How can I estimate the taxes that will be taken out of my paycheck for the housing that the travel company provides for me (if I do not have a residence to claim)? How do I compare that to having a residence, tax wise?

Ask a Travel Nursing Housing Expert Answer:

Thank you for your question.  First, I must say that I am not able to give you specific tax advice. Please ask your personal tax professional. But I can explain how this works:

1. If you take travel nursing company provided housing, there are no taxes taken out of your paycheck for this, whether you have a permanent tax home or not.
2. If you do not have a permanent tax home, companies are not able to give you tax-free monies as a housing stipend. The reason for this is because of your classification as a “traveler” according to the IRS. A traveler is someone who takes a work assignment away from their home base for a specific, limited amount of time. Because you are away from your homebase for a work assignment, there are costs that you would incur that you would not have if you stayed home. Housing is one of those costs. If you do not have a permanent tax home, then you are never away from that home.
3. If you have a permanent tax home, then one of the options companies have is to reimburse you for your housing costs in a tax free manner.

In the end, it all comes down to what you are most comfortable with. Some will want to take the control of finding their own place to stay while on assignment, while others would rather have their company do the work.

I’m sure you’ve seen at least one of these online coupon sites, like LivingSocial or Groupon, or even these invite only discount retailers like Gilt.com, selling everything for your house and home to shoes for your feet and even vacation packages. There’s pretty much a discount available for anything you so desire.

As a traveling nurse, you may find yourself in some remote locations where there may not be access to big shopping centers and malls, but thankfully there’s the internet. At sites like Valpak.com, plug in a zip code and get a list of stores in the zip code with printable coupons. There may be a chance stores in your area are participating within the online market. It’s worth a shot to save you some valuable bucks! If not, there’s always the online shopping experience, which is basically an electronic mall, full of everything you could ever want to buy…Ever.

Sign up today to start receiving discounts and deals to thousands of businesses, on and off line.

Digital coupons typically work in two ways. On Coupons.com, store owners create coupons, with unique serial numbers, that can be printed and redeemed in stores. Coupons can also have unique promotional codes that shoppers can use on e-commerce Web sites to receive discounts on online purchases. RetailMeNot lets users post and share such digital coupons on its site.

“No matter how much money you make, you always love a great deal,” says Doug Clinton, a research analyst who tracks the daily-deal industry for Piper Jaffray, an investment bank. “There’s not a stigma attached to pulling out a Groupon vs. pulling out a coupon you clipped from the newspaper. That makes you look totally out of touch.”

The landscape for couponing is changing daily and soon you’ll see more integration within your social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. It could lead to a coupon overload and you may start to ignore them simply because it’s too much to take in, but for now, it’s pretty easy to find deals to whatever you desire. So say goodbye to the Wednesday and Sunday papers full of pages and pages of coupons you have to snip out and say hello to your email inbox!

Here’s a wonderful list of coupon sites compiled from the thebudgetfashionista.com

RetailMeNot.com. With an easy search function, a shopping forum and, oh yeah, loads of coupons to great stores we love, RetailMeNot.com is one of our go-to bookmarked sites.

Rather Be Shopping.com. This site gives you several options to find what you’re looking for, including alphabetical listing of stores, the most current deals, and a section for free shipping (which, especially this time of year, is our favorite).

Yahoo!Deals Coupons. Totally easy to navigate (and totally uncluttered by all those annoying ads), click under “clothing” for current fashion-related deals. You can also check out storewide sales, weekly ads, and save coupons to use later.

CouponMountain.com. We like this site because they feature some of our favorite stores, and gives you lots of different options to find what you’re looking for. You can also submit deals you’ve found to share the wealth . . .

Anycoupons.com. It’s a little overwhelming at first glance, but clicking around we find lots of great deals. Our favorite part is that when we select the store we want, Anycoupons.com frequently lists multiple deals for that store, so we can pick the one (or more) that suits our needs.

Fatwallet.com. Browse for coupons by store for multiple current deals, or by most recent, expiring, free shipping, and right now, holiday deals. There’s also a “compare prices” feature so you can know if you’re getting the best bargain, and a forum where folks post a whole host of other deals as well.

DealCatcher.com. Features both online and printable coupons (which we love) and rebate notices. Subscribe to the RSS Feed to keep abreast of the latest coupons available without overloading your inbox with another newsletter.

