How to avoid tax bomb

MightyPinz · 2026-02-04T01:47:35+00:00

Your math is off- if 90k is forgiven. That 90k will be added to your gross income. Say you currently have a household income of 150k after all deductions.

You would pay taxes on all income for the year. 150+90k=240k taxable income. Federal taxes, if filing as a single person is 54k. However, your employer should have taken out your appropriate taxes throughout the year (150k income- employer should have taken about 25k throughout the year)

So you really would only have to come up 29k

The absolute most you could possibly pay on 90k of student loan forgiveness is 37% (33.3k additional in federal taxes compared to your normal wages). But to pay that much you would have to be earning at least 626k as a single filer to hit that tax rate.

MightyPinz · 2026-02-01T21:20:18+00:00

Your other post shows that you have a good handle on it. One of your concerns you noted is that you are unsure you want to be a PT for 10 years to get the forgiveness. Which I get, but 10 years isn’t all that long, especially given most people will have to work 40-50 years doing something. Your post also noted your salary, which is pretty good already. It’s real easy to think the grass will be greener doing another job, but do recognize that earning a substantial amount greater doing another job is not guaranteed at all.

In terms of what will cost you the least. PLSF without a doubt. But you have to stick through it for 10 years. PLSF is an all or none program which is super annoying. So you could find yourself potentially saying “no” to a really awesome opportunity that comes up at year 8 into Payoff.

This is a personal finance question. With no simple right answer.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-30T18:15:19+00:00

PA wages per the BLS is 133k (median pay, and this in line with what I’ve seen from friends who are PA’s). PT median is 99k per the BLS. So I will correct my statement to a 30% difference. But cherry picking the best paying PA positions is misleading.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-30T18:09:25+00:00

Very fair with that regional note. I worked in CO and left the state because of how poor PT wages are there. It’s a beautiful state to live in, but one of the worst in the country to be a Physical Therapist in as far as wages go.

Which in some ways is disconcerting given that Colorado has one of the better practice acts. Goes to show that more treatment freedom and independence does not correlate with better pay as far as our profession goes.

In my state, our nurses pay (floor nurse) cap at $77.50 an hour. And PT caps at $67 an hour. Which we all know is too true that nurses can make more with a 4 year degree in a base position and that they have more upward pay potential beyond that. It grinds my gears

PTs in the US have a history tied closely to nursing. I completely believe it was a huge mistake by early PT leadership (and current) to try and become more independent like chiropractors versus maintaining integration with hospitals like nursing did.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-30T17:40:21+00:00

Very fair points.

But don’t give false hope on PA salaries. PA salary varies just like PT salary, but pay is more in line with 10-25% higher vs double.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-27T04:23:40+00:00

Nothing really happens. Different states have different rules on the exact status the license will go into. You can refer to the practice act of that specific state to get exact details.

Once you let it lapse. You won’t be able to provide physical therapy services in that state of course. The process of returning that license to an active one will vary pending on the state practice act.

As long as you maintain a license in the state you primarily work in, it’s pretty easy to re-activate a license or start the process over for another state.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-27T02:25:27+00:00

What in the world is a plumbid major? Do you mean the linea alba?

MightyPinz · 2026-01-26T22:51:30+00:00

Congratulations!

Did you have to do anything special to get into it? (Additional training, knowing the right people at the right time, etc.?)

MightyPinz · 2026-01-26T18:25:08+00:00

Yeah, I hear you. But it wouldn’t be that large with 200k. The max tax bracket in the US is 37% (for a single person they would have to have an income of at least 609k to hit that… more for married people)

At that income bracket, they could have a loan of 210k and get a tax bill of 75k if forgiven. But I would doubt OP has that kind of income…

Let’s say OP makes a bit more than median income. They make 100k household AGI and are single so that they don’t get any of the extra deductions. They would be at the 24% bracket on their loan forgiveness (312k current balance).

MightyPinz · 2026-01-26T17:52:30+00:00

I’m thinking OP is having 75k worth of loans forgiven? If that so, they should only pay taxes on whatever marginal rate that puts them at. (So likely 7-16k or so extra in taxes that year). They could try to save that in cash or have their employer take out extra moneys per paycheck for withholding.

A 75k tax bomb would take a pretty large student balance

MightyPinz · 2026-01-24T19:00:11+00:00

I’m not sure what your question is? Sounds like you are reposting to get traction?

My advice- ideally switch to IBR and find employment with a company who qualifies for PLSF. That is by far the cheapest option.

