Travel Nurse Pay Package Calculator

Travel nursing packages look very different from staff pay. A modest taxable hourly rate is combined with weekly housing and meal stipends that can be tax-free, which makes comparing offers tricky. This calculator turns a package into weekly and yearly take-home, after the housing you'll actually pay on assignment.

What this calculator does

Enter the taxable hourly rate, guaranteed hours per week, weekly housing and meals stipends, weeks worked per year, whether you keep a tax home, what you'll pay for housing on assignment, and your filing status and state tax rate. It shows:

• your yearly take-home after assignment housing,
• the weekly package before taxes,
• the blended rate per hour,
• your yearly take-home after taxes, before housing, and
• the staff hourly rate that would give the same take-home.

The formula in plain English

Weekly taxable pay = hourly rate × guaranteed hours.

Weekly stipends = housing + meals.

Weekly package = taxable pay + stipends. Blended rate = package ÷ hours.

Yearly taxable income = weekly taxable pay × weeks worked. If you don't have a tax home, stipends are added to taxable income.

Take-home = taxable income after 2026 federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and state tax, plus tax-free stipends.

After housing = take-home − assignment housing × weeks.

Staff equivalent = the taxable hourly rate that gives the same take-home over the same hours and weeks.

A worked example

Morgan, an ICU nurse, is offered $28 an hour taxable for 36 hours a week, with $1,050 a week for housing and $450 for meals. Morgan works 44 weeks a year, keeps a tax home, and expects to pay about $700 a week for assignment housing.

• Weekly package: $2,508, or about $69.67 an hour blended.
• Yearly take-home: about $101,600.
• After assignment housing: about $70,800.
• A staff job would need about $90 an hour taxable for the same take-home over the same hours.

That's strong pay, but Morgan should compare it with staff pay after including benefits, the cost of keeping a tax home and unpaid time between contracts.

Why it matters at each career stage

If you're: Employed

Before you sign, compare packages by after-housing take-home, not by the weekly gross. A package with a higher taxable rate and lower stipends can be better if you'll need income verification for a mortgage or want more Social Security credits.

If you're: Student

Most travel contracts require at least one to two years of experience in your specialty. Use this to understand the pay structure while you build experience.

Things to compare between offers

Guaranteed hours. What happens if the hospital cancels shifts?

Overtime rate. Overtime is usually based on the taxable rate, so a low taxable rate means lower overtime pay.

Benefits. Health insurance, 401(k) match and when coverage starts.

Cancellation terms. What happens if the contract ends early.

Housing. Agency-provided housing versus a stipend you manage yourself.

Time between contracts. Unpaid weeks between assignments lower your yearly take-home.

A note on tax rules

Tax-free stipends depend on IRS rules about tax homes and duplicate expenses. If you don't have a real tax home, the IRS can treat stipends as taxable wages. This calculator simplifies the rules, so talk with a tax professional who works with traveling healthcare workers.

Next, add overtime and differentials, convert hourly to salary, and compare locums vs employed for other clinicians. Our emergency fund guide for shift workers helps with gaps between contracts.