I"m confused - take a look at this package...

Specialties Travel

Published

and please break it down for me. how is my weekly comp going to be 1904 after taxes when i am only getting 17.52 for 36/hrs/week....and then another 26.28 for the last 12 hours is i sign for a 48/hr schedule?

what is the 1246 per diwm all about? this is a travel assignment, not per diem. where is my housing stipend?

and why is it that, these companies pay low hourly rates, but typically offer a generous housing stipend? i have never had a housing stipend....it is 100% free money, right? i don't pay rent at my homebase, nor do i pay a mortgage, taxes, etc, etc. so i'm concerned that i will have to pay back some of the stipend at the end of the year?? of course, with the money i get, i will have to get an apartment where my assignment is, so i don't see how i would have to report it......

this is a new agency i'm with, i called him to see if he could explain this, but he is gone for the day. thought i'd see what you ladies think - does it suck?? this assignment is in arizona....med/surg.

comp package is as follows:

travel reimbursement: up to $500 on first paycheck

$150 i will pay for 2 day extended stay housing in phoenix while you wait for your az license to process.

$218 az. license reimbursement on first paycheck

this represents pay with full per diem and low hourly taxed 4 week assignment.

  • $17.52 for the first 36 hours ,$26.28 for the last 12 hours, $1246 per diem ($114 lodging + $64 meals & incidentals = $178 x 7days) gross comp $2094
  • weekly comp $1904 after taxes

gross comp (pre-taxed) then net comp (what goes into your bank account)

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Also, my rents between my mom's place and wherever it is I am staying at for my assignement will NEVER come close to my stipend. As you can see from the initial post on this thread, my hoursly rate will be LOW, but my stipend high. I can't spend all of my stipend on rent and have a meager 17.00/hr (taxed) for the rest of my bills. Are you positive that both rents have to come close to the amount of the stipend? If that truley is the case, I don't see how traveling is more lucrative than regular staff nursing....

You don't get to count both rent payments towards your stipend, only the rent (and other living expenses) at your travel location. Having 1 rent payment is simply a cost of living that we are all expected to pay from our wages. Having a second residence made necessary by working away from home is a business expense, which is tax-deductible. The stipend is intended to cover the duplicate expenses you incur by having to maintain a second, temporary place of residence. You may be traveling to a location where your temporary living expenses are higher than your regular living expenses at your permanent home. That is why the stipend is determined by the temporary living costs, not your permanent living costs at home.

If you are being offered a stipend that is far in excess of your anticipated living expenses, you will likely owe a substantial amount of tax on the "unused" portion of that stipend. It may be a good idea to have an accountant or tax advisor review your contract to determine whether you would be better off to have a higher rate of pay and a lower stipend.

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

As I understand it, simply paying rent is not the same as having a permanent home. You must show evidence that you actually have ties to that property, not just pay rent. Do you pay taxes in that location? Are you registered to vote there? Do you have mail sent there? Do you ever return there between assignments? Again, a question for a tax advisor to clarify.

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Thanks Jolie. Funny how my recruiter swore to me that it is FREE, that I will not need ot claim it, etc. I knew it sounded too good to be true. And I am steamed that they offered me 17/hr, but such a high stipend.

He will call me Monday to see if I want to take this offer, I am going to tell him about my newfound knowledge and will tell him that I want a high hourly rate, and for them to pay for my housing.....which I will pay the taxes on. We'll see what he says about that.

One more thing...

Let's say that company finds me housing and pays for it, but it is shared housing. I will only have to pay th taxes on *my* share, correct? And my company needs to show me some sort of proof of what they are paying for me, correct? Otherwise how will I know that they are taxing it fairly....

My last assignment, they paid for my housing and utilities. I have no idea what they were spending and they never taxed me on the rent they were paying. Again, recruiter said it was FREE housing and she knew I wasn't paying rent anywhere at my *home*, but said it didn't matter. I am getting my taxes done in a few weeks, and I guess I need to tell my acct about this......but again, I don't know what my company paid out in my rent. Should I get some sort of form?

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

My company pays for my housing, but I do not have a tax home, so what they spend on me for housing is considered taxable income. It shows up on my pay stubs alongside my regular income as "taxable corporate housing." That amount that they spend on me each week for housing is added onto my gross pay, and then taxed at the same rate. The amount they spend on me each week varies on what location I am in (depending on the cost of housing in a particular location), but it's usually between $200-300/week, so I end up paying an additional $25-50/week in taxes on that- still waaaaay cheaper than paying my own rent & utilities!

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Specializes in OB.

There is a tax consultant who specializes in traveler's taxes who answers general questions on another forum and also gives seminars at various places around the country. I can't access his exact website right now - I'm on the work computer (sshh - don't tell!) and for some reason the travel nursing site is blocked while Allnurses is not (Yeah Allnurses!).

I'll come back and post his website when I can, unless someone else here knows the addy for Traveltax.

He really is an excellent resource.

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Specializes in MedSurg Tele.

Got it!

The website: Traveltax.com

Forum:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f54/tax-time-269849.html

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Rate of pay sounds low.

Keep in mind:

1. Overtime is based on your base pay only.

2. Social Security is based on your base pay only. Less you make, less you qualify for when you retire or become disabled.

3. Lower base pay only benefits the company, not the employee. They save tons on taxes, etc. They write off the expense portion of your pay as business expenses so they really make out good.

4. Disability payments- long or short term are based on your base pay. If you get injured you will get only a portion of your regular hourly wage- I think this is generally 60% of base pay.

5. $17 an hour is pretty low wages for AZ. You can always check www.salary.com for prevailing wages in any area. According to them in Glandale you should be making between 53-63,000 a year. That works out to $25-30 an hour.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in M/S, ER, GI, Pre-op, QA, JACHO.

$17/hr? That is less than what graduate nurses start out here in Arkansas! I'd say something is fishy there!! Best of luck to you!

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