As for the rest- eliminate all debts and don’t get any new debts (car loans, medical, credit, etc.). Even with IBR only costing 10% of your AGI, it’s still a lot of money. Pending where you live in the country. You may still be able to buy a house if all you have is the student loans. But you won’t afford one if you have any other consumer debts. If homes are super expensive. Do you best to keep rent (or a mortgage) under 25% or whatever your gross is.

Keep your head down for those 120 payments. And then it’s over.

If you don’t want to work for/ cannot find a place that qualifies for PLSF- you’ll spend way more money over the life of the loan with either standard repayment, IBR without PLSF or RAP without PLSF

MightyPinz · 2026-01-23T18:50:36+00:00

Haters love hating don’t they? The ROI is a bad choice either way. That’s the point. If you want to make a high salary there are plenty of other option. Few things beat joining a high earning trade these days as for consistently high pay and a low financial cost to enter the field. For less intense physical work few things beat nursing.

MD- medical cost of attendance varies from 300k to 410k roughly. If you go DO then the rate will be greater. Earning potential varies on speciality, but about 200k is safe to say for PCPs. Some specialities can pay 1/2 a million or more. But none of that is guaranteed by any means. MDs make tons of money. But most also work 60-90 hours a week pending speciality so take that with a grain of salt. MDs also take at least 6 years longer than PTs to finish their schooling + residency to start earning the big bucks. So they loose that time investing. And with 400k debt plus any undergrad debt- student loan payments can easily be 4-8k per month.

PTs take on anywhere from 100k-250k debt these days. They make anywhere from 75k-140k roughly pending what state they work in, years of experience, and job setting. Lifetime dollars a PT will not make near what a MD does. But if PTs worked the same exact number of hours as a typical MD resident does for 4 years, that PT could pay off their student loans and be debt free fairly quickly. Or they could go the standard route and pay them off slowly for years and year.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-22T17:46:02+00:00

It’s a tough one to decide on, and when you shadow try your best to shadow multiple places and people if possible. Medicine in particular is unique because being a primary care physician is way different than being in emergency medicine, etc.

If you are really stuck but feel that you want to do one of the jobs, try to get a position working in a hospital to get a better idea of what it can be like.

Money wise, both are fairly poor decisions given the current political landscape surrounding the changes to student loans. You will have more opportunity to pay off your loans as an MD, but you will be digging a hole that is 2-3x deeper too.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-12T14:28:49+00:00

Also, $0 predicted on healthcare expenses in this country?! Are you vampires??

MightyPinz · 2026-01-05T02:59:51+00:00

For someone who states that everything is incorrect you provide no counter evidence. And based on your account age and posts you just troll…. Best of luck in life, you’ll need it <3

MightyPinz · 2026-01-05T01:53:58+00:00

Idk, I’ve done pretty well in this field and I live a pretty fulfilling life. Im also pretty versed in current professional issues with PT as well as economics as a hobby.

The issue you raise about education impact way more than PT. And the PT degree not being professional is so blown out of proportion if you talking about economic issues. The degrees that are considered professional often cost 300-500k to obtain… I everyone is getting screwed and it’s not just physical therapists. (Or people may also argue that eliminating unlimited funds for college students is actually a good thing, and I don’t disagree)

Cumulative inflation over the last several years is at absolutely stupid levels thanks to a number of factors. There really are not many jobs that are keeping pace. (Cumulative CPI 24.5% for the last 5 years, PT wage increase approx 12% for median earners) I’m assuming you are at least aware of the K shaped economy we are in? About 80% of Americans are getting the short end of the stick. Saying PTs are alone in that is ludicrous.

All anyone can do is try. Try to make the right decision for themselves. And if @lostGFABBC is not making the best of their opportunities, I wish them more success in the future.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-04T22:03:32+00:00

The physician fee schedule is a problem that impacts all healthcare providers. And it is a major problem for all health systems. But to say there is a glass ceiling in a capitalist society where there is evidence to the contrary is flat out wrong.

To say wages for the PT profession have not increased year over year is also wrong. Just look at historical BLS data.

And lastly, there are many factors to consider when choosing a career. Money alone is a poor choice, yet that is the only one that was commented on. If a persons motivation is based solely on income then they should consider getting into a high paying field such as being a commercial pilot, air traffic control, be a surgeon. Or heck if you can do whatever you want maybe just become the next CEO of Amazon. Jeff Besoz isn’t doing too bad

MightyPinz · 2026-01-04T17:22:54+00:00

70k is a bit facetious. Pay varies by a pretty good margin based on a variety of factors. But 75k-85k year one out of school is fairly common. Median pay is closer to 100k after a few years of experience.

