Skip to content
Nurse Travelers
Menu

Money tools

Keep more of what you earn, and know what to ask

Travel pay mixes taxable wages with tax-free stipends, and the rules depend on your situation. These tools help you get organized and ask the right questions. General information only, not tax, legal or financial advice. Talk to a tax professional about your situation.

Tax home checklist

Tax-free housing and meals stipends depend on having a tax home. These are the questions tax professionals ask travel nurses. Answer them to see what to bring to yours. This checklist can't tell you whether you qualify.

Your permanent home

  • Do you work in the area of your permanent home for part of the year, and stay at that home when you do?

    The IRS looks at whether you do some of your work where your main home is.

  • Do you keep paying for your permanent home (rent or mortgage, utilities) while you're away on assignment?

    Stipends are meant to cover costs you have twice: at home and on assignment.

  • Do you have family living at your permanent home, or go back and stay there often?

    Showing you haven't left the area is one of the factors the IRS considers.

Ties to your home state

  • If you live with family or friends at home, do you pay them fair rent and keep proof?

    Paying nothing for your home base can make it harder to show it's a real home.

  • Are your driver's license, car registration and voter registration at your home address?

    Ties like these help show where your permanent home is.

  • Do you file your state taxes as a resident of your home state?

    Your resident state and your tax home should tell the same story.

Your assignments

  • Do you go back to your permanent home between contracts?

    Spending time at home between assignments supports that it's your home base.

  • Is each assignment in one area expected to last a year or less?

    Work in one place expected to last more than a year generally isn't temporary for tax purposes.

  • Do you keep records: your lease or mortgage, utility bills, receipts and the dates you travel?

    Good records are what you'll need if your return is ever questioned.

You've answered 0 of 9.

General information only, not tax, legal or financial advice. Talk to a tax professional about your situation.

Questions to bring to a tax professional

  • Do I have a tax home, and what do I need to keep proving it?
  • Which states do I file in this year, and how do I avoid paying tax twice on the same pay?
  • How should I handle stipends if I'm in one area close to a year?
  • What records should I keep, and for how long?
  • Should I change my withholding, or pay estimated taxes?

Look for someone who works with travel nurses or other traveling workers: multistate returns are their everyday work.

Keep reading

Every job page also shows an estimated take-home, labeled as an estimate.