It is becoming more common for practices to offer some sort of student loan payment program for their associates. I’m frequently asked by practice owners whether they should do this and the short answer is that there is little to no financial advantage to do this. The IRS views the contribution in exactly the same way as regular compensation in the vast majority of cases, so there is no tax benefit to doing it (there are groups trying to get that changed which would provide lots of new options for dealing with student loan debt). There are other compelling reasons for employers to offer this perq, though, and they aren’t all advantageous for you.

Below is a link to a summary of pros and cons of having your employer make payments to your student loans. There is a wealth of other information on this site (studentloanplanner.com), including topics specific to the veterinary profession. I don’t subscribe to everything this page but there is some very good information there. Keep in mind, they are trying to sell their services, so be aware of that. The information on the site is free though!