

15 December 2020 08:10 AM

Removal of UK-level earnings and expenses estimates

Earnings and expenses estimates in previous editions of this publication have been presented at UK level, as well as by the four separate countries. 

However, the general practice contractual arrangements in each country have diverged to the point that comparisons between countries are no longer appropriate. 

Moreover, since England GPs make up the majority of the UK sample, UK estimates could obscure the picture in the other countries.

Therefore, UK level estimates are no longer presented.

Earnings and expenses estimates by age, gender, practice patient list size and practice rurality, which were previously only published for the UK, have for the first time been produced for each country individually. They have been calculated for 2017/18 and 2018/19, and are presented in the Excel Time Series. 

10 September 2020 09:30 AM

Page contents

Main Findings

England GP Average Earnings and Expenses Estimates

Combined GPs (Contractor and Salaried) GPs

  • The average income before tax for combined GPs (contractor and salaried) in England in 2018/19 was £98,000 for those GPs working in either a GMS or PMS (GPMS) practice compared to £96,000 in 2017/18, an increase of 2 per cent which is statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for combined GPs in England in 2018/19 was £90,500 compared to £89,500 in 2017/18, an increase of 1.2 per cent.

Contractor GPs

  • The average income before tax for contractor GPs in England in 2018/19 was:
    • £116,100 for those GPs working under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract compared to £112,400 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.3 per cent which is statistically significant
    • £120,500 for those GPs working under a Primary Medical Services (PMS) contract compared to £116,200 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.7 per cent which is statistically significant
    • £117,300 for those GPs working under either a GMS or PMS (GPMS) contract, a statistically significant increase of 3.4 per cent from £113,400 in 2017/18
  • The median income before tax for GPMS contractor GPs in England in 2018/19 was £111,200 compared to £107,300 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.6 per cent.
  • The average gross earnings for GPMS contractor GPs in England in 2018/19 was £380,900 compared to £357,300 in 2017/18, an increase of 6.6 per cent.
  • The average total expenses for GPMS contractor GPs in England in 2018/19 was £263,600 compared to £243,900 in 2017/18, an increase of 8.1 per cent. Since 2005/06, expenses have been increasing at a faster rate than income before tax for GPMS contractor GPs in the England, resulting in an expenses to earnings ratio which has grown each year.
  • The expenses to earnings ratio for GPMS contractor GPs in England  in 2018/19, which represents the proportion of gross earnings taken up by expenses, was 69.2 per cent, an increase of 0.9 percentage points since 2017/18.
  • The average income before tax for dispensing and non-dispensing contractor GPs in England in 2018/19 was:
    • £122,500 for GMS dispensing GPs compared to £122,900 in 2017/18, a decrease of 0.4 per cent, which not is statistically significant
    • £114,500 for GMS non-dispensing GPs compared to £109,800 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.3 per cent, which is statistically significant
    • £118,100 for PMS dispensing GPs compared to £113,100 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.5 per cent, which is not statistically significant
    • £120,800 for PMS non-dispensing GPs compared to £116,600 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.6 per cent, which is statistically significant
    • £121,700 for GPMS dispensing GPs compared to £121,100 in 2017/18, an increase of 0.5 per cent, which is not statistically significant
    • £116,300 for GPMS non-dispensing GPs compared to £111,700 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.1 per cent, which is statistically significant

Salaried GPs

  • The average income before tax for salaried GPs in England in 2018/19 was £60,600 for those GPs working in either a GMS or PMS (GPMS) practice compared to £58,400 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.8 per cent, which is statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for salaried GPs in England in 2018/19 was £56,400 compared to £54,200 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.1 per cent.
Statistical significance explained

In the Main Findings, year-on-year differences between income before tax estimates have been tested for statistical significance at a 95 per cent confidence level. An increase or decrease in estimates that is statistically significant is likely to be a genuine change, rather than resulting from chance, and means that users can have greater confidence that any apparent differences are applicable to the entire population in question.

Statistical significance in this report relates only to the fact of an increase or decrease in average income before tax and does not consider the size of the change; in some cases, apparently large changes may not be statistically significant and vice versa.

Average gross earnings, total expenses and median income before tax figures have not been tested, as standard errors were not available. Throughout the rest of the report, results and comparisons have not been tested for statistical significance unless otherwise stated.

Standard errors to support the statistical significance of the income before tax results are available in the CSV files which supplement this report. In the accompanying interactive report, margins of error, which are calculated from the standard errors, are presented. The margin of error shows the maximum expected difference between the true average income before tax and the estimate presented, with a confidence level of 95 per cent.

Scotland GP Average Earnings and Expenses Estimates

Combined GPs (Contractor and Salaried) GPs

  • The average income before tax for combined GPs (contractor and salaried) in Scotland in 2018/19 was £95,700 for those GPs working in either a GMS or PMS (GPMS) practice compared to £89,300 in 2017/18, an increase of 7.2 per cent which is statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for combined GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was £92,800 compared to £86,600 in 2017/18, an increase of 7.2 per cent.

Contractor GPs

  • The average income before tax for contractor GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was:
    • £100,900 for those GPs working under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract compared to £92,000 in 2017/18, an increase of 9.7 per cent which is statistically significant
    • £104,300 for those GPs working under a Primary Medical Services (PMS) contract compared to £99,900 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.4 per cent which is statistically significant
    • £101,300 for those GPs working under either a GMS or PMS (GPMS) contract, a statistically significant increase of 8.9 per cent from £93,100 in 2017/18
  • The median income before tax for GPMS contractor GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was £97,400 compared to £90,100 in 2017/18, an increase of 8.1 per cent.
  • The average gross earnings for GPMS contractor GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was £223,700 compared to £208,400 in 2017/18, an increase of 7.3 per cent.
  • The average total expenses for GPMS contractor GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was £122,400 compared to £115,400 in 2017/18, an increase of 6.1 per cent.
  • The expenses to earnings ratio for GPMS contractor GPs in Scotland in 2018/19, which represents the proportion of gross earnings taken up by expenses, was 54.7 per cent, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points since 2017/18.
  • The average income before tax for dispensing and non-dispensing contractor GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was:
    • £115,700 for GMS dispensing GPs compared to £110,600 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.6 per cent, which is not statistically significant
    • £100,200 for GMS non-dispensing GPs compared to £91,100 in 2017/18, an increase of 10 per cent, which is statistically significant
    • £110,300 for PMS dispensing GPs compared to £103,700 in 2017/18, an increase of 6.3 per cent, which is not statistically significant
    • £103,300 for PMS non-dispensing GPs compared to £99,400 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.9 per cent, which is not statistically significant
    • £114,100 for GPMS dispensing GPs compared to £108,500 in 2017/18, an increase of 5.2 per cent, which is not statistically significant
    • £100,500 for GPMS non-dispensing GPs compared to £92,100 in 2017/18, an increase of 9.1 per cent, which is statistically significant

Salaried GPs

  • The average income before tax for salaried GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was £65,100 for those GPs working in either a GMS or PMS (GPMS) practice compared to £62,900 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.6 per cent, which is not statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for salaried GPs in Scotland in 2018/19 was £59,400 compared to £57,000 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.2 per cent.

Wales GP Average Earnings and Expenses Estimates

Combined GPs (Contractor and Salaried) GPs

No PMS contracts exist in Wales, so all results shown relate to GMS GPs only.

  • The average income before tax for combined GPs (contractor and salaried) in Wales in 2018/19 was £95,800 compared to £91,800 in 2017/18, an increase of 4.3 per cent which is statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for combined GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was £93,300 compared to £90,400 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.3 per cent.

Contractor GPs

  • The average income before tax for contractor GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was £106,200 compared to £99,800 in 2017/18, an increase of 6.4 per cent which is statistically significant
  • The median income before tax for contractor GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was £102,900 compared to £98,000 in 2017/18, an increase of 5 per cent.
  • The average gross earnings for contractor GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was £290,400 compared to £271,300 in 2017/18, an increase of 7 per cent.
  • The average total expenses for contractor GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was £184,200 compared to £171,600 in 2017/18, an increase of 7.4 per cent.
  • The expenses to earnings ratio for contractor GPs in Wales in 2018/19, which represents the proportion of gross earnings taken up by expenses, was 63.4 per cent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points since 2017/18.
  • The average income before tax for dispensing and non-dispensing contractor GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was:
    • £116,400 for dispensing GPs compared to £109,800 in 2017/18, an increase of 6 per cent, which is statistically significant
    • £104,300 for non-dispensing GPs compared to £97,500 in 2017/18, an increase of 7 per cent, which is statistically significant

Salaried GPs

  • The average income before tax for salaried GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was £58,400 compared to £52,100 in 2017/18, an increase of 12.1 per cent, which is statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for salaried GPs in Wales in 2018/19 was £55,000 compared to £46,700 in 2017/18, an increase of 17.7 per cent.
Statistical significance explained

In the Main Findings, year-on-year differences between income before tax estimates have been tested for statistical significance at a 95 per cent confidence level. An increase or decrease in estimates that is statistically significant is likely to be a genuine change, rather than resulting from chance, and means that users can have greater confidence that any apparent differences are applicable to the entire population in question.

Statistical significance in this report relates only to the fact of an increase or decrease in average income before tax and does not consider the size of the change; in some cases, apparently large changes may not be statistically significant and vice versa.

Average gross earnings, total expenses and median income before tax figures have not been tested, as standard errors were not available. Throughout the rest of the report, results and comparisons have not been tested for statistical significance unless otherwise stated.

Standard errors to support the statistical significance of the income before tax results are available in the CSV files which supplement this report. In the accompanying interactive report, margins of error, which are calculated from the standard errors, are presented. The margin of error shows the maximum expected difference between the true average income before tax and the estimate presented, with a confidence level of 95 per cent.

Northern Ireland GP Average Earnings and Expenses Estimates

Combined GPs (Contractor and Salaried) GPs

No PMS contracts exist in Northern Ireland, so all results shown relate to GMS GPs only.

  • The average income before tax for combined GPs (contractor and salaried) in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £87,900 compared to £88,800 in 2017/18, a decrease of 1.1 per cent which is not statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for combined GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £84,600 compared to £86,400 in 2017/18, a decrease of 2.1 per cent.

Contractor GPs

  • The average income before tax for contractor GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £92,300 compared to £93,400 in 2017/18, a decrease of 1.2 per cent which is statistically significant
  • The median income before tax for contractor GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £88,600 compared to £90,700 in 2017/18, a decrease of 2.3 per cent.
  • The average gross earnings for contractor GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £208,400 compared to £205,700 in 2017/18, an increase of 1.3 per cent.
  • The average total expenses for contractor GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £116,200 compared to £112,400 in 2017/18, an increase of 3.4 per cent.
  • The expenses to earnings ratio for contractor GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19, which represents the proportion of gross earnings taken up by expenses, was 55.7 per cent, an increase of 1.1 percentage points since 2017/18.
  • The average income before tax for non-dispensing contractor GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £92,100 compared to £93,200 in 2017/18, a decrease of 1.1 per cent, which is not statistically significant

Results are suppressed for Northern Ireland non-dispensing GPs due to small sample sizes.

Salaried GPs

  • The average income before tax for salaried GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £55,100 compared to £56,700 in 2017/18, a decrease of 2.8 per cent, which is not statistically significant.
  • The median income before tax for salaried GPs in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 was £47,500 compared to £51,400 in 2017/18, a decrease of 7.5 per cent.

Last edited: 3 September 2021 4:52 pm

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GPs included and how to interpret the results