keeping a "tax home" for compact license?

NedRN · Apr 4, 2016

Having a tax home is worth as much as $20,000 a year net for most travelers. The basic equation says that if maintaining your tax home are higher than that, then you are better off being itinerant. Purchasing a home or getting a roommate can shift that equation, but it still can boil down to personal preferences.

Shifting your tax home exactly at the same time as becoming a traveler is perilous. I would seek professional advice before considering it with someone like TravelTax who really knows the right way to manage that situation.

Sure, having a valid compact license is convenient. If you want to work in compact states. A little secret here, compact states do not pay as well (in general). This correlates well with general monopoly theories about closed professions. As it happens, on reflection, I almost never work in compact states. But if I held one, I might make working in them a priority at a cost to my annual income. Getting new licenses is a hassle, but a fairly limited hassle and cost in the big picture. Bottom line here is that a compact license shouldn't be a major factor in a decision on where to locate.

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Apr 7, 2016

Pay the rent for the first year and see how things go. Do you see a future in Wisconsin? It would be a hassle to move back and forth if you do... If after the second assignment you hate travel nursing you go back to Wisconsin and pick up where you left off. If there are no contracts you want to take after your any assignment, you can wait it out in Wisconsin. Do some local PRN or a local contract if possible while pack in dairyland.