For residents, fellows, and new attendings with $200k+ in student loans.
Know your doctor loan numbers before you sign.
Doc Debts explains physician mortgages and PSLF decisions in plain numbers. Run the calculators, see both totals side by side, and walk into the lender conversation knowing which option fits you.
Run my numbersFree. No lender money, no affiliate links. The result shows on the page before we ask for anything.
Still in resident mode, shopping for a doctor loan.
You are still in resident mode. The paycheck says trainee, the loan balance says otherwise, and now someone thinks you should buy a house.
So you do what everyone does. You read forum threads where five strangers contradict each other. You open a lender page that reads like a sales pitch. You open a big publisher page that explains mortgages for everyone and physicians for no one.
You are not confused because you missed something. You are confused because no page shows the actual numbers for a doctor in your seat. Doc Debts does that one thing.
On a hypothetical $500,000 loan, mortgage insurance at 0.5% costs about $2,500 every year.1 That charge exists on some loans and not on most physician mortgage programs, even with 0 to 10% down.2 Picking the wrong loan type can mean paying thousands a year for insurance you never needed.
The PSLF call is bigger. Refinance at the wrong moment and you can erase years of qualifying payments. A wrong PSLF or refinance decision can cost six figures. These are hypothetical figures to show the scale. Your numbers will differ, and the calculators below run yours.
A free site that shows your numbers in under 2 minutes.
Doc Debts is a free, independent explainer site for doctors with debt.
- Type in your price, your balance, your income. Each option totals itself.
- Compare a physician loan against a conventional loan, line by line, instead of taking a lender's word for it.
- Weigh staying on the PSLF track against aggressive payoff, with months and dollars on each side.
- Read every claim next to its source, with the date we checked it.
Primary-source fact check.
Every number on this site traces to a primary source: studentaid.gov, the Federal Register, the CFPB, Fannie Mae, the AAMC, or the lender's own product page. Each citation carries the date we checked it. No number ships without a source and a check date.
Checked before it publishes.
Review process: a named reviewer checks each guide before it publishes (see How we check the numbers).
Logical proof: the calculators are the proof. They run your inputs in the open, on the page, with each assumption labelled. If the math is wrong, you can see exactly where. That is the whole point.
Under 2 minutes to your first answer.
- Pick your question: physician loan vs conventional, or PSLF vs payoff.
- Type your numbers into the calculator. Prefilled values are a hypothetical example so you can see how it works.
- Read both totals on the page. No email needed to see the answer.
- Optional: email yourself the plan. One email, the "where did you hear about us" question, unsubscribe anytime.
Two questions, answered in numbers.
Each guide walks one decision with sourced rules and a calculator that runs your inputs.
Physician loan vs conventional
Which loan is cheaper for your price, down payment, and hold period, PMI stated plainly.
PSLF vs payoff
Your PSLF track against aggressive payoff, in dollars and months, with every assumption labelled.
Run the calculators.
Both calculators are live. Type your numbers and read both totals on the page.
Doctor loan vs conventional
Totals both loans over your hold period.
PSLF vs payoff planner
Both tracks, dollars and months side by side.
Questions doctors ask.
Is a physician loan a good idea?
It depends on your numbers, not the label. A physician loan can waive mortgage insurance with 0 to 10% down2, while a conventional loan with a small down payment usually charges it until 20% equity3. On a hypothetical $500,000 loan, that insurance runs about $2,500 a year1. Run both loans in the calculator above and compare totals over your hold period.
Does PSLF work for doctors?
Yes, for doctors at qualifying employers. Make 120 monthly payments on Direct loans while working full time for a government or nonprofit employer, and the remaining balance is forgiven tax-free at the federal level4, 5. Residents at nonprofit hospitals accrue months even on low income-driven payments4. The planner below totals your PSLF track against aggressive payoff.
Do physicians get better mortgage rates?
Not necessarily. Physician loan rates can run higher than conventional rates; the savings usually come from the waived insurance and the low down payment, not the rate2. A small rate gap compounds into tens of thousands over a decade, so compare both totals for your hold period instead of choosing by rate alone.
Is PSLF worth it for doctors?
It depends on balance versus income. Ten years of income-driven payments with tax-free forgiveness4, 5favors the highest balances; a small balance dies fast on an attending salary. The crossover sits in the middle and moves with your income. The planner below compares both tracks in dollars and months with your numbers.
What are the requirements for a physician loan?
Typically an MD, DO, DDS, or DMD degree plus a resident, fellow, or attending contract; credit and income screens vary by lender2. Down payments run 0 to 10% with waived mortgage insurance on most programs2. Confirm current terms on the lender's own product page before you apply.
Know both totals before you sign anything.
It takes under 2 minutes.
Run my numbersFree, independent, no lender will contact you.
Sources
Every claim above traces to one of these primary pages, each opened and checked on the date shown.
- Mortgage insurance cost basics: CFPB: What is private mortgage insurance? Checked 2026-09-30.
- Physician-loan PMI waiver terms: Truist doctor loans, Huntington doctor loans, and Fifth Third physician loans. Checked 2026-09-30.
- Conventional PMI cancellation at 20% equity: CFPB: When can I remove PMI? Checked 2026-09-30.
- PSLF rules (120 payments, qualifying employers, tax-free forgiveness): studentaid.gov: Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Checked 2026-09-30.
- Federal tax treatment of forgiven loans: IRS Topic 431 and studentaid.gov: PSLF buyback. Checked 2026-09-30.
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