Tax advice for healthcare professionals

In medicine, as in other fields, financial and tax issues are becoming increasingly important. As a result, those who work in healthcare professions as doctors, dentists, pharmacists, therapists or alternative medicine practitioners often have more than just their professional duties to think of. Whatever form their organisation takes – solo practice, group practice, medical care centre or pharmacy – a sound financial foundation is essential. To enable you to focus on your patients as a healthcare professional, you need a tax advisor who devotes the same individual professional care and attention to your financial and tax affairs as you do to your patients.

 


Overview

Setting up a new practice, practice takeovers and mergers

When setting up a new practice, it is important to pay particular attention to financial and tax-related issues to ensure a good start. Medical professionals setting out on this path need advice on many fronts: alongside selecting the right premises, choosing the most suitable software and arranging the necessary insurance, advice should also cover selecting the appropriate legal form, assistance with company formation and help with drafting articles of association and determining arrangements for the distribution of assets and profits.

Negotiations with the previous practice owners or your new partners are key when taking over an existing practice or joining forces with other professionals to form a group practice. Before taking on or joining a practice, it is a good idea to have the practice valued and to seek business and tax advice on the acquisition or merger. If you are joining forces with other professionals, an important issue is choosing the right organisational form, whether that is a group practice (Berufsausübungs­gemeinschaft, BAG), multi-site group practice (überörtliche Berufsausübungsgemeinschaft, ÜBAG) or medical care centre (Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum, MVZ).

When setting out on your journey in your own healthcare practice, it is also important to think about the end of your career and – as a self-employed healthcare professional –about securing your assets for yourself and your family. A wealth plan which considers tax requirements and taking an early look ahead to a structured way to retire are helpful here. This includes identifying suitable successors in good time, making contractual arrangements for the handover and ensuring that arrangements are tax-optimised.

Bookkeeping and financial accounting

A medical examination is about getting to the bottom of a patient’s condition. An examination of a healthcare business is also possible – specifically using current figures and data from its accounts. Correctly interpreted, these provide the basis for successful management. Especially if you want your practice or pharmacy to develop and be financially healthy, it is recommended to carry out regular assessments of your bookkeeping and financial accounts – e.g. in order to use facts and figures to identify and implement necessary investments, to prepare your annual financial statements, and for smart tax planning purposes.

 

Controlling and financing

Controlling is a valuable tool for managing a medical practice or pharmacy and provides important insights into questions such as whether the practice or pharmacy is profitable, which investment should happen first, or whether a recent measure has fulfilled its purpose or adjustments are needed. It is important that your controlling activities are tailored to your individual activities.

Financing for their practice or pharmacy is one important consideration for all healthcare professionals. Although meeting with the bank to discuss loans, applying for financial support and reviewing planned investments are not exactly priorities on the medical school curriculum, even the best medical practice or pharmacy will not last long without solid financing. So when it comes to questions of financing, healthcare professionals should consult an advisor who is well versed in business and tax matters and is also familiar with the specific requirements of the healthcare sector.

Human resources

In the healthcare field, as elsewhere, finding and retaining good staff is becoming more and more of a challenge. Wage cost optimisations that benefit both employees and the practice work wonders for employee motivation and retention. Other subjects covered by HR-related business and tax advice are payroll, support with audits by the tax office or social security institutions and the drafting of employment contracts.

 

Expertise

Tax advice for healthcare professionals with Schultze & Braun

We advise and support you on the business and tax-related aspects of your work in the same way that you help and advise patients on health issues in your work as a doctor, dentist, psychotherapist, alternative medicine practitioner, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. With their experience in providing business and tax advice to healthcare professionals, our specialists lighten your load, leaving you free to focus fully on your medical or pharmacy work.

When can we start to examine the health status of your business?

Contact

Oksana Miglietti
Wirtschaftsprüfer (Chartered accountant), Steuerberater (Tax consultant), Dipl.-Kauffrau (FH) (certified business accountant)

 

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