Money Talk For ER Docs™

As you may or may not be aware, there is a $10,000 cap on certain deductions on your tax return. This really impacts those living in states with income tax as well as homeowners. But more and more states are releasing legislation that provides a workaround for this cap. The issue, at least for 2021, is action needs to be taken before year-end to make this happen. But the reward is potentially a tremendous amount of tax savings.

In this episode, we break down what the cap pertains to and how you can go about getting tax savings you're entitled to.

ER Docs tend to think of their hourly rate in a very matter-of-fact way. Oh, it says "$225/hr in my contract," for instance. But this is a very literal sense of "hourly rate" and actually doesn't account for important variables, both financial and non.

So in this episode, we highlight all the additional factors that we think go into determining a true hourly rate for ER Docs and why it's important to know your score. You may be making more (or less) than you thought you were.

You aren't going to want to miss this! Changes are afoot when it comes to our tax code. And very few of the major taxing areas go untouched by Biden's proposal. We're talking tax brackets, capital gains, the S Corp vs C Corp decision, and even the beloved backdoor Roth conversion. Ironically, ER Docs are right on the fence of these modifications being beneficial… or detrimental.

So in this episode, we provide a high-level overview of all the talking points you should be aware of.

In preparing taxes for our clients, we find 9 out of 10 ER Docs donate, in some form, to charity. And statistics support that claim. But the traditional way of writing a check to a charity or two you believe in likely isn't the best way to give. More creative ways exist – ones that not only can benefit you better tax-wise, but that can result in the charity receiving more money than they would have otherwise received. A true win-win.

In this episode, we highlight some of these creative strategies so you can feel confident with the philanthropic route you take.

How do you actually retire? It's an odd question because it can be taken in many different directions. But it's a question we get a lot… and the overall desired response ER Doc clients and prospects are looking for is how to manage the logistics of retiring – meaning: Where do I get my money from to afford my expenses? How does it actually end up in my checking account? How often will it be pulled and from what accounts specifically? There's a lot to unpack there.

In this episode, we paint broad brushstrokes to very personalized retirement-related topics in hopes to shed light on all the moving parts at play.

Most ER Docs don't realize how unique their income situation is. From our perspective, as advisors, it's quite special, and affords immense opportunity when planned for correctly. You would think with high income affords more flexibility. But high income for ER Docs, when combined with variability in that income, creates a unique catch-22: where mistakes are even more magnified while psychologically it can be very easy to become complacent.

So in this episode, we identify two specific things you can do to help manage your variable income.

What is your most valuable asset? The answer is probably not what you're thinking. And because of this, the most important financial decision you may ever make is something you probably either don't think you need, feel you have an adequate amount of already through an employer, or think you can "cheap out" on. That "thing" is disability insurance.

In this episode, we get detailed with DI, making sure you understand the importance of having this insurance, how much you need, where to get it, and what features need to be tacked on to make the coverage worth having.

Thought about pivoting jobs in EM? Or maybe you are recently out of residency and deciding on going down an academic or clinical career path. A vital piece of that decision, beyond career satisfaction, is how the finances shape up from one to the other.

It's a common belief that an academic career path is more stable… but without a salary cushion the clinical career path affords, you really have to have a financial game plan in place. So in this episode, we crunch the numbers to portray what lifestyle and retirement looks like in both scenarios.

Have you heard of a conservation easement? Majority of ER Docs have been approached with a financial opportunity that seems almost too good to be true... You have high income, and paying significant taxes is no fun; these provide potentially massive tax savings that can span for years.

In this episode, we define conservation easements, describe the evolution of syndicates, and lead you to the conclusion: are these really what they are hyped up to be?

In filing hundreds of tax returns every year for ER Docs, roughly 50% of our 1099 earners take advantage of a particular deduction. Talks are in the works that would not only make this deduction more lucrative for these clients, but expand it to what we estimate to be roughly 90% of ER Docs. We're talking tens of thousands of dollars of potential savings.

So in this episode, we break down what that specific deduction is and how it may impact you. As we always mention: if you have the chance to earn 1099 income, do it. This is yet another reason supporting our stance.