CouponWinner.com. We like this site because it’s well-organized and the coupon codes are prominantly displayed in red (so we don’t have to pull out the magnifying glass to locate them). Also, specific categories like “Handbags & Accessories” and “Plus Size Apparel” makes narrowing down our search so much easier. Finally, the CouponScout tool is fab—compare up to five retailers to see who’s got the best deal, in a click or two. Nice.

CouponAlbum.com. Our favorite part of this site is that we can click sub-categories under our main choice (meaning when we’re in women’s apparel, we can narrow down to coupons, then to free shipping. Quick and easy with tons of great stores we shop at anyway.

Hi David, thanks for your response. I did get your book and it helped a lot! I do have another question for you though, regarding overtime. When you take the tax advantage program what is your overtime based off of? Is it your “hourly” rate or your “blended” rate?

Thanks again!

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

Thanks for the follow-up question and thank you for also supporting my book; I’m glad to hear it has helped.

I do want to clarify a bit here because I think I know what you are asking, but the term “blended rate” usually has a different connotation. Usually the place where most people will encounter a “blended rate” is when working in California. This is because anything worked over eight hours is considered overtime and paid at time and a half. So if you work a twelve hour shift, you will earn a base rate the first eight hours and an OT rate the last four. For example, let’s say that you are contracted to work in a California hospital that is quoted as paying a blended rate of $35/hr. If this is the case, your base rate would be $30/hr which is what you would make the first eight hours. Then, the last four hours are billed at an OT rate (1 1/2 of $30 = $45/hr). Doing the math (and by the way, I can’t believe you’re making me do math…I went to nursing school to AVOID math), your rate is figured by taking what you earn in the first eight hours ($30×8= $240), then figuring the last four hours ($45×4= $180), add the two ($240+$180= $420) and divide that by 12 hours ($420/ 12) which gets you a “blended rate” (or average) of $35 per hour.

Now, I understand that a tax advantage program can change this equation a bit and I believe what you might be asking is if OT will be figured off of your base rate before or after the tax advantage program is implemented. In that case, it actually might depend on your company and possibly even the assignment you take because some assignments will be paid through your travel company and some assignments might be paid through the facility’s payroll department. If your company is paying you, they will probably base your OT rate off your tax advantage base rate (the lower figure). If you are being paid by the hospital, they might not see the base rate your company pays you, only the base rate they are contracted to pay you (meaning that they might figure OT off of the higher rate they see). However, it has been a long time since I was eligible to participate in any tax advantage program, so I do not remember if you are even able to participate in one if the facility is paying you.

To make a long story short (too late), in the end, you will ultimately have to ask your recruiter or the payroll depart on each assignment whether or not the company or the facility will be paying you and how the OT will ultimately be figured.

Sorry to be so long winded only to tell you that your travel company will ultimately need to give you that answer, but I wanted to put out a bit more information for those travelers who have not yet encountered that situation.

David
TravelNursesBible.com
david@travelnursesbible.com

I have been traveling for 5 years and have always heard that the pay is really good. I haven’t found this to be true. My base pay has ranged from low $20 to low $30.

Since I work PACU I have found it necessary to travel with larger companies like Cross Country and American Mobile. I have trouble trusting them when I hear people say I should be making quite a bit more. What should I expect as a base rate and how do I get paid what I’m worth?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

Whenever I hear travel nurses talk money, part of me starts to cringe. I’ll explain why.

When I first started traveling, I did not care what the pay was like. I had a house in Ohio and all I knew was someone was willing to give me a job for the winter in Maui, pay for a place for me to live, provide my health insurance, give me some money to get there and cover the cost of my nursing license, and then pay me a fair hourly wage on top of everything else. I feel like sometimes we forget how blessed we are to do what we do.

Now with that said, I will also tell you that I understand what you have been hearing. But you have to consider the source, what company they may travel with, and what things that traveler may have given up for the sake of earning a better hourly rate.

When you compare hourly rates with another traveler, you HAVE to be sure you are comparing apples to apples. If a traveler “A” earns $25/hr and traveler “B” earns $29/hr, it’s not hard to see who is getting a better deal. But, what if traveler A’s company has them in a one- bedroom apartment in a beautiful complex with several pools, tennis courts, work out facility, and a jogging path (not too uncommon) and traveler B’s company has them in extended stay housing (basically a step up from a hotel room); then who has gotten the better deal?

What if you also take into account that traveler A’s health insurance comes with a prescription card and a low deductible versus traveler B’s insurance with no prescription card and a $2500 deductible?

Perhaps traveler A also got $300 in travel money, whereas traveler B only received $200 and traveler A will get a $500 bonus for any extension whereas traveler B gets none; once again, who has gotten the better deal?

My point is that ALL travel companies typically sign a blanket agreement with a certain facility. The facility will pay the travel company “x” amount per hour for their traveler. How each individual company, or individual traveler, chooses how to allocate that money will be different. For more on allocation and negotiating a contract, take a peak at this response also posted on this site: Ask a Travel Nurse: Should I be able to negotiate my wages with my recruiter?

Now I will tell you that I have noticed that some of the larger companies will squeeze anything they can out of a contract. All the travelers I worked with at one facility were getting the standard $3000 contract completion bonus. One traveler was pretty upset when she learned that her company (one of the larger names in the industry) was paying only $2500 on completion of her assignment. Her hourly rate was comparable to others, but her company had pocketed $500 that should have been hers.

Honestly, you will drive yourself crazy if you are constantly comparing rates with everyone else. Plus, some of those travelers might be making a better hourly rate due to them declining company health insurance, taking a stipend instead of housing, or participating in a company tax advantage program. It’s nearly impossible to know ALL the details of another traveler’s contract.

However, if you are still suspicious that your company is shorting you, you have two options. Either tell your recruiter you need a better rate (when first negotiating a contract), or sign up with more companies to give you more selection (there are hundreds of companies out there and you will find many with PACU positions).

If you like the company you are currently with, you can even give them the opportunity to beat another company’s quoted rate. Just remember to always tell your recruiter NOT to submit you until you say so. Two companies submitting you for the same assignment is a big NO-NO.

If you’d like to try a few “medium-sized” companies, feel free to write me at the email posted at the end. I have used several companies to help other travelers get their start in the industry as well as change things up a bit for those not happy with their current company.

I do hope this has helped.

David Morrison
Travelnursesbible.com
david@travelnursesbible.com

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

I am going to be taking my first travel position and need some help understanding what they are quoting me. Originally they offered me $33.00 per hour and then when I received the contract it was quoted as $23.00 per hour (taxed) and $410.00 per week that would be untaxed. I am having a difficult time deciphering if this is a good deal or not? (Also included is housing at an extended stay hotel, license reimbursement-$200, and $300 transportation bonus) I would greatly appreciate some help with how the tax free money thing works.

Employers know that asking a nurse to work at a different location every day is asking a lot. For this reason, the pay is generally higher. Travel nurses must be adaptable to new situations and be personable. These premium skills earn better pay.

Contractor or Temporary Employee

Even though many travel nurses work as independent contractors, many others earn excellent benefits, such as 401K match, Health Insurance, continuing education, licensure reimbursement, life and/or disability insurance, loyalty rewards, bonuses, tax shelters, and travel expense reimbursement.

Flexibility

Besides great benefits and pay, traveling nurses enjoy the flexibility of time off whenever they want it. They can take time between jobs, knowing another assignment will be waiting for them when they return. That freedom extends to a nurse’s lifestyle too. Some even choose to live in RVs, reducing the cost of living and maximizing their earnings. These nurses often earn a housing stipend, regardless.

Independent contractors generally pay their own expenses, but they receive a much higher pay rate to cover those costs. Independent contractors enjoy simpler paperwork since they do not need to provide receipts or proof of the expenses. Contractors also enjoy more tax-deductable expenses.

What to Expect

When asked about his career, one traveling nurse said, “I like the freedom, the financial reward, the actual traveling, the challenges, the being able to go places and do things I would never have done or been able to do. Just last December my wife and I went to Brazil to vacation after working in the Virgin Islands, then the Florida Keys and maybe a cruise next or just go home and take a break.”

That kind of freedom is rare in any profession, much less one that pays so well. Traveling nurses can make about $100,000 per year. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average nursing wage is $62,450. The middle 50% made only about $50,000. Therefore, traveling nurses can earn twice as much as those who commit to employment at a single location.

That’s why we make sure our students know about traveling nursing and the excellent opportunities available to them in this profession. While some prefer the predictability of working at one location, many look for the freedom, excitement and opportunity that travel nursing can give.

Most travelling nurses find the experience to be and exciting.  Not only do you get the chance to work at some of the most prestigious health facilities in the US or overseas, but you can also have a wide range of experiences that look great on your resume.  If one is testing out the traveling nurse assignments or just not sure about the future, then one can consider short term insurance plans.  Offering affordable coverage, these temporary health insurance plans are an alternative to traditional health plans that are typically designed for the long run. 

When you are away from home on an international nursing assignment or a domestic travel assignment, you don’t have time to become sick or injured.  Should you require medical emergency medical care, short term medical insurance can cover the resulting medical bills.  Travelling nurses are advised to take care of themselves by eating right, exercising regularly and getting enough rest.  Although this advice is definitely important, it’s not always possible to prevent health problems that result from sudden illness or injury.  Having this type of insurance coverage is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for your new job.  

Short term insurance makes sense for travelling nurses who are looking for major medical coverage at affordable premiums.  Since being uninsured is a bad idea for those looking to avoid mountains of debt from unpaid medical bills, taking care of yourself and coverage is a good way to protect your financial situation. As you may be traveling to more than one location during your contract between countries or states on a regular basis, having coverage that is flexible and easy to renew can be a big help. 

As a travelling nurse, the amount of money you make can vary from assignment to assignment, and it is important to think about how important being covered in a health crisis really is.  With a fluctuating budget, can you afford to pay out of pocket for a big medical bill?  As most nurses know, healthcare costs can end up being several thousand dollars, thanks to the high cost of emergency medical evacuations and in-patient hospital care.  Short term plans offer coverage for many of these services, included inpatient and outpatient services that include ER care, outpatient surgery, x-ray and lab work and prescription benefits (subject to deductible and coinsurance).  Plans often include discounts when in-network doctors are used, with most averaging 20%-35% off, and include several deductible choices ranging from $250 to $5,000 (lifetime maximum $2 million). 

Traveling nurses have a wonderful opportunity to work overseas and in different locations within the US while also helping adults and children who need quality medical care.  It is prudent to have adequate coverage and it is quite easy to apply online for a plans ranging from 1 month to 11 months of coverage.  Without having to worry about the “what-ifs” in life, you can stay focused on making the best impression at your new job and learning everything that you can from the experience.     

About the Author: Chiranth Nataraj is the President & CEO of International Services, Inc a health insurance brokerage that specializes in temporary health insurance and visitor health insurance. He often writes and provides educational information for travelers, tourists, international students etc.

Make sure to give yourself enough time to find all the deductions possible for a travel nurse.

“Some travel nurses may not be aware that there are numerous tax breaks associated with this career choice,” says Tera Tuten, director of operations for NurseJungle.com.  “It can be extremely time-consuming to read IRS documents and decipher what applies and what doesn’t…”

If thinking about taxes gives you an ill feeling, fear not for there is help. Many websites on the internet and tax preparation companies can help you figure out exactly what you need to do to file your taxes correctly, and more importantly find you those many tax breaks afforded to a traveling nurse. In order for you to be eligible for deductions and breaks you must meet two very important criteria.

1. Tax Home.

A tax home is simply defined as the place where you reside for the majority of the year.  This is your permanent residence—the home you return to between assignments.  This is the residence that produces significant and recurring expenses, such as a mortgage or rent payment.  By determining your tax home, you are setting up the groundwork for travel deductions because you can show that you are often leaving your permanent residence to travel to another location to work for an extended period of time.  To show proof of your tax residence, it’s important to remember to:

• Maintain your driver’s license and car registration in your tax home state;
• Be a registered voter in your tax state;
• Maintain proof of your residence, such as mortgage documents and/or rent receipts;
• Return to your tax home at least once each year and file a tax return in your home state.

What if I don’t have a permanent residence? If you travel so much that you do not have a permanent residence (your housing at each assignment becomes your permanent residence), you are ineligible for travel deductions because, by IRS definition, you are a transient and aren’t truly traveling.

2. What is considered “temporary?’

Temporary, according to the IRS, is anything less than 12 months.  If you worked in one assignment during the entire previous calendar year, you are not eligible for IRS deductions.

Once you’ve determined your tax home and have determined your travel nursing assignments were indeed temporary, it’s time to take advantage of the many deductions available for you.

So if you meet these two all important criterion, then you can expect to receive some hefty breaks when it comes time to file your taxes for 2010… As long as you have proof. Being a travel nurse, it is wise to save every receipt from any transaction that happened while you were on assignment, as long as it pertains to your job. Meals, travel, housing, and other work-related expenses are all eligible for deductions so long as you have the receipt. Other important documents you want to keep are your contracts from the staffing agencies. Whether you worked for one or many different companies, you’ll want to save the contract because it holds vital details that can make the tax process much easier.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, here are some sites to help you get your taxes in order.

Travel Tax – Featured in Healthcare Traveler magazine, Locum Life, PAN Travelers, Delphi Forums and National Public Radio. The company has 17 plus years experience in Travel Nurse Taxes. Started by a traveler for travelers. Starting this week, Travel Tax will be hosting a number of different tax seminars all across the country as well as audio conferences if you’re not able to attend the live sessions. To see the scheduled dates and times, visit Travel Tax tax seminars.

Download a Travel Nurse Tax Guide provided by Kobaly.com.

Take advantage of the Travel Nursing Tax Advantage Plan… Visit TravelNurseToolbox.com to learn more.

If all else fails, remember you can always consult your recruiter and their company for help with your taxes. Good luck!

The tax information contained on TravelNursingBlogs.com and from any communication related to this blog is for information purposes only. Please consult with your personal accountant or tax preparers for any matters concerning your own income taxes.

Salary: Location and Competition

Depending on location, an hourly wage that flutters between $30 and $40 is fundamental.  According to one traveling nurse, California generally pays more, but the cost of living is also higher.  To get the extra pay, travel nurses may need to make sacrifices in comfort.  For example, Arizona bleeds sweat and misery in its brutally hot summers, but the pay can make up for it (it is for the individual travel nurse to judge).  If one enjoys the snow, however, one can also enjoy getting paid more to spend time in it, such as in Wisconsin or other areas of the upper Midwest in winter.

As with many other job opportunities, those located in areas lacking in nurses are usually willing to pay more handsomely than areas brimming with competition.  If one is truly dedicated, overtime hours are also an option.

Non-Salary Perks of Travel Nursing

As the healthcare landscape slowly molds and bends, many individuals are choosing to not only go RN but to opt for travel nurse agency jobs.  The duties are similar but there are undeniable perks, salary not being the only one.

Nurses fascinated with travel, photography, meeting new people, and experiencing new flavors, may enjoy the fundamental aspect of travel nursing: traveling.  A traveling nurse may visit opposite ends of the country every 6 weeks; he or she is also allowed ample time to vacation.

Furthermore, the agency pays for relocations, utilities, housing, and bonuses, and depending on the length of each assignment, the agency may also pay up to $3,000.  Sign-on and renewal bonuses are also to be noted.

When the duties of a travel nurse are basically the same as a non-traveling nurse, these aspects start to look more like reasons than perks.

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She writes for the Online Universities Site, where recently she’s been researching different pharmacist degrees and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

So what does this mean to you?  Here is a little bit of data for nursing aids & assistants (NAA) on salary projections, and what states pay the most. 

• NAA’s on average made about $24,000 in 2010, this is expected to increase to $24,600 in 2011
• Pack your warm weather scrubs!  Alaska has the highest average salary for NAA’s in 2010 at $15.32/hr or about 33% more than the national average. 
• The total NAA job pool will grow about 2% in 2011 to around 1,552,000 jobs. 

Registered Nurses have seen similar trends: 

• According to the In 2010 RN’s on average made on average about $63,800, this is expected to increase to $65,000 on average in 2011.
• California, which was not on the NAA top 10 list, had the highest average RN salaries at almost 30% above the average or $39.86/hr. 
• The lowest paying state?  South Dakota at $16.53/hr.

Check out the rest of the best & worst 10 below

Registered Nurses Pay for 2011

Best:      

1. California: $39.86
2. Hawaii: $39.34
3. Massachusetts: $37.39
4. Maryland: $36.38
5. New Jersey: $35.85
6. D.C.: $ 35.36
7. Alaska: $35.33
8. Oregon:$ 35.30
9. Nevada: $$35.23
10. New York: $34.66

Worst:

1. South Dakota: 16.35
2. Iowa: $16.36
3. Mississippi: 16.42
4. Arkansas: $16.44
5. West Virginia: 16.52
6. Kansas: $16.74
7. Oklahoma: $16.76
8. Wyoming: $16.88
9. Louisiana: $17.50
10. North Dakota: $17.60

*All hourly wage data is hourly and was collected from monster.com.

Beat the holiday rush this season and do your shopping online.

The holiday seasons can be testy, but it doesn’t have to be and there are many, many alternatives to braving the shopping madness that will soon take place around this time of year. If you’re smart and have the time, going out to the local shops and stores now would be your best bet in beating out the other shoppers and saving yourself a little sanity. However if you do not have the kind of time it requires to drive from shopping center, to mall, to store and back to the mall, well then, the internet is going to be your saving grace.

Just about every single major retailer has a website where you can shop. A simple internet search will help you find your favorite retailers online store and so much more. Besides being able to find the popular stores online, you’ll also be able to find the most unique gifts from all around the world. If you start now, you can ensure that your presents arrive on time from near and far. There’s nothing worse than stressing about the arrival of things you ordered last minute, hoping that it’s the right size, color, etc. If y0u’re looking for that one-of-a-kind gift, you ought to check out the site Etsy.com. Here you’ll find gifts of all types, from vintage wears to handcrafted items and art. You can even sell your own products here by creating your own little store.

Another thing you can do to save yourself time and money is sign-up for daily deals through any of these various sites. Each one is catered to your location and you’ll receive emails everyday showcasing a different store or service. There’s been a host of these popping up and they really do give you an opportunity to stretch your dollars.

• LivingSocial.com -  LivingSocial offers one fantastic deal every day with discounts of up to 90% at local restaurants, bars, spas, theaters, and more.
• Groupon.com – Groupon features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in a variety of cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe and soon beyond.
• DailyDeals.com – The DailyDeals.com blog is your source for the best deals, discounts, sales, clearances, and freebies of the day.

Another great new shopping web experience are these sites that offer you huge discounts on clothing, furniture and accessories each week by invitation only. These sites sell certain labels and brands for a week or less at a time, but offer you great prices on things you would not normally find unless you live in larger cities. See if you don’t have friends and family connected to sites like Gilt.com and Hautelook.com. If you get registered with these sites, you can earn referral credits towards shipping or even earn money to apply to your next purchase. If you’d like to join and can’t find any members. Leave a comment below with your email address and I’ll get you signed up.

With so many options to shop, you’ll never run out of ideas for that perfect gift. The only thing you need to worry about is whether you have the time and money to make the most out of this holiday season. The life of a travel nurse is a busy one, so hopefully these few tips will help you get what you need in the time you have to spare.

Here’s how to get started:

1. First, Sign up using your email address.
2. Next, LivingSocial.com will send one super deal daily. You can expect to get the chance to buy discounts of upwards of 90% at all kinds of entertainment venues in your city. Just remember to change the city you want to get the discounts in when you take a new job.
3. Then, if the deal interests you, you can set up an account and purchase the deal.The next day you will get an email with a link to your voucher.
4. But wait, you also have the chance to get the voucher for free. All you have to do is share the deal with your network of friends, family or co-workers and if 3 of them buy the same discount using the link you gave them, then you get the deal for nothing.

So whether you are looking for ways to save money or cheaper ways to experience the cool things during your travel nursing job or a little of both then LivingSocial.com is a great site to check out.

First, I want to stress that no one should go into a contract feeling as if it could be terminated at any second. The hospitals have a staffing shortage and they have a staffing need. That is why you are there. Plus, if a hospital canceled contracts on a routine basis, not only would word of mouth get out amongst travelers, but word of mouth would get out between the travel companies. I have actually had recruiters tell me of positions in a certain hospital and tell me they “could” submit me if I wanted, but would also caution me about certain unfavorable actions the hospital might have taken in the past.

Let’s face it, the hospital does not want the reputation of canceling contracts, but still, it does happen. When it does, you must be prepared. I’m not going to rehash everything I have written before, but here is a quick list with a few new things to think about:

 Talk to anyone who has had a contract canceled; it was not a good time in their life. But, with a little forethought, some of the devastation can be managed.

1.  Have some cash on hand- This is something you should consider before ever starting an assignment. Do not put yourself in the position where a week or two without pay could totally cripple you financially. Sure, it’s hard for each of us to store away for a rainy day. However, let’s not kid ourselves about the profession of travel nursing. Contracts do get canceled and if you are not prepared monetarily, it can have serious consequences.

2.  Make sure you are with a company you can trust- Honestly, this should go without saying. If you constantly have trouble getting a hold of your recruiter on good days, how responsive do you think they’ll be when things go south?! Travel with someone responsive to your concerns and someone who handles “the little things” in a timely manner. Because again, if they can’t get the little things taken care of……

3.  Have a few other travel companies in your back pocket- If you’ve read any of my blogs, you know that I advise being on file with at least a few different travel companies. When I was in California, I loved the housing I was in. I wanted to stay and work in the area, but my travel nursing company couldn’t find me another assignment. I called another agency (with which I was already on file) and not only did they find me an assignment, but they took over the apartment lease from the other company and I switched companies and assignments and never had to move a thing.

If you have a contract canceled, call your recruiter immediately and see if they can get you another assignment in the area. If not, call another company and see what they can do. If they can get you another assignment in the same area, you might not even need to move.

4. Consider letting your company find your housing- In both of my contract cancellations, I was in company arranged housing. If I were not, I would have been out my deposit and possibly even be held to my lease. In both contract cancellations, I paid nothing out of pocket for any housing consequences.

5. Finally, have a good network of people to rely on- Whether it be needing a place to stay for a bit when you get home, or just having someone to talk to about all the chaos, it helps to have friends and family that you can rely on during tough times.

Talk to anyone who has had a contract cancelled; it was not a good time in their life. But, with a little forethought, some of the devastation can be managed.

The average salary for travel nurse jobs is $55,000. Average travel nurse salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits.

This information is based on averages gathered by Simply Hired. A great way to use this site is to compare travel nurse pay in other cities versus your current residence. Let’s just say you’re currently living in Lincoln, NE and making $47,000  a year on average and now you want to  know what you could be making in your dream city, San Francisco, CA as at traveling nurse. According to Simply Hired, you could average around $73,000 a year, that’s a $26,000 difference! For simplicity’s sake we are using annual salary, hourly or even on 3 month increments may be a better measure.

Being a travel nurse doesn’t mean you have to stretch yourself across the country. No, you could be hired as a traveling nurse and still be within an hour of your hometown, which makes it much more appealing for those who want to stay close to family and friends.

So using our example above, living in Lincoln, NE you’d make around $47,000 a year and if you decided to travel an hour to Omaha for a traveling nurse job you’d make roughly $52,000 a year. A difference of $5000 may not sound like that much, but if you factor in all the other benefits that come along with being a travel nurse like, per diem allowances, free housing or housing stipends and your proximity to your hometown – you’ll soon realize that it truly does pay to be a traveling nurse, 13 weeks at a time.

I’m sure most of our readers are well aware of the current state of job availability and it’s effect on the economy. The business of travel nurses is somewhat down but it seems to be making a slight rebound and there are more jobs available every day. To make the most out of being a traveling nurse these days you must be open, very open to any and all jobs that are out there. Sure it may not be the most glorious of locations but you can still reap the benefits, just without a beach that is within reach. It all depends on what you’re willing to sacrifice and during times like these, it’s not wise to be choosy. Now is the time to make the most out of any situation and prepare yourself financially for what may seem like an uncertain future.

Most staffing agencies have similar benefit packages available to their travelers, so whoever you choose, make sure what they offer is at least comparable to the others you’ve been investigating. One of these benefits that you must enroll yourself in is a retirement matching program (401K, investment plans, etc.). It’s basically free money to you and all you need to do is contribute at least enough to utilize all of the matching available. The money is taken out of your checks before taxes and applied towards your retirement and what’s best is you’ll never even know it was missing.

Another financial best practice for traveling nurses is to bank and pay your bills online. Many of the credit card, banks  and utility companies offer some sort of incentive for using the online method of transactions and these can all add up to significant savings. Banking online is a huge time saver, no more digging through piles of statements and whatnot. Instead you can log-in to your account and monitor your account any time of day and see exactly where and how you are spending your money.

As a traveling nurse your next position may not come that easy and there’s a chance that there could be a gap between employment. The best thing you can do to prepare yourself for this situation is a “rainy day fund” or savings account. It’s already hard enough out there, so why not make yourself a little security blanket for just in case?

The mobile lifestyle of a traveling nurse is fast paced and often exciting! There’s so much to see and do that you haven’t done before and it’s easy to want to do it all in the little time you have. Of course the smart thing to do would be to pace yourself. A lot of things you may want to do and try come with a price and it would be wise to not live above your means. Take care of your credit card balances and checking account first. All these activities and events can add up quickly and drain your pocketbook in no time.

These simple practices can go a long way in helping you save and prepare for what is to be bright future for traveling nurses. Employing these techniques into your lifestyle can work wonders for your peace of mind and more importantly your cash flow. You work so hard already and you deserve the opportunities to enjoy the fruits of your labor – but maybe not all the time. Be smart with your funds and soon you’ll learn that living securely is far better than going all out on the weekends and struggling to make it to the next check. Trust me, I’ve done that!

Check out our Travel Nursing Salary Calculator which enables you to compare salaries to that of perm nurses around the country. This tool will help you gauge what you should at least be making when traveling to different cities during your travel nursing career.

Travel Nurse Tax Pro is an accounting firm that specializes in tax preparation for travel healthcare professionals, but more than that they offer some great tools. For example they have a Tax Organizer you can download and a survey for travel nurses to help you determine if you have a qualified “tax home” and where your “permanent residence” is located.

Just wanted to make sure it got included in our travel nursing tax resource list.

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant and myself or Medical Solutions have not worked with any of the companies listed. Also, please take the advice you read in the above articles as reference only and be sure to consult a certified tax professional for your specific situation.

Because of things like working in multiple states and Per Diem allowances, a travel nursing career can add some more difficulty to your filing your income taxes, which are already intimidating for a lot of people. So here is a collection of resources that can help you get a head start and plan for a stress-free tax season.

Articles about travel nursing taxes:

Essential Tax Advice for Travel Nurses
Travel Nursing can be taxing: Part 1
Travel Nursing can be taxing: Part 2
Travel Nursing can be taxing: Part 3
Travel Nursing Tax Advantage Plan
Tax Facts for Healthcare Travel 
Understanding Tax Law for Traveling Nurses
The Truth about Your Taxes as a Travel Nurse
Tax deductions for travel nurses
Travel nurse tax deductions the IRS doesn’t want you to know about

Companies that specialize in travel nurse taxes:

TravelTax LLC
Kobaly (be sure to visit their link called HT Articles)
Professional Tax Services from Travel Nursing Central
Muret CPA
Travel Nurse Tax Doctor

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant and myself or Medical Solutions have not worked with any of the companies listed. Also, please take the advice you read in the above articles as reference only and be sure to consult a certified tax professional for your specific situation.

The answer to her question depended on many specifics. If looking at it from a strictly monetary point of view, (as in, which would be cheaper?), then we can take a look at the following example:

Let’s say that your mortgage was $900 a month, but to rent an apartment and use that as your “tax home”, it would only cost you $600 a month. Sure, you are paying $300 less monthly, but then what are you buying for that $600? Then again, maybe your mortgage is only $100 in difference between the two and you rationalize that for an extra $100 a month, you would rather have the house as an investment. But, then you must think about what services you will need while you are away. By the time you hire someone to cut the grass and maintain upkeep on the house, maybe you are back at a difference of $300 between keeping the house verses renting.

I personally am a fan of real estate. Even in this market, if you buy something practical, it should be an investment that returns your money and then some. I have a condo in Ohio and did use that as my “tax home” while I traveled. It worked well because I could leave for months at a time and not have to worry about anything outside (the condo association takes care of all that). I did have my father look in on the place from time to time, but he never had to do anything.  
 
I went back last year and turned my condo into a rental because I wanted to take advantage of the home market in Phoenix. This eliminated my condo as a “tax home” because I was no longer duplicating my expenses (which is one criteria for the tax deduction). However, I purchased a home in Phoenix and the next time I take a travel assignment out the Phoenix area, I will use this new home as my “tax home”.  
 
You can probably claim an apartment as a tax home if you are still paying to maintain it while you travel. I have to say “probably” because when it comes to tax deductions, everyone’s specific situation will be different (now is probably a good time to add that old disclaimer: see your tax advisor for more information). 
 
But, I won’t leave all of you hanging without a great resource. Joseph Smith is a tax advisor who also contributed to the chapter on taxes in my book on travel nursing. He was once a traveler himself and works preparing tax returns for other travelers. He is on the web at http://www.traveltax.com. His website also has a lot of good information on taxes for the traveling professional.

Whether you choose to rent or own, having an established “tax home” can help you add extra income to your pocket by taking part in your travel nurse company’s tax advantage program (many companies offer this, but not all). If you are deciding between the two aforementioned options, work the numbers yourself and see which might be best for you. If you need help with the calculations, try contacting Joseph at Travel Tax for some professional assistance.

Two great resources for tax information for the traveler are Kobaly.com and Traveltax.com. The later of these two is the site of Joseph Smith who actually contributed content to my book in the chapter on taxes. Joseph was actually once a traveling professional himself and has quite a bit of information posted on his website.

Since everyone will have different circumstances under which they travel, you should always seek the information that is specific to your situation. If you require more assistance, I always recommend finding a tax professional like the two mentioned above.

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