I have done a combination of both anesthesia practice and legal case review over the years as a 1099 contractor. It is a huge tax saver. As a 1099, you can deduct pretty much any and all costs associated with your 1099 job directly from your 1099 income, even if it means you had a loss. You have to have the "intent to make a profit". If you have $5000 in 1099 income and $6000 in expenses, your net self employment income will be -$1000. So - if you're providing anesthesia services or anesthesia legal case review, you can deduct: licensing costs, certification costs, CME costs including registration, travel, housing and meals, professional association dues (but not PACs), journals, textbooks, etc. As a W-2 employee, you can only deduct these items to the extent that they exceed a certain percentage of your AGI. It's a beautiful thing.