Travel Nurse Per Diem (Stipends), Explained
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Travel-nurse pay packages usually split into a taxable hourly wage plus tax-free stipends for housing and meals. Those stipends are a form of per diem, and agencies typically cap them at the GSA rate for the assignment's location.
The tax-home rule
Stipends are only tax-free if you maintain a permanent "tax home" and are duplicating expenses while on assignment. Nurses who give up a permanent residence ("itinerants") lose the tax-free treatment and the stipends become taxable income.
How GSA rates set the ceiling
An agency can pay up to the GSA lodging and M&IE rate for the assignment city without it being taxable. Looking up that city's rate tells you the most a stipend can be before tax applies.
Check your assignment city
Search your destination on PerDiemWise to see its FY2026 lodging and M&IE rate, then compare it to your package's stipend.
Calculate it now
Use the free GSA per diem and IRS mileage calculators.