Effective tax rate?

[forchinet121]

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What are peoples effective tax rates including state, local, federal, etc? I’ll probably be making decent money starting next year as an attending and wondering how to shield my income? I’ll be working as a 1099 not sure if that’s more beneficial than a w2? If you could post your gross income then what you pay in taxes to give me an idea of what’s a good tax rate?

 

[RangerBob]

It totally depends on your state, marital status, how many kids you have, retirement plan, business expenses, other deductions, etc.

Aside from getting married and living in a state like WA or TX that doesn’t tax income, the biggest deductions you have are your business deductions, pass-through deduction, and retirement (you can put up to $61k into a solo 401k per year). I opted for a more expensive health care plan since I can deduct it anyway, and it lets my wife and I feel more comfortable knowing we’ve pre-paid our healthcare expenses, so there is less of a chance for surprises. We’d save a bit of money with a high-deductible plan, but when I did the math based on prior years’s expenses, it wasn’t worth it.

Take a look at WhiteCoatInvestor’s blogs for tips on lowering your tax burden. An accountant should be able to give you a lot of advice as well.