How is channelling income taxed for a consultant?

Channelling and private-practice fees are self-assessed business income. Nothing is withheld at source, so the full slab charge falls due when you file — and quarterly SET instalments apply once your liability is large enough.

Can I combine a government hospital salary with private practice on one return?

Yes. Employment income goes on Schedule 1 with your APIT credited back, private practice on Schedule 2 as business income. Both feed the same progressive slabs.

What can I deduct against channelling income?

Expenses incurred in producing that income — consulting-room rent, staff, professional indemnity, equipment capital allowances. Personal expenses do not qualify, and you need records to support what you claim.

Income tax for doctors in Sri Lanka — Y/A 2025/2026

Hospital salary under APIT, channelling income nobody withholds against, and interest your bank has already taxed at 10%. Work out which schedules you file and what you owe.

Identify your tax profile

What did you earn this year?

Pre-filled for your profession — add what applies, skip what doesn't.

Pre-selected for Doctor / medical professional — add or remove anything that doesn't match your year.

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A worked example for doctors

Illustrative figures for a typical income mix for doctors — employment salary, freelance or business, bank interest — using the default amounts below. Your own numbers will differ; use the wizard above for your actual figures.

Illustrative income

Employment salaryRs. 2,400,000

Freelance or businessRs. 1,200,000

Bank interestRs. 240,000

Total assessable incomeRs. 3,840,000

Taxable income after reliefsRs. 2,040,000

Income tax before creditsRs. 282,000

Less: AIT already withheld by your bank− Rs. 24,000

Estimated balance payableRs. 258,000

Channelling and private-practice fees are the part of a doctor's income the IRD scrutinises hardest, because nothing is withheld and the volume of small cash and card receipts makes reconstruction difficult after the fact. Keep a per-session log — date, patient count or session block, gross fee — rather than relying on a hospital's monthly summary alone; the two rarely reconcile perfectly and the difference is where audit queries start. Equipment bought for a private clinic (ultrasound, dental chairs, diagnostic kit) is claimed through capital allowances over its useful life, not expensed in the year of purchase, and the allowance continues even in a year the equipment sits mostly idle. If your private-practice income crosses the SET threshold, the first quarterly instalment is due 15 August — miscalculating it because you're still thinking in APIT terms from your salaried post is the single most common penalty trigger among newly private-practising doctors. Where a government salary and private fees run in parallel, keep them on separate schedules from day one rather than reconciling at year end; retrofitting six months of channelling slips into Schedule 2 in March is where most doctors lose the deductions they were actually entitled to.

Common questions

How is channelling income taxed for a consultant?: Channelling and private-practice fees are self-assessed business income. Nothing is withheld at source, so the full slab charge falls due when you file — and quarterly SET instalments apply once your liability is large enough.
Can I combine a government hospital salary with private practice on one return?: Yes. Employment income goes on Schedule 1 with your APIT credited back, private practice on Schedule 2 as business income. Both feed the same progressive slabs.
What can I deduct against channelling income?: Expenses incurred in producing that income — consulting-room rent, staff, professional indemnity, equipment capital allowances. Personal expenses do not qualify, and you need records to support what you claim.

Work out a single figure instead

Income tax (IIT)

Estimate your annual liability across salary, freelance, interest and investment income — with 2025/2026 reliefs applied.

PAYE / APIT

Compute monthly APIT for a salary, plus one-off bonus / lump-sum withholding (APIT Table 2). For employers and employees double-checking the payslip.

Bank interest & AIT

10% Advance Income Tax withheld on deposit interest — creditable against your return, not a final tax.