Travel Nurse Pay Calculator
Updated November 2026 · Free · No sign-up
Calculate travel nurse pay properly — the taxable hourly + housing/meal stipends package into true weekly take-home and the "blended rate", plus the tax-home test that keeps stipends tax-free.
Quick answer: Travel packages = low taxable base ($25-35/hr) + tax-free stipends ($1,000-2,500+/week) where you maintain a tax home. A $28 base + $1,400 stipends on 36 hours ≈ $2,190/week take-home — a $61/hr blended equivalent.
How Travel Packages Work
Agencies split the bill rate into a taxable wage (deliberately modest) and tax-free reimbursements (housing + M&IE per GSA-style rates) — legal when you’re genuinely traveling away from a maintained tax home. The blended structure is why "$28/hr" travel beats "$45/hr" staff — and why the tax rules matter enormously.
Worked Example
| Taxable: $28 × 36 | $1,008 → ~$756 after 25% tax |
| Stipends (tax-free) | $1,400 |
| Weekly take-home | $2,156 |
| Blended gross equivalent | ($1,008 + $1,400) ÷ 36 = $66.90/hr |
| Staff-nurse equivalent | ~$75-80/hr taxable would be needed for the same net |
The Tax-Home Rules (Non-Negotiable)
- Maintain a real tax home: duplicated living costs — rent/mortgage you keep paying at home while paying at assignment.
- The 12-month rule: one metro beyond ~12 months stops being "travel" — stipends become taxable; rotate markets.
- Distance sanity: there’s no official "50-mile rule" — the test is needing rest/lodging away from home; local "travelers" claiming stipends are audit chum.
- Fail the tests and back-taxes on years of stipends arrive with penalties — the industry’s recurring horror story.
Contract-Comparison Discipline
Compare WEEKLY AFTER-TAX, not headline rates: taxable net + stipends, minus the housing you actually pay at assignment (stipend minus real rent is profit or loss), minus travel/licensure costs amortized. Watch: missed-shift clauses (stipends often dock per missed hour — brutal math), guaranteed hours vs facility-cancel rights, and extension raises vs market. Low taxable wages also shrink Social Security credits, loan-qualifying income, and PTO bases — the stipend discount’s long tail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do travel nurses really make?
Weekly after-tax = taxable net + stipends: common packages land $1,800-3,000+/week — blended gross equivalents of $55-90/hr depending on market crunch.
Why is the taxable rate so low?
The package shifts legally-permissible housing/meal reimbursements into tax-free stipends — maximizing net while technically paying a modest wage.
What makes stipends tax-free?
Genuine travel away from a maintained tax home with duplicated expenses — plus staying under ~12 months per metro; fail the tests and stipends are back-taxable.
What happens if I miss a shift?
Most contracts dock stipends proportionally (not just wages) — a missed 12-hour shift can cost $400-700; read the clause before signing.
What are the downsides of stipend-heavy pay?
Lower Social Security credits, weaker loan-qualifying income, PTO/OT bases on the small taxable wage — and audit exposure without a real tax home.
✓ Formula verified • Last updated: November 3, 2026