Hey, Ken,

The federal tax laws gives a person who might be eligible for both a 403b and a 401k a single $15,500 limit per year ($20,500 if age 50 or over by 12/31 of the year). You cannot double up in a 401k you might have.

In a 401k, you could do 20% of your self-employed income, up to $46,000 total.

But be careful. It is quite tricky to make sure you can have a 401k even with your separate LLC income. As a hospital-based physician, it is possible--but there is a facts-and-circumstances test that applies, that looks at many factors including how much authority you have to direct other hospital employees in how they perform their work.

One thing you should check out is whether the hospital also offers a 457b plan. Between the 403b and a 457b plan, you could double up--$31,000 a year (or $51,000 a year if age 50 by 12/31 of that year).

The downside of a 457b plan is if the hospital should ever go insolvent (remember Orange County, CA in the 1980s and the City of New York in the late 1970s both went insolven). If so, you'd lose most of your 457b benefits--unless the University of Pennsylvania is publicly owned. Then your benefits would be better protected.

Zip Code: 83402

All good food for thought. Since I am currently the only employee of my LLC, and I don't think U of Penn. will ever go bankrupt (the Hosp. of the U. of Penn. is a different story but I am now technically employed by the Univ. not the hospital), for now I think the SEP-IRA is the easiest solution. As I get older or if I end up hiring other employees, I may consider something else up.

Ken,

You ought to obtain a legal opinion before doing the SEP-IRA for your LLC that as a hospital-based physician, that SEP-IRA would not have to cover also the hospital's employees.

Zip Code: 83402