Calculator
Your First Attending Paycheck
The most important number in a physician’s financial life is the gap between a resident’s take-home pay and an attending’s. See yours, and decide where it goes before it arrives.
Your Numbers
$
$
Spouse income is not included; joint results assume yours is the household’s only wage.
% of pay
403(b), 401(k), or 457(b) deferrals. Capped at the 2026 limit of $24,500 per plan type.
% effective
Enter 0 for Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire. Otherwise a rough effective rate: most states land between 3% and 7%.
Monthly Take-Home
As a resident
—
As an attending
—
The gap, every month
—
Money you have never had and do not yet miss.
If you keep living like a resident
Hold a resident’s budget for two or three years after training and the gap does the work. Before any investment growth:
All of the gap for 3 years—
Half of the gap for 3 years—
A quarter of the gap for 3 years—
What this assumes
- 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (single $16,100; joint $32,200); no itemized deductions or credits.
- Social Security tax of 6.2% up to $184,500 of wages; Medicare 1.45%, plus 0.9% above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (joint).
- Pre-tax retirement deferrals reduce federal and state taxable income but not Social Security or Medicare wages.
- State tax is your entered effective rate applied to wages after deferrals. Local taxes, health premiums, and other payroll deductions are not included.
Estimates for education only, not tax advice. Your actual withholding and liability depend on your full return; confirm with a tax professional.