Do travel nurses pay taxes on stipends?
Short answer
Often yes, at least on part of it. 'Tax-free stipend' is not a rule you can count on. It depends on your own home situation and how the money is paid.
What usually decides it
Your home base — the place you truly live in and go back to between contracts. If you give that up, the housing money is much more likely to count as pay you owe tax on.
How long the stay runs — a short, temporary assignment is treated differently from one that drags on and on.
How the money is paid — a flat weekly amount, money back after you show receipts, and extra pay on a paycheck can all be handled differently.
Why this is the big number
Two offers can look the same on paper and end up thousands of dollars apart, because one nurse's stipend gets taxed and the other's does not. This is the main reason the sticker number lies to you.
Do this now, not in April
Write down exactly what the agency promised and how it will be paid.
Keep your own records of where you live and where you travel from.
Ask a tax person who works with travel nurses before you sign, not after.
Ask your recruiter before you sign
- How is the stipend paid — flat weekly, or back to me after receipts?
- Do you expect me to keep a home I go back to?
- Can you put in writing how this will be reported at tax time?
- Will I get a form that shows the stipend on its own?
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This is general help, not legal or tax advice. Every contract and hospital is different — always read your own contract.