Do potential employers ever help with loan repayment?

[Piston95]

So, I know there are some loan repayment programs for primacy care positions, and not many (if any) for specialists. Now, I know the higher compensation that specialists get pretty much makes up for not having any loan repayment programs...but I don't know, debt is just such a pain like that fly buzzing by your ear all the time. Just wondering if anyone has heard of potential employers offering to help with loan repayment..or at least willing to negotiate this (eg maybe cutting a little off the compensation elsewhere to cover loan repayment etc)

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[Piston95]

Btw, I looked at a few threads about this, but they seem to cover specific fields, so I'm not sure if they addressed my exact question..apologies if I am repeating something thats already been addressed.

 

[sirus_virus]

So, I know there are some loan repayment programs for primacy care positions, and not many (if any) for specialists. Now, I know the higher compensation that specialists get pretty much makes up for not having any loan repayment programs...but I don't know, debt is just such a pain like that fly buzzing by your ear all the time. Just wondering if anyone has heard of potential employers offering to help with loan repayment..or at least willing to negotiate this (eg maybe cutting a little off the compensation elsewhere to cover loan repayment etc)

Are you that afraid of debt? This is the exact same thing as paying it yourself; and yes there are some employers that might pay off your 200k debt but turn arround and shave off 400k from your pay.

 

[penguin24]

When an employer offers 'debt forgiveness', it is a bonus, a perk. So basically, like in any other business, employers only give bonuses if it will benefit the employer. Don't think employers care about you. If a hospital has trouble recruiting, say a cardiologist to their hospital, they may offer to pay med school loans as a way to entice the cardiologist.

If however, a hospital is very attractive and has no trouble finding physicians, then they wouldn't offer loan forgivenes. Think about it, would you give out money just for the heck of it?

It's the same w/ the underserved areas that offer loan forgiveness, nobody wants to practice there b/c patients don't have ins and don't pay their MD's, so the governments offers loan forgiveness to draw MD's to the area.

That's why there's lots of loan forgiveness for people going into primary care, to entice them to go into it b/c most people want to specialize.

From what I see, hospitals are more likely to offer incentives (not private-practice groups), and mostly hospitals in more rural/underserved areas (not big popular cities). This is just my observations, so it may not be 100% accurate.

 

[Piston95]

Are you that afraid of debt? This is the exact same thing as paying it yourself; and yes there are some employers that might pay off your 200k debt but turn arround and shave off 400k from your pay.

I am, the med school I'm going to is crazy expensive...Obviously your example was an extreme instance of what I was talking about. I was more talking about them shaving a little bit off your pay per year and covering your student debt as sort of a tradeoff. So, maybe in the short run you would benefit but if you worked with them for a few years, they may benefit, or maybe you may still benefit. Just merely wondering if it happens. Thanks for telling me not to go for the deal where they cut your pay by more than your debt is, especially if its 200k more...I may not have picked up on that otherwise.

 

[quiz]

well, one benefit of having your employer pay your loans is that the amount they pay for your loans may be pre-tax so you're not taxed on that amount. like when you put money into a health savings account. not sure cause you know how the irs needs your money.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

well, one benefit of having your employer pay your loans is that the amount they pay for your loans may be pre-tax so you're not taxed on that amount. like when you put money into a health savings account. not sure cause you know how the irs needs your money.

I seriously doubt that there is some provision in the tax code that allows for such a loan repayment to be pre-tax.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

OK Sol, can you elaborate?

A business could write off the expense under the "employee benefits" section of the tax code, same as if they'd paid for a myriad of other costs. One question may be if this type of payment would have to be reported as income to the employee, as I've been told by a reliable source is the case for employer-paid health club expenses?

If an employer pays a cost but then it's reported as income to the employee (employee income does not have to be paid in cash, if a company gives you a rolex because you achieved a goal, the value of the rolex will be included in your W-2 or 1099 at yearend), there's no tax benefit unless the employee can also deduct the cost. Is that what you were thinking?

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

OK Sol, can you elaborate?

A business could write off the expense under the "employee benefits" section of the tax code, same as if they'd paid for a myriad of other costs. One question may be if this type of payment would have to be reported as income to the employee, as I've been told by a reliable source is the case for employer-paid health club expenses?

If an employer pays a cost but then it's reported as income to the employee (employee income does not have to be paid in cash, if a company gives you a rolex because you achieved a goal, the value of the rolex will be included in your W-2 or 1099 at yearend), there's no tax benefit unless the employee can also deduct the cost. Is that what you were thinking?

I'm not quite sure what you are saying there (if you're disagreeing with me that it is essentially not possible for loan repayment to be non-taxable, you're doing a poor job) or what you are looking for me to elaborate.

Giving cash to repay a loan (whether the company repays the lender directly or gives cash to the employee to repay the loan,) is taxable income for the employee.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think there are still some loan repayment programs around that are not for primary care, but as people mentioned above, they are pretty much usually in rural locations that can't otherwise recruit docs. They may exist for things like general surgery in addition to primary care. I believe some internal medicine hospitalist positions offer this. I think that usually the money is taxable as income, which sucks...this may not be true for some of the special government-backed primary care loan forgiveness programs.