Tax Planning for Medical Professionals with Riccardo Zerbino

About This Episode

Between transitioning from residency to retiring from professional life, doctors need to give careful consideration to their financial planning.

Today we’re discussing the crucial planning stages in a doctor’s career and the tax and financial planning matters to consider. We’re joined by Riccardo Zerbino of Baker Tilly to help us explore this topic in more detail. Together, we’ll break down the key issues and considerations for young doctors, mid-career doctors, and retired doctors and shed some light on how to set yourself up for success at each stage.

Riccardo holds the position of Director of Taxation at Baker Tilly Montreal and a professor at McGill University. With nearly ten years of professional experience in audit and taxation, Riccardo has helped his clients better understand the world of corporate taxation; a complex and constantly evolving sector. Riccardo holds a university degree from McGill University, earned the Chartered Professional Accountant designation, and followed with a Masters in Tax Law (LL.M.) obtained at HEC Montreal. He is also involved in charity with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada and motionball.

In this episode, Ruben, Marcelo, and Riccardo talk about early career challenges for doctors, what to do about student loan debt, whether doctors benefit from forming a corporation, the advantages of RSPs and IPPS, what doctors need to think about when it comes to retirement planning, and so much more!

Thank you for listening!

Key Topics:

• Welcome Riccardo (3:52)
• Early career challenges for young doctors (5:19)
• Potential benefits of delaying repayment of student loans from medical school (6:15)
• How financial professionals can help with cash flow management (7:47)
• The problem with following peer advice on your finances (9:59)
• When doctors should start thinking about incorporation (11:58)
• How tax reforms have impacted professional corporations (14:53)
• Why mid-career doctors should take advantage of RSPs (17:52)
• Mitigating risk by utilizing RSPs (19:28)
• Deciding between taking dividends or a salary (22:13)
• Understanding IPPs (23:34)
• The main advantages of using an IPP (25:36)
• Retirement considerations for doctors with corporations (27:15)
• What doctors need to know about estate planning (28:58)
• Who will benefit from doing an estate freeze? (30:10)
• Family trusts for doctors (32:15)
• The benefits of working with a financial advisor (35:01)
• And much more!