Can someone tell me if you take the stipend.......

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Specializes in med-surg-ortho-.

I have traveled before and always took the housing. This time I am going to take the stipend. Can you tell me does the hospital or the agency pay your stipend? And if the hospital is actually paying can they offer something so low? I was offered $900. The GSA has 99 a day but is there a max rate for GSA? Any help would be appreciated!

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU,Tele. PCU, IMC.

You should go to the IRS website and look up the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for the area that you are traveling to. They (the agency) can offer you a lower rate, but the IRS allows a maximum COLA based on the standard of living in the area. My present stipend is $2000/month, and the COLA of my area is $2400. I was first offered $1600, but I negotiated up. Do your research...after all, since you have to find your own housing, you don't want to live in the dumps...right?

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
You should go to the IRS website and look up the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for the area that you are traveling to.

Can you please clarify this? I've tried searching COLA and "cost of living" on the IRS website, but all I can find is info on retirement plans. Do you know the publication #?

I've found the GSA "per diem rate" but I can't make sense of it. For Denver, for example, it gives a per diem rate of $258 dollars. How does that translate to a monthly housing stipend?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Peds, Ortho, LTC and MORE.
I have traveled before and always took the housing. This time I am going to take the stipend. Can you tell me does the hospital or the agency pay your stipend? And if the hospital is actually paying can they offer something so low? I was offered $900. The GSA has 99 a day but is there a max rate for GSA? Any help would be appreciated!

I usually receive $1534 (Colorado) per month for the Denver area. This amount is to cover rent and utilities, as I understood the conversation. The per diem GSA is the rate for housing and meals and incidentals all totaled together. I receive a PD of $80 per day to cover meals/incidentals-my agency pays me this, as part of my negotiated written contract.

Just hope this explains and helps you.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU,Tele. PCU, IMC.
Can you please clarify this? I've tried searching COLA and "cost of living" on the IRS website, but all I can find is info on retirement plans. Do you know the publication #?

I've found the GSA "per diem rate" but I can't make sense of it. For Denver, for example, it gives a per diem rate of $258 dollars. How does that translate to a monthly housing stipend?

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=17943

For Denver it's $224 per day for 2010. To calculate, most agencies will multiply per days worked (some might pay per every day of the week) and then divide to get an average of the daily rate. So if you work 3 days a week, your max rate is $672 per week. If you work 4 days a week, your max rate is $896/week. This is the housing/meals stipend that you are eligible for, providing you have a legal tax residence that is greater than 50 miles from your contracted place of employment. So you base rate should be commiserate with other nurses in the area (varies, but usually in the mid to high 30s) an hour. Let's assume it's $35. So for a 36 hour week, you will get $35/hr(1260) +672= $1932.00 a week. You are taxed on the $1260 but not on the 672. However, you should keep all your receipts of meals/lodging expenses should you get audited.

Let me know if you have more questions.

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