Walking In Your Shoes-Moonlighting Part 4-Running The Numbers E12

by John Stillson MD

What is Possible With Moonlighting

I think it's important to give residents a more concrete idea of what is possible with moonlighting opportunities. It is important to not only look at the income opportunities but also the expenses and time commitments that go along with it. I'd also like to delve into the advantages of having a professional corporation through which to do your moonlighting.

Below are my 2023 expenses, reimbursements, and income so far for my moonlighting.

After only doing a handful of moonlighting shifts and taking advantage of my program’s reimbursement funds I have netted $3644 before taxes. That is a large amount of money for a resident who is used to getting paid minimum wage on a per-hour basis. Now that all of my major expenses have been covered by my income. The majority of my moonlighting money goes forward will be pure profits (after expenses and taxes of course). However, that just scratches the surface of the opportunities that I've created for myself by creating a professional corporation while in residency.

W-2 and 1099 Moonlighting Income

My clinic shifts were through my residency program, so they had to be run through the traditional employee model. My ED shifts are all performed through contracted work with my professional corporation which I created under my medical license. This allows me to write off expenses such as food for moonlighting shifts, travel reimbursement at the IRS-mandated rate, professional equipment including a computer and phone, medical devices such as a stethoscope or a point of care ultrasound, and renting out my primary residence to my business for business meetings. All of these things maximize my net income and decrease my tax burden.

Readiness For The Future

This might not seem like a big deal right now while you're in residency due to your relatively low tax bracket. However as soon as you reach attending status your tax bracket will jump through the roof, and you'll become a member of the most highly taxed groups of people in America. Putting these principles into practice as a resident will save you hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in retained income down the road.

This is Tod, if you are a resident or fellow I encourage you to download my free e-book “20 Reasons Every Resident Should Form a Micro-Corporation”

I also invite you to join our SimpliMD community as a member for the same cost as a couple cups of coffees—only $10. It will unlock $2500 in products at our site.

Lastly, if you know that you want to start micro-corporation for your moonlighting dollars or side hustles, reach out to me here and for a mere $250 I’ll give you $7500 in products and connect you with an attorney will help you create your micro-corporation.