So I'm new to traveling (~4 years ICU experience, a little PICU experience). I had my heart set on traveling to California where I'd worked before and enjoyed. My California offers were usually $1300-1600/wk take home in southern CA. But recently I was contacted by a recruiter on my LinkedIn page offering me a PICU assignment in Ohio for over $2000/wk! What??? I just got my contract and it seems legit enough... $38/hr taxable, $76/hr OT/holidays, 36hrs/wk, not taking benefits. Housing stipend is $1050/wk. Not too shabby I think...
The hospital is great, and cost of living is inexpensive and I've already found a place to live within 10 min of the hospital.
1. Why am I getting paid more in Ohio than I would be paid in California?? It just doesn't make sense!
2. Are there things I should watch out for? I've never brought home this kind of money before!
3. Any tips on how not to mess this up? I need this job!
They followed through, my paychecks are just a touch lower, probably bc they estimated my claiming 1 on taxes when I purposefully claimed zero since I don't know what to expect this next tax season! I'm on my third week and things are good so far! No complaints!
I'm not entirely comfortable revealing details about my assignment... I'm sure you can find it if you browse job websites.
I just don't know what to do once my contract ends....? I think I will be renewed for the full 9 months but what do travel nurses do after that? I'm not really looking to go back to staff when I can be making three times the pay I made as a staff nurse. I remember reading somewhere that in order to keep your tax home status, you can't travel for more than XX months. Is that true? Where are ya, NedRN?
You CAN travel for as long as you want, many nurses do it for years ... you just can't be at one assignment for more than 11-12 consecutive months because after that, you have essentially established a new tax home.
What do travelers do when their contract is over? They get another contract of course. Or go home and catch up.
Are you traveling away from a tax home now? Taking another assignment will not affect it. Only if you work over one year (or even promise to) in the same general area will you have shifted your tax home. For example, if you work 9 months at your current assignment and renew for another three months, at that moment that place is your new tax home and you have to pay taxes on all your compensation including housing.
I'm asking on behalf of a coworker traveler. She's been on this assignment 11 months. In a few weeks when her final contract ends, she is going move back home for a couple of months and pick up work for hospitals in strike here-and-there. After 2 months or so, she'd like to come back here if they need her and work more assignments as a traveler here.If she leaves for 2 months, and then comes back for possibly another year, is that acceptable by I RS?
Nope. That will be her new tax home. Forget about a calendar year, just visualize 12 months behind her assignment when she goes back to work. I think you will easily see that she has now worked over 12 months in the same place. There is no reset. You might also be able to visualize that she will need to take 12 months off before working again at that same hospital (or in the same general area) if she wants to preserve her current tax home.
Now an agency might say that you can go home anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months and they will continue to pay you tax-free money. They certainly can, and their internal rules might well keep the IRS from penalizing the agency for affected travelers. But those internal agency rules will not protect your friend if she gets audited. The back taxes, penalties, and interest may bankrupt her. If she goes back, she should insist that all compensation, including housing, have full taxes withheld. Then she will be safe.
icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN
1,970 Posts
Hi llb,
I hope that you are having a good assignment and I was just wondering if your travel company lived up to their promises.