By Carole C. Foos, CPA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Choosing the form and structure of one's medical practice is an important decision. Most advisors to medical practices believe that the avoidance of potential double taxation makes the S Corporation the logical choice. This "conventional wisdom" overlooks the potential benefits a C Corporation can offer. If you want to explore ways to reduce unnecessary taxes without subjecting yourself to double taxation AND would like to see how you can do this without having to change any of your insurance provider or Medicare provider numbers, this article is ideal for you.

By Andrew Schwartz, CPA

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

They say your home is your castle. Did you ever think there might be barbarians at your gate? With half of all medical malpractice lawsuit judgments over $1 million dollars, there is a real chance that a lawsuit judgment against you or your partners could actually threaten your personal assets. If you aren't lucky enough to live in one of the few states with excellent "homestead" protection, you are likely to be at risk of losing your home in the event of an outrageous judgment (and even homestead is now threatened as well).

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

As consultants to hundreds of physicians, we encounter many misconceptions about asset protection planning everyday. In this article, we will address the most important of all misconceptions regarding asset protection: that this area of planning is not important. The thinking of many physicians around the country, and unfortunately their advisors as well, is that there is little to any risk of a physician losing their personal assets in a malpractice claim, especially if there is $1-3 million malpractice insurance coverage.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

According to the US Census Bureau, the average American family earns less than $49,000. That translates to an income tax liability of less than 12%. 98% of American families will NEVER be worth more than $2,000,000 and owe an estate tax. Lastly, the average American is an employee, not an employer, and doesn’t have the government determine how much income they receive for their work. As a result, most people will never be sued because of work-related activities and don’t have to worry about their income dropping substantially each year. Therefore, there is no need for most people to address protection from lawsuits or to take advantage of every possible tax benefit when times are good. Does the situation above sound like your life? Of course it doesn’t.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

Over the past few years, we have written many articles on potential strategies that a doctor can use to reduce income taxes, increase benefits, or build retirement savings. In that time, we have also consulted with hundreds of medical groups on how to implement such strategies for their practice. Unfortunately, these consultations too often turn out to be less than fruitful because of office politics.

Typically, while the younger members of the group are very motivated to reduce their income taxes, the older doctors are often uninterested. Either they are already so close to retirement that don't need extra retirement planning or they are simply set in their ways and don't want to change anything - the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset. The result: planning gridlock.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

As medical reimbursements continue to shrink and threats of continued healthcare reform loom, a very popular question we receive at conferences and in consults with high income practices is, “Would owning part of a Small Insurance Company help me and my practice become more financially efficient?” If your practice currently generates over $3,000,000 of revenues and you would like to take advantage of opportunities to improve the financial success you realize from your hard work without having to see any more patients, then this article may prove to be very valuable information for you.

By Scott Einiger, Esq.

The recent amendment of Subsection 48 to New York Education Law, Section 6530 and Section 230-d to the Public Health Law will likely have far ranging implications to physicians who perform office-based surgery. The new law requires accreditation on or before July 18, 2009 for the physician seeking to perform office-based surgery (OBS) in his or her office. Additionally, practitioners must consider prior opinions from the Department of Health (DOH) governing corporate structure and the New York State self-referral laws ("mini-Stark") to avoid potential violations of the corporate practice of medicine doctrine, illegal fee sharing and licensure requirements that could have repercussions to the physicians' license and his or her livelihood. Finally there will be an enormous economic impact as the market shifts to embrace this new facility construct as cost containment is a central feature of the evolving health care delivery system.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Karen Zupko

Becoming an employee at a hospital can be a great fit for many doctors. But, for many others, this decision could come at an unnecessarily high financial cost. Read this article and you'll understand how much more Net Income (net of overhead and taxes) you can achieve in private practice when you invest in better management and systems. Once you understand how good things could be for you, you will be able to more fairly assess the costs and benefits of giving up private practice for hospital employment.

By Carole C. Foos, CPA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Learn techniques you can implement now to reduce your tax bill April 15th, 2011, including:

Corporate Structure. Pros and cons of different business/practice structures and strategies that can reduce taxes for 2010 with an addition or change to your corporate structure before year-end.

Qualified, Non-Qualified Hybrid & Other Benefit Plans. Pros and cons of different benefits plans and how you can adjust your existing plan or implement a new plan before December 31st for 2010 tax savings.

Captive Insurance Arrangements. The most powerful insurance strategies can create significant advantages for certain businesses or professional practices and there is still time to implement them in 2010.

Changes in tax legislation and their effects on planning for your 2010 taxes.

Tax-Favored Investments. Tax managed accounts, tax loss harvesting, conservation easements, oil and gas investments - and how to implement them in 2010.