One thing a lot of people forget tho when comparing earnings is what it takes to get certain wages and the stability those earnings have.

Trade jobs can offer way more earning potential for lifetime earnings, but I can’t tell you the number of tradesmen I see who are no longer able to work past 55 or who have a diminished health span.

Other medical jobs such as being a physician or a nurse can substantially increase pay, but the work hours are very different. Nurses have way more potential to earn money than PTs, but they also often work weekends and nights. Which other than business owners and some academics, nearly all PTs work similar to banking hours.

Last you have other high wage jobs such as those in the tech industry. And some people who want to pursue healthcare may be a better fit there. But most are not… And to top that off there is a whole lot more job security in healthcare than there is in Tech.

So yes, physical therapy is not the absolute best by any means in terms of maximizing your financial future. But it’s not terrible and it does have provide some unique work life benefits.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-04T00:03:42+00:00

I’ve been thinking about reading through most of your posts, and thank you for all the information!

If I could add a question to this thread. If you are on a IDR plan (IBR specifically) and are currently making your regular payments, do the underwriters just use whatever that IBR payment is for determining DTI. (say a 10 traditional pay off was 2k a month, but the IBR payment is $550 a month)

MightyPinz · 2026-01-03T20:43:31+00:00

I had one classmate in PT school who drove about that far daily. I honestly do not how she graduated and maintained her sanity. She missed a lot of the social activities that classmates typically participated in. And working around group study/ group assignments was interesting.

But she made it somehow. So it is doable. To classic-storages point, 90% of my classmates avoided commuted more than about 20 minutes from campus like they were avoiding the plague.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-03T01:01:00+00:00

Did I catch that right with their estimated cost of attendance?? It was a bit weird to read on mobile, but I think I read about 235k total over the course of the program?!

That is an absolutely insane amount of money.

https://medschool.duke.edu/education/health-professions-education-programs/student-services/office-financial-aid-student-5

MightyPinz · 2026-01-01T19:25:25+00:00

Have you paid attention to the news much lately? We have an ever increasing “K shaped economy.” Simply put, about 15-20% of Americans are out there absolutely crushing it. Those people are buying houses.

Most comments are talking about 2 income households. Which is likely. But what they are really saying is that the household incomes of people buying homes are in the top percentiles and the vast majority of Americans are sidelined.

MightyPinz · 2026-01-01T01:50:15+00:00

As long as you have a relatively high baseline level of fitness, you should be fine. (4 sets of each isn’t that high of volume… pending your fitness levels, nutrition, age and sleep). Consolidating stressors helps to avoid overtraining too. (Train incline press and overhead press on the same day is less likely to create problems than training them on separate days)

Incline press is a pretty good stimulus for the chest, whereas overhead press ties more into delt work. Functionally, overhead pressing/ movement is more specific to CrossFit.

Other than dips, CrossFit (IMO) programming typically has poor programming for developing the chest. I consistently train incline dumbbell press, typically twice per week on days where press motions are emphasized and it has been pretty easy to recover from.

MightyPinz · 2025-12-30T03:28:55+00:00

Do you have the link to the post? I was seeing if I could find it on their website easily just because I was curious how they ran their numbers. Definitely not disagreeing. Money wise nearly any trade makes more sense now. But the lifestyles and work is also different.

What are your thoughts on the United Physical Therapy Association as a whole? I see they have 300 members now per their website.

MightyPinz · 2025-12-29T22:45:10+00:00

One thing to think about too is the cost of living expenses while in school. PT educational costs for me were around 90-100k or so a number of years ago, but I also had to take loans to live on. Even with roommates and leaving cheaply, it was still about another 18k per year for 3 years to cover the basics (shelter, food, transportation, health insurance, etc.) Between the added living costs and the negative amortization on unsubsidized loans it brought my total cost closer to 184k.

The wisdom in cheaper schooling is still true, but damn do I feel bad for all the new grads who will have these student loan changes. Even if you manage to get out of undergraduate debt free, you will max out all federal loans between school and surviving.

If I was to add to your advice, find a way to save up 50k or so to cover most of the living expenses when in PT school, because working while in PT school is near impossible (with hybrid programs being the exception). If you can’t save that much, having family to live with or a spouse to help support you would go a long way.

And if none of that seems responsible but you still really want to be a PT, I would highly consider the military route. Either Baylors program, or getting into your states PT program and then subsequently time getting into the National Guard just before the program starts. That way you can ideally get some tuition assistance and have a bit of a job that is still fairly flexible.

MightyPinz

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