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    What leaving a job costs in cash

    Leaving costs more than the last paycheck. This page adds the cash obligations at the month you leave: bonus repayment, tail coverage, a buyout and other repayments, and sets one reason for leaving beside another.

    Runs in your browserNot legal or financial advice

    Example valuesLeaving after 12 months: resignation or termination without cause

    $55,000

    $55,000 more in cash on a resignation, under the terms entered.

    Resignation
    $55,000
    Termination without cause
    $0

    Example valuesRun your own at joinandwise.com/contracts/exit-costIRS Publication 525 (2025); tail multiple: ISMA e-Report (September 2026)checked October 26, 2026amounts entered are masked

    Example values; replace them with your contract's terms.

    Tail coverage and other repayments (optional)
    Terms by reason for leaving

    What the contract states for each way the job can end. "Not stated" keeps the general terms above for that reason.

    Resignation
    Termination without cause
    Termination with cause
    Non-renewal
    Buyout or liquidated damages (optional)
    Cash owed at exit
    —
    Bonus repayment
    —
    Tail coverage
    —
    Buyout
    —
    Other repayment
    —
    After the bonus tax comes back
    —

    By reason for leaving

    The same month of exit under each reason. A term the contract does not state reads "Not stated" and is priced on the general terms entered.

    By month of exit

    The total line is the cash owed at each month of exit; the bonus repayment sits beneath it. Compare months to see when the window, the tail vesting or a declining buyout changes the total.

    Assumptions

    Each assumption below is part of the arithmetic. Press one to change it; the results follow.

    Show the math

    Formula

    1. Bonus repayment: $15,000 owed; $4,448 of the tax on it comes back under IRS rules ($15,000 × (22% federal + 5% state + 8% payroll)).
    2. Tail: $40,000 — the $30,000–$50,000 midpoint of $20,000 × the 150%–250% multiple.
    3. Buyout: none entered.
    4. Other repayment: none entered.
    5. Cash owed: $15,000 + $40,000 + $0 + $0 = $55,000.

    Inputs and where they came from

    • Leave after: 12 months (2028-08) Your input
    • Signing bonus: $30,000 Your input
    • Repayment window: 24 months, prorated Your input
    • Tail payer: Physician pays Your input
    • Reason for leaving: Resignation Your input
    • Annual premium: $20,000 Your input
    • Other repayment: $0 Your input

    Constants cited

    Arithmetic on the terms entered; whether a clause is enforceable is a question for counsel.

    The steps of leaving in order, and the non-compete after it: the termination guide.

    Answer a question in a group chat

    The reply below is built from the numbers above. To answer someone else's question, enter their numbers. The link in the reply carries none of them.

    Questions for counsel

      Questions for a CPA

        The rules this applies

        • Repaid in the same calendar year as the bonus: the repaid amount is not that year's income.
        • Repaid in a later year, $3,000 or less: not deductible, because miscellaneous itemized deductions are no longer allowed.
        • Repaid in a later year, over $3,000: the lower tax of an itemized deduction in the repayment year or a credit for the tax the amount added in the year it was received (IRC 1341).
        • Social Security and Medicare tax on repaid wages: refunded by the employer, or claimed on Form 843.
        • Tail premiums run about 150% to 250% of the mature annual claims-made premium; the contract decides who pays.

        Sources: IRS Publication 525, "Repayments" (2025), checked 2026-10-26; Indiana State Medical Association e-Report, Negotiating tail coverage in your employment agreement (September 2026), checked 2026-10-26.