Travel nurse pay calculator

How to read a travel pay package

A travel offer is a bundle, and the headline number is rarely one thing. The calculator adds the parts you type in and shows the effective hourly rate, so you can compare offers that split pay differently.

• Taxable hourly rate. The part of your pay that is wages. It is taxed like any wages and sets your overtime rate.
• Guaranteed hours. The hours the contract promises each week, commonly 36 or 48. Ask what happens when the facility cancels a shift.
• Housing stipend. A weekly amount for lodging. It can be tax-free when you keep a tax home and have duplicate living costs (see below).
• Meals and incidentals (M&IE). A daily amount for food and small expenses, often tied to the federal per diem rate for the assignment city.
• Overtime. Normally paid on the taxable rate at 1.5 times. This calculator uses that rule; your contract is the final word.
• Bonuses and reimbursements. Completion bonuses, travel reimbursement and license reimbursement are not in the weekly gross here. Add them up separately.

The effective hourly rate is weekly gross divided by hours worked. It is the fairest way to compare a high-stipend, low-taxable offer with a high-taxable, low-stipend one, but it does not show how much of each is taxed.

Worked examples

Illustrative numbers run through the same formula as the calculator above. They show how pay changes with stipends and overtime. They are not market pay and not an offer.

Stipends and your tax home

Housing and meals stipends can be tax-free only if you meet the IRS rules, and the central idea is the tax home: a regular place of work or a permanent residence you maintain and where you incur living costs. If you keep that home and move for a temporary assignment, the stipends cover duplicate expenses and may be paid tax-free. If you do not, they are generally taxed as wages.

Two practical points. First, rules apply to you personally, so ask a tax professional who works with travelers before you sign. Second, compare the stipend with the federal per diem rate for the assignment city on the GSA website; a stipend far above that rate is a question for your recruiter. This page is not tax advice.

Compare with staff pay

Staff RN postings with published pay have a median of $47.81 per hour across 5,805 roles, which is about $1,721 a week at 36 hours. A travel offer should be measured against what you would earn staying put, including benefits you give up. See the RN salary guide and RN jobs.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. What is the guaranteed number of hours, and is it guaranteed every week?
2. What is the cancellation policy if the facility cancels my shifts or ends the contract early?
3. How is the stipend set, and does it change if I work fewer hours?
4. When does health insurance start, and what does it cost per week?
5. How are overtime, holidays and call paid?
6. What is the shift, the unit and the usual nurse-to-patient ratio?
7. Which licenses and certifications are required, and who reimburses them?
8. Is orientation paid, and how many hours?
9. Can the assignment extend, and at what rate?
10. Who do I call when something goes wrong on a night shift?

Keep reading

• Travel nurse pay, explainedEvery line of a pay package, in plain words
• Take-home pay calculatorFrom gross pay to what lands in your account
• GlossaryM&IE, tax home, guaranteed hours and more