Turn Extra Shifts
Into A Real Business.
Physicians picking up 1099 locums work can use S-Corps, Solo 401(k)s, and accountable plans to turn side income into a serious wealth engine.
Why This Strategy Exists
Every major tax strategy is just the government's way of paying you to behave in a certain way—provide housing, hire people, save for retirement, or structure your business cleanly.
Locums S-Corp is designed for situations like yours—high income, real dollars at stake, and enough complexity that a generic tax return won't cut it.
The Core Concept
Physicians working locum tenens are independent contractors (1099). By forming an S-Corp, you can split income between salary and dividends, saving 15.3% self-employment tax on the dividend portion.
The Risk Of DIY
This strategy gets thrown around online as a magic bullet. The reality: the IRS is very specific about who qualifies, what documentation is needed, and how it must be reported.
Most of the messes we clean up come from half-implemented versions—no logs, no elections, no support—and big deductions that fall apart under scrutiny.
The Taxstra Approach
We don't treat this as a party trick. We treat it as an engineering project: understand your situation, model the numbers, then build a checklist so every requirement is met intentionally.
That includes time logs, elections, entity structure, coordination with attorneys or cost segregation firms when needed, and clear expectations for how the strategy evolves over time.
The Core Rules You Can't Ignore
Every strategy has a handful of non-negotiables. Get these right, and you're usually fine. Miss them, and no amount of clever structuring will save the deduction.
Eligibility
Who can actually use Locums S-Corp—and who should not try. We map your income mix, entities, and long-term goals before we ever recommend it.
Key Tests
Hour thresholds, income limits, material participation tests, or dollar caps. We translate legalese into plain-English checklists specific to this strategy.
Documentation
What needs to be logged, signed, or saved: calendars, receipts, minutes, elections, appraisals, or engineering reports—whatever the IRS expects to see later for Locums S-Corp.
Real-World Application
How Locums S-Corp Looked In Practice
We walk through an anonymized client scenario where Locums S-Corp made sense—income levels, entities, timing, and the exact implementation steps we took.
The important part isn't just the savings. It's understanding why it fit their situation and how we built guardrails so it would hold up years later.
The Numbers & The Trade-Offs
We show the actual tax impact, what changed in their cash flow, and what they had to commit to in terms of time, record-keeping, or complexity.
A good strategy isn't just about the current-year refund. It's about whether the savings justify the ongoing work it adds to your life.
Locums & 1099 Physician S-Corp Strategy FAQ
Want To See If Locums S-Corp Fits You?
In 30 minutes, we can usually tell you whether this strategy is worth pursuing, what documentation you'd need, and how it would interact with everything else in your financial life.
If we don't think this move makes sense for you, we'll say so directly—and help you focus on simpler, higher-ROI options instead.