Physician Tax Planning

At a 32% to 35% marginal rate, every pre-tax dollar you shelter is worth more than it ever was in residency. The accounts stack, but only if you use them in the right order and start before the deadlines close.

The income jump is the moment you have waited a decade for. It's also the largest tax transition of your career, and the one most likely to produce an April surprise if no one prepared you for it.

An S-election can save a physician thousands a year — or add cost and complexity for no benefit. The difference comes down to how you're paid, how much, and whether you're ready for the compliance that follows.

The election is a payroll-tax decision before it is anything else. Two income scenarios show where the line actually falls, and why $100,000 and $200,000 of practice income lead to opposite answers.