Financial Clarity for Doctors

Blog: 10 Tax Deductions for Doctors

In this week's blog, we through 10 tax deductions for doctors for ways to potentially save money on taxes.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

Where to Put Your Cash Savings

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle tackle some of the best places to put extra cash savings.  Having “too much cash” is a good problem to have, but we want to be as efficient as possible with anything you don’t need for your day-to-day expenses.

Topics discussed include:

• Good reasons to have cash reserves and not-so-good reasons
  • Emergency reserves and short-term spending needs? Both good reasons to have cash on hand!
• High-interest savings accounts
  • Very liquid and quite a few yielding a decent amount of interest at this time
• Certificates of deposit
  • Potentially a higher yield than a savings account but less liquidity
• I Bonds and other treasury bonds and bills
  • Lots of different amounts of times to be invested
• Structured investments including market-linked C.D.s and issuer-protected or buffered notes
  • More complicated, but can potentially participate in some stock market performance with less risks

 

Ideally, we are not keeping too much money on cash (we may be better off investing some of those dollars), but for the dollars that we do need to keep fairly safe and/or liquid, let’s try to at least earn a little interest!

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!
LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

What’s Better: Roth or Pre-Tax?

In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, Corey and Rachelle discuss the benefits of pre-tax and Roth retirement accounts.  We love savings, but it’s important to understand when and how you pay taxes.  You will have to pay taxes on your retirement savings, it’s just a matter of when.

Pre-Tax Retirement Savings:

• Tax deduction now.
• Can grow without paying taxes along the way.
• Pay ordinary income taxes on withdrawals.
• Can contribute through work retirement plans up to a maximum.
• Generally, not accessible before age 59.5 without penalty taxes.
• Best in your peak income earning years if you are in a high tax bracket.

 

Roth Retirement Savings:

• No tax deduction now.
• Can grow without paying taxes along the way.
• Withdrawals in retirement are tax free.
• Can contribute through Roth IRA (potentially “backdoor” Roth) and many employers offer a Roth deferral option. These plans have a maximum as well.
• The growth in the account is generally not accessible until Age 59.5 without penalty taxes.
• Pay taxes now at a known rate, instead of later at an unknown rate.
• Best when you are in a lower tax bracket than you expect to be in the future or in retirement.

One last note – keep in mind that taxes change over time.  We can make decisions now based on current tax rates, but we don’t know what tax rates will be later in our careers or in retirement.  Ideally, we have retirement savings that is diversified across tax treatments, so that we can adapt to changing tax environments in retirement.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!
LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Blog: How Much Income Do I Need to Protect?

In this week's blog, we talk about own-occupation disability insurance for physicians and how to estimate how much coverage you should get.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

Spend it All

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle take a little inspiration from Bill Perkins and his book ­Die with Zero.  It’s an interesting concept (but scary to most people).  Ultimately, the idea is to use the resources you have while you can enjoy them.

In this episode, they will chat about:

• Thinking of every dollar you leave behind as hours you worked.
• Strategically planning WHEN to use your money and other resources including time.
  • When you are young and healthy, you are better able to enjoy things.
• Planning to gift money earlier rather than at the end of your life.
  • Kids may benefit more from resources earlier on when they don’t have a lot of their own resources.
  • Charitable organizations can always use support sooner than later as well.
• Ways to protect yourself in the case of a long lifespan.
  • Creating income streams.
  • Using insurances to mitigate some of the larger risks like high-cost end of life care.

It is still important to develop healthy savings and spending habits, but it’s also important to use and enjoy the resources you have.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!
LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Blog: 6 Benefits of Being a Locum Tenens Physician

In this week's blog, we walk through benefits of working locums as a doctor.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

Secure Act 2.0 - Some Highlights

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle discuss a few retirement savings and tax law changes.  One thing we like to say in planning, is that tax laws change all the time.  This is one example of how those changes can affect you and your retirement savings.

This was a large part of a huge spending bill, and the below notes are not intended to be comprehensive.  There are just a few tidbits we thought our listeners might find interesting.

Highlights from the bill:

• For small business setting up a 401k, you can now apply for a tax credit of up to 100% of the startup costs (an increase from 50%).
• Employer matching contributions can now be Roth as well as pre-tax. If Roth, the dollars would be taxable to the employee at the time of contribution.
• Employers can now match student loan payments into a 401k or 403b.
• The deadline to set up a Solo 401k will now be the tax filing deadline instead of the end of the calendar year.
• You can now make Roth contributions into both SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs.
• There will be additional opportunities for “catch-up” contributions. These are increased contribution limits for older retirement plan savers.
• Required minimum contributions will not be required until you are age 75 starting in 2033.
• For 529 plans that have been established for more than 15 years, can roll up to $35,000 total from the 529 into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA.
• And so much more! Listen to the episode for a few more tidbits.

 

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!
LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

 

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Finity Group, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax or legal advice.

Blog: Retirement Planning for Doctors: How Much Do I Need to Retire?

In this week's blog, we walk through some ways to estimate how much money a doctor needs to retire.  

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.

Leaving a Legacy

In this episode, Corey and Rachelle discuss how to approach leaving money behind, whether that is for family, charitable causes, or the government.  Just kidding!  The goal is for YOU to be able to direct where your wealth goes, which can include minimizing taxes if possible.

What are your goals and your family’s goals for passing on wealth?

• Make sure to consider what you really want in terms of legacy and estate planning. Passing on wealth is not for everyone!  Your goal could be to spend every cent you have and enjoy life to the fullest, and that’s okay too.
• If your goal is to leave a legacy, then reassess these goals periodically. Things change over time.

If you’ve decided this is an important goal for you:

• Spend conservatively and save A LOT. Remember, you want to have more than enough for your own retirement.
• Using Roth and brokerage accounts can be very helpful for passing on wealth in a tax-advantaged way.
  • If you inherit a Roth account, you do not pay taxes on the growth if you take qualified withdrawals.
  • Taxable brokerage accounts get a “step up in basis” when inherited. The dollar amount that is exempt from taxes is not the purchase price, but the price when the investments are inherited.
• Think about gifting money (at least up to the gift tax exclusion amount) during your life.
• Make estate planning a priority! Talk to an attorney to make sure your wishes are very clear and to potentially help manage taxes.
• Consider charitable donations. These can be made in a variety of ways to reduce your tax burden during life and on your estate.

For more financial planning tips from Corey and Rachelle, find them on social media!
LinkedIn: @CoreyJanoff and @RachelleVanderzanden; Instagram: @CoreyJanoff and @VanderzandenRachelle; and Twitter: @CoreyJanoffCFP and @RachelleFinance 

 

Blog: 23 Financial Goals for 2023

In this week's blog, we list 23 financial goals you can shoot for in 2023.  Don't worry about accomplishing them all!  Pick several to commit to and go from there!

Our weekly blog posts that can be found at www.theFinityGroup.com/blog, where you can also sign up for our newsletter to have our weekly blog post delivered directly to your inbox.