How is travel nurse pay calculated?
Travel nurse compensation has two components: taxable hourly wages and tax-free stipends. Only the hourly wages are subject to federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare. The stipends — for housing and meals & incidentals — are excluded from income tax as long as you maintain a qualifying tax home and the amounts don't exceed IRS/GSA per-diem limits.
This structure means two offers with the same total package value can produce very different take-home pay depending on how the compensation is split. An offer with a $22/hr taxable + $2,200/week stipends in Texas (no state income tax) could pay significantly more than a $35/hr taxable + $1,000/week stipends in California — even though the gross numbers look similar.
Our calculator annualizes your taxable income to apply the correct federal tax brackets (including the standard deduction), then adds back your tax-free stipends to show your true weekly and contract take-home.
What is the IRS stipend risk?
The IRS requires that to receive tax-free stipends you must (1) have a qualifying tax home you regularly return to, and (2) be working away from that tax home temporarily. Agencies sometimes inflate stipends and deflate hourly wages to minimize taxes — but this creates risk. If your taxable hourly rate is below $15/hr or your stipends account for more than 65% of your total package, you may be audited and required to pay back taxes on the stipend amounts.
Best states for travel nurses
States with no income tax offer the highest take-home for travel nurses. Texas, Florida, Washington, and Nevada are consistently top destinations partly for this reason. California and Oregon have the highest state income tax rates, which can reduce take-home by $200–$400/week on a typical package.