I agree, $80,000 for this year, doubled my income from ཁ
Posted By: Another happy MT on 2006-11-09
In Reply to: I have consistently made in the upper $40s to mid $50s in this business. - Busy MT'ing
I work 40 hours a week for national service, average 2200-2500 lines a day with full benefits, so far have grossed $60,000 this year. I have a part time IC gig, no more than another 10 hours a week, another $15,000 there with close to 2 months left in the year. My 2 biggest factors in doubling my income were leaving the TV off while I work and converting to Instant Text. I realize many have trouble making that kind of money but it is definitely possible. I'm sure it helps that I am single and childless...I can't imagine trying to keep up with it while having little people around!
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
But our income for the year is a little over 200K. nm
x
74K solid year income + MT work
I saw in the Education Website a 74K package + some MT work that could get you into 90K a year after taxes. Is it worth it?
I do not think I have ever doubled on VR
It could be if you doubled your line count your audio speed works faster than maybe mine does. I keep mine on every single report fast forward and never doubled my lines from when I typed straight. I can't do any more on my account. My husband drives for a living and the company sets the speed on the trucks at 55 MPH. He could not (like me) go any faster than what his truck allows.
Not sure, I have deductions for federal income tax, SS tax, Medicare tax, and state income tax. ???
nm
Well, if you doubled your earnings, does it come up to that 60-75K
s
Have you checked into satellite? It's expensive, but I know I almost doubled production sm
going from dial up to DSL, so it may pay for itself. I'd check which companies let you use it first, but I seriously considered it before our phone company picked up DSL. Good luck.
InstantText, hands-down. Doubled my line count.
I tried them all and then bought IT. I have gone from 115 lph to 286 lines per hour (I do ER). I would, literally, be lost without it.
Agree with $50,000.00 a year (sm)
That is pretty comfortable. I used to make that as a law office manager and have made that as an MT.
My friend and I were discussing that exact subject the other day, i.e., what we should have done. We should have done something easy like opened up a donut shop. Heck, if our wages are gonna be so low to do MT, I'd rather make donuts. 
Agree...last year was when I pretty much
stopped watching it. I felt the same way and thought it was real boring. Thank you for helping me to catch up! I am now looking forward to the rest of this season. :)
Agree, but some of those 60-year-olds are in
xx
Totally agree. My husband has been out of work for 1 year. sm.
In that time he has graduated college. We have applied to close to 100 places with NO responses. I work two jobs (one of which just got cut back). Its tough but I don't ask for help. It drives me to the point of wanting to hit someone when they say "Tell you husband to just get a job". I just took out 30,000 in student loans to help him get a "career" because that is what they tell us to do in a recession but guess what..NOBODY IS HIRING. If you have a job, your lucky, keep it. If you quit your job just because you want state aid, your a fraud and a liar and a poor parent. HOW could you teach your child values, responsibility and work ethic, if you have none yourself.
I so agree. My blazer finally bit the dust last year. I used to go driving just because the sm
seat felt so good. It was perfect. Sigh. gone now.
Mine are in year-round thank goodness! They've started their new year 2 months ago.
x
Union diesil mechanic - good pay, great benefits. We swap year to year on who brings home more sm
money.....but I am an IC and he has all the benefits...health insurance/dental that the company pays for, pension plan, 401k, etc. Factor all of that in and he makes way more than I do.
to cowgirl - Last I knew, last year the job paid $25,000/year no taxes, etc.
The hospital was bombed about a year ago, but not a lot of damage, very minimal damage.
44-year-old WF, M, Texas, 3 grown kids, just had 26 year wedding anv.
nm
nope, still crunching last few days of year to hit my 50k this year. how can you when you haven'
;
Nothing this year. We ALWAYS got a cool surprise in the past, but this year nothing. :-( nm
d
After I went to a 1-year MT course at a vocational school, it was so bad that I did the 2-year colle
Not only did I finally receive the proper training, but the woman on the advisory board hired and mentored me. I also joined the local AAMT and networked. Good luck. I know how frustrating it can be. A community college will have a good program to include medical language, MT courses taught by local MTSOs, business English, anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, etc.
MT income
I am at #6, but have been an MT for 30+ years.
But for those who need FT income...sm
I can see how that could be a problem for some. It is my intention to get a PT job, and if I don't get enough work, find another to fill it out; then, who ever pays best for the best work and least hassle WINS. However, my DH is the primary wage earner around here. My income helps, but we don't require it to live.
income
I live in New York, have been doing MT for 15 years and during all of that time I have needed to work 50 to 70 hours a week. I started on working mostly from tapes. When the dictations started coming through the computer and I started using word expanders, income went way up. But so has my rent - used to be $750, now $1100. And my son eats a lot more at 14 than he used to! A few years ago I started working for 2 services for extra money... but now I couldn't get by without 2 jobs. The first job used to pay well, but with a combination of a new platform and VR, plus being transferred to a different account at a lesser line rate, I make thousands less from them than I used to. I am changing companies. Would love a 40 hour work week but don't think it's possible.
40,000 not low income
maybe with 10 children.. I know of one circumstance (in my state, and some others) where a person can make a decent amount of money (sky's not the limit, but 50,000 range is OK) and still get Medicaid. It's a program for working people with disabilities, whose medical expenses are extremely high and would not be covered by regular insurance - including services of home health aide and transportation to medical appointments, equipment, etc etc). I am on this program (which I was not told about by Medicaid workers, had to do my own research). So I am in the curious position of receiving government assistance (Medicaid only, not food stamps or disability payments) and working/paying taxes at the same time.
Likely the OP is not in this category.
I think he makes $700,000.00 a year, and if they ask him to walk before his first year MQ has...sm
to pay him a cool 1 million dollars. You can check this out at the Medquist website. I think the CFO makes $350,000 a year, and the head of IT makes $250.000 a year.
P.S. This does not include the perks, like expense account, car allowance, sign-on bonus, etc.
Our 16 year old son has been working for a year now to pay for his truck.
He's learning how to sand and do body work and how the engine and transmission go together. My parents didn't buy cars for my siblings and I either. I had a 20+ year old beater car until I could afford to move up to a a newer one.
I see all the nice new cars parked in the high school parking lot every day. It's nice that so many disrespectful punk kids get handed something nicer to drive than what all the teachers drive. Oh, well. Honestly, I think most of them borrow Mommy or Daddy's car or are the child of a doctor who can afford to hand them everything.
Hopefully, my kids will take better care of their cars because they bought and built them on their own. You're not going to grow up to be responsible if you don't work hard for something and expect Mommy and Daddy to bail you out all the time.
Oh, my Dad lectured us on even allowing our child to have a vehicle because Dad didn't have one until after he had worked his way through college, lettered on the football team, got straight As, lettered on the baseball team, yadda yadda. He either walked or hitched a ride. Yeah, well, times were different back then, Daddy-O. LOL At least my kid has the opportunity to work and earn his own car.
IC - 30 hours week, $98K last year. So far this year - 28K. sm
Individual IC - own account(s).
Not me, owed last year, and expect to owe this year- sm
or break even, had more expenses this year. Only owed $200 but still don't want to owe at all. Need to start doing estimated tax payments again so I don't owe! Guess I will get off my butt and do that this year.
Income Tax after Death
I have a friend whose mother passed away in March of this year. She was an IC and thus earned income right up until the time of her death. Is her daughter now responsible for filing an income tax return and/or paying taxes on this income? I know an accountant for her would be handy in this situation, but I thought I might get some opinions here as well. Thanks!!
Disagree - it is NET income
You pay your social security on your NET income not your gross, after all your deductions and look around you will find them. Also you are only paying 7.5% MORE than if you were an employee. Again, as an employee you have the convenience of someone controlling and withholding your income tax while as an IC you do it. I have more usable income as an IC than as an employee because of my deductions. If your husband is working have him take one less deduction or have them hold out a specific amount that will offset what you make, they will do that and that way you don't have to worry about paying quarterly taxes. The IRS doesn't care who pays as long as if you are filing jointly the tax has been paid.
He can't cut his income intentionally.. sm
It's written into the divorce decree (if you have a halfway decent attorney) that income cannot be reduced.. and even if it is.. the child support and other payments remain the same as ordered. Been there...and done that..
Monthy Income
I would like to know what short cuts "nm" is using in order to make $60K a year. Maybe that will help us all make more money. Thanks.
Yearly income
I have three 1099's here in front of me -- one for 24K, one for 13K, and one for 5K. My W2 one is for 14 almost 15K. I did work without 1099 in the amount of 3K. The reason that my average goes down on the IRS forms is that after all my business deductions -- which includes my health insurance and 401K and Self employed retirement fund, mileage, supplies, etc. it goes down to less than 20K. Believe me or not, but it is possible and I still have time to go on the boards. I do not work 60 to 70 hours per week.
I have my own accounts and my income
was around $38,000. That is around $3,100 a month. I work M-F and usually work 8-hour days, though there are times I need to put in an extra hour or two on the weekend or in the evening when the work is really coming in. If you work for someone else, that person is charging at least 3-4 cents per line over what they are paying you in order to turn a profit, so if you are making 7 cpl, you can bet they're charging at least 11 cpl, if not more. At 11 cpl, if you can achieve 1400 lines a day, that would be around $3000 a month. That would be 175 lines an hour and that is not an extraordinary amount for an experienced MT with Expanders and other production tools in place. I would venture a guess that most saying they make that much have their own accounts and those making less than that a month work for someone else.
Low income housing?
My sister is getting divorced and wants to move into this place that bills itself as "low income". They told her they would take 30% of her income. BTW, she is also an MT. She says she makes about $1350 a month, but has a van payment and various bills. I am asking on here because the place won't answer any of her questions right now. She needs to be moved by the 15th of March. I am wondering if anyone knows how they can take over $400 of her income and still call themselves "low income" that doesn't seem fair. I knew a lady that lived their with one child and paid less than $10 a month. I mean what about her other bills? She has 4 little children (twins 4, and 6- and an 8-year-old). I hate to see her move in there and overpay. My mom and I don't know what to tell her. She's been through quite an ordeal already. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Aunt Maria
annual income
Watch out, you will be accused of being childish from the same person who refers to "some" fellow MTs as unfortunately not having a brain. Hmmm, pot calling the kettle black? That was so rude and so not called for.....is that necessary!
20K is my taxable income
Boy you guys do not know how to read financial statements or know the first thing about running your own business. That is my taxable income. I start out about 55K and end up paying taxes on only 20K if that. I support myself in a very unique lifestyle living on a floating home. I contribute 15K to a my own retirement fund. I have NO debt. And I probably spend no more on gas than if I were working at a hospital but I get to deduct the mileage which is a good deduction. The only outlay that I have that I would not have if I were working for someone else is supplies -- sticky paper and toner. I have looked at employee versus IC or business owner and I am so much more ahead financially doing it this way. A lot more usable income. And I only work 30 hours per week even with deliveries and pick-ups. So before you speak, learn how to realize what is net, gross and taxable income.
loss of income
I think this is happening to many of us in this profession. I am making two thirds of what I made 13 years ago and there is no way to get clients in my area as one hospital went out of business, two merged and gave the docs laptops and the largest only uses one service and has a 10 year contract but I have heard they are giving all new doctors laptops too. The hospitals in my area own most of the clinics, family meds and speciality offices too. Time for me to think about something else.
income taxes
Hi - Now working as an IC. Can anyone tell me what form or format you use when filing your taxes to list deductions from work-related items. Would appreciate any help on this. Thanks
Income potentials...
There are so many variables to that, but since no one has posted yet...
I think the average for a newbie (which you will be starting out until 2 years) is around 5-7 cents per line. The average after your "2 years of experience" goes up to about 8-10 cpl. There are so many variables, and every company is different. Of course, if you were to be running your own business, that is another story altogether, which maybe someone else will respond to (as I have no idea on that). Most companies require between 1000 to 1200 lines per day (full time) to 5000 to 6000 (part time). That is my understanding as a general rule. I'm not an expert, but that might give you some idea anyway. There is a website/magazine called Advance for HIM. They have a salary survey on their website for MTs you might find helpful.
Hope this helps!
Rae
Just report your income
Keep copies of your invoices, and just report your income from her. Some do not provide 1099's. It is your responsibility to keep track of your income and report that.
Still if she has $11-22K a month of income - sm
you don't think that is enough to pay all her bills with some left over for herself? What is her equipment made out of? Gold or some other precious metal. Most call in systems run $5-10K, even if she has 5 of them I would think she could have them paid off in a year, 2 tops; granted I do not know how long she has been in business but with 44 clients/accounts I would guess it has been a little while. If she is working out of her home then she has her "home office" deduction, if she rents an office I would suggest finding something cheaper obviously. It is just hard to comprehend that she has $11-22K a month in expenses; how many QA people does she have? What is she paying them, hourly or by the line? Are they cheating her if paid hourly? She definitely needs to do some restructuring/reorganization in order to keep afloat. She doesn't give any details so it is a little hard to give her a sensible answer, we can only guess and she will have to see what fits and what advice she finds useful. If her 44 clients barely produce 2000 lines a month, then that is $8800 a month for herself to pay bills, QA, attorney, etc. That is a much slimmer number but that is still a high cost to doing business, $105K a year, just does not seem right. But again we do not know details and can only guess.
Variable Income
You are so right. Maybe we need to stick together and ask for hourly wage that is fair to us and to the hospital/clinic/private office, benefits that mean something, and all work our shifts. If some of us don't keep up then we will get fired! However, the rest of us will all benefit immensely and be fairly treated. It seems in the world of transcriptiion that we, the transcriptionists, always get ripped off. Consider that my husband has a "regular job" and has had yearly cost of living increases, bonuses, etc. forever. By my estimation, my pay translated into hourly has gone down considerably. Twenty years ago the hourly offered for our services has never changed one iota and now that we are home not only did it go down (unless we skip lunch and work over) but we have lost all our benefits unless we work for cheap line counts for big nationals. I am tired of them taking all of my money, are you? It is just like the health insurance racket. They have all kinds of "middle men" who get their piece of the action from the people who really do the work. My husband's share we pay for our benefits has gone up, his company's share has gone up and the offerings have gone down. Why? There is no real need for middle men. All they do is drive the cost of things and the real workers get it in the neck or other body parts I won't mention because I am a lady. Face it, doctor's don't even know we exist any more. There is no personal factor. I don't need constant affirmation, but it was nice when the doctors I transcribed for vaguely or not so vaguely knew who I was and respected me and my integrity and realized I made some contribution to their practice by my careful attention to detail. They also remembered that I too worked there when everyone else got a raise. I guess I am done now, but this gripes me so much and we all continue to sit here and type and nothing changes. Somehow others have insinuated themselves into our transcription business and are pocketing all the profits and calling all the shots. Some days I feel like a rat in a wheel.
#2 is a good income but
//
taxed on net income
You take off all your deductions and pay the SS on the net business income. Then you take that income, deduct half of the SS, your personal deductions and pay federal income tax on that net.
Income after deductions.
Income after expenses is what you are given credit for making. If you grossed $40,000 and had $10,000 worth of expenses, you made $30,000. This is your taxable income and what is credited as your social security income.
MT, whenever I see someone saying a good income isn't possible SM
I immediately suspect that person is still typing most dictation out slowly and laboriously, letter by letter, word by word, like in the old days. Not as bad as trying to do this work on a Selectric, making corrections with Liquid Paper, but still way behind the times.
I have over 37,000 entries in my Expander program--words, phrases, paragraphs, whole report sections, and macros--and I'm still trying to catch up with people who use a lot more.
But just for instance, two Keystrokes are what it takes me to separate a run-on sentence into two and start the new sentence with a capital "The." My ShortHand knows I'm not really computer literate, so it recorded the strokes I use to type that normally and asked me to give it a name. I chose ".t"--the two keystrokes.
"Dr. Samangaranapour" is "drsam." And so on. And on.
For a slow typist, with the help of my expander I'm now record-breaking fast by the old standards.
And that's how it's humanly possible, and why so many people are still making good incomes on the current pay rates.
Since 2000, my income has gone down sm
every year and I am working more hours. That's it in a nutshell.
Income Taxes SM
I use an accountant for my taxes and it is well worth the money. One time I had an issue come up with the IRS and the accountant handled the problem for me. Also, the taxes are more complicated than if you are an employee somewhere. Good luck.
supplementing my income
 I decided to apply for a U. S. Census 2010 job, took the test, and was hired. Hooray! Training starts in my area in a couple of weeks. It's just the thing to supplement my MT income. Depending on where you live, there are still lots of census jobs available. The census bureau has already hired 140,000 census-takers and is planning to hire at least that many more. In my area, the pay is $12.50 an hour. It depends on your area of the country as to how much you make. You have to commit to 20 hours a week for a minimum of 10 weeks, maximum of up 10 months. You can work up to 40 hours if you want. That's what I'm going to do: Census 40 hours and MT 20 hours. Personally, I can't wait! I'll get to do the 2 things I love the most: walk and talk.
How much did your income fall?
NM
income drop
My production is about even with SR/VR as straight transcription, sometimes even less (the reports come in that full of garbage). Hence, with a rate per line decrease, my hourly pay dropped to 1/3.
Not for long. I just won't lay down and take that sort of abuse. And I do consider this situation abusive.
I have yet to find anyone that I can verify that that they are producing double, let alone triple their usual transcription lines per hour.
|
