travel nurse pay package

By AMN Healthcare

December 9, 2024

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Understanding Your Travel Nurse Pay Package: A Simple Breakdown

Posted on by AMN Healthcare

AMN Healthcare provided this article.

Ever wonder how travel nurses make good money while exploring new places? A big part of the answer lies in how their pay is structured. If you’re thinking about becoming a travel nurse, understanding your travel nurse pay package is key. This guide will help break down the main parts of a travel nurse pay package, including base pay, stipends, and bonuses, so you can make the most of your career.

What is a Travel Nurse Pay Package?

travel nurse pay package

A travel nurse pay package isn’t just about your hourly wage; it’s a full compensation plan designed to cover your work and lifestyle while on assignment. It usually includes base pay, stipends (for housing and meals), and sometimes bonuses. Knowing how these packages work will help you maximize your earnings.

Travel Nurse Base Pay

What is Base Pay?
Base pay is the hourly wage you earn for your work as a travel nurse. It’s the foundation of your pay package, but it can vary based on several factors.

Factors That Affect Base Pay:

  1. Location:
    Where you work matters! If you take assignments in cities with a high cost of living or states with a high demand for nurses, you’ll likely earn more.
  2. Experience:
    The more experience you have, the higher your pay could be. If you have special skills or certifications (like ICU or ER nursing), you might also see a pay bump.
  3. Specialty:
    Nurses with specialized skills tend to earn more. For example, an ICU nurse or operating room nurse might make more than a general medical-surgical nurse.

Typical Base Pay Ranges:

Most travel nurses earn between $30 and $50 per hour, but this can go up or down depending on location, experience, and specialty.

Travel Nurse Stipends and Allowances

What Are Stipends and Allowances?
Stipends and allowances are extra payments that cover things like housing and meals while you’re on assignment. These payments help offset the costs of living and working in different places.

Common Stipends:

  1. Housing Stipend:
    This is money to cover your accommodation while on assignment. You can either take the housing provided by the agency or receive a stipend to find your own place.
  2. Meals and Incidentals:
    You’ll also get a daily or weekly allowance for food and other everyday expenses, like gas or laundry.
  3. Tax Perks:
    One of the best parts about stipends? They’re often tax-free! This means more money in your pocket compared to getting the same amount through your hourly wage.

Travel Nurse Bonuses and Incentives

Types of Bonuses:

  1. Sign-On Bonus:
    Some assignments offer a one-time payment when you sign your contract. This can be a great way to make extra cash just for choosing a particular job.
  2. Completion Bonus:
    Finish your assignment, and you could earn a bonus just for sticking to your contