Blog
Deductible Business Expenses for Independent Contractors
By Chris McQueen, CPA As an independent contractor, you qualify to deduct 100% of business expenses from your taxable income. When you take into consideration all your business expenses, this can result in quite a bit of savings. The list is lengthy, so rather than...
What You Need to Know About Quarterly Estimates
By Chris McQueen, CPA As an independent contractor, you are obligated to submit quarterly tax estimates. Although the phrase “quarterly estimate” can make many feel anxious, this process doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. Here is what you need to know: 1)...
4 Tips When Selecting Health Insurance Coverage
By Terry Westlund Health insurance is complicated. Annual open enrollment can cause anxiety and confusion as you select a plan that's best for your situation. See below for our top tips when selecting health insurance coverage. 1) Know the Lingo Having the knowledge...
Top 4 Things to Discuss with Your Financial Adviser Now
By Noel Roach For many of us, 2020 hasn’t been the most ideal. As we head into the 2nd half of the year, there is more uncertainty ahead. You should be touching base with your financial adviser to make sure you have a plan in place that matches your comfort level as...
Dollar Cost Averaging
By Noel Roach “There is simply no telling how far stocks can fall in a short period… your mind may well become rattled by scary headlines and breathless commentary. And an unsettled mind will not make good decisions.” - Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathway 2017...
Weathering a Loss in Income
By: Ryan Johnson For at least the medium term, it appears coronavirus is here to stay. As we wade through what this means for various aspects of our daily lives, many of our clients are finding themselves in a situation where shifts have been cut and therefore income...
Maximizing the New 20% Pass-Through Deduction
By Terry Westlund, Co-Founder Note: This post was updated to reflect 2020 numbers. Remember the big hub-bub about tax reform at the end of 2017? The new rules included a significant change that benefited many independent contractor physicians (those with 1099 income)....
New Physician, Big Paycheck
By Katie Bennett, ChFC® Congrats! After years of hard work, little sleep and lots of determination, you have finished medical school and residency, and your paycheck finally reflects a physician’s salary. The jump from the average residency pay of $61,200 to a...
Life Insurance 101
By: Noel Roach The inevitability of death is never fun to talk about. However, to ensure a well-thought-out financial plan, you must take the time to consider what will happen to your finances when you (or your spouse) pass away. Life insurance should especially be a...
ICs: Supplementing a Loss in Income Due to COVID-19
By Terry Westlund, Co-Founder of Financial Designs, Inc. This blog was written on 4/9/2020. Information is changing frequently. We will do our best to update this blog as needed. As an independent contractor (1099) medical professional, you may be wondering how to...
Panicking in a Pandemic
By: Ryan Johnson First and foremost, thank you. Thank you for being in the profession to help our communities. In a time like this, we are so ever grateful for the medical professionals caring for our family, friends and nation. We know it’s not an overstatement to...
A New Year: 5 Realistic Financial Goals for Doctors
By Terry Westlund, Co-founder of Financial DesignsIt’s January - the start of not only a new year but a new decade. Many of you have made or thought about making resolutions. There is probably another sub-set of readers who might have pushed that to the bottom of...
Top 5 Year-End Tax Tips for 1099 Physicians
By John Golway, CPA and Founder of Financial Designs Tax Services, LLC Updated to reflect 2019 information. It’s that time of year… cheery music, crisp weather, shiny lights… and wrapping up your taxes for 2019. Don't worry - if you have a good CPA, it shouldn't be as...
Top Financial Tips for Busy Independent Contractor Doctors
As an independent contractor (1099) physician, there can be a lot of moving parts to managing your taxes and overall finances. Sometimes it’s hard to decide where to start. See our top tips below to ensure you are maximizing the unique opportunities the 1099...
Highlighting Financial Benefits for w2 (Employee) Positions
Recruiting medical professionals can be tough, and the benefits and salary conversation can sometimes be tricky. In a previous blog, we covered the financial benefits of recruiting to an independent contractor position (aka 1099). Once medical professionals experience...
Do you want our latest tips and best practices?
Sign up to receive details on monthly webinars and new blog posts.