The comparison generic calculators get wrong: sole trader vs limited company for a dental associate — with the NHS pension growth you'd give up in the picture.
Income minus expenses — the number you'd pay tax on.
Roughly what proportion of your earnings is NHS work. This drives the pension impact.
Illustrative figures using 2026/27 rates and simplified assumptions — not advice, and no substitute for a proper calculation on your real numbers. Ask us for the accurate version — it's free.
NHS earnings routed through a company generally can't be superannuated, so each year in a company you give up a year of guaranteed, index-linked pension accrual. We capitalise that accrual at a conservative ×20 and net off the contributions you'd save — a rough but honest proxy for what's really at stake. The full argument is in the honest maths.
These tools use sensible simplifications. A free conversation gets you the real calculation — and usually a couple of things worth fixing.
One short email a month: deadlines coming up, rule changes that affect dentists, and one number worth checking in your practice. No spam, unsubscribe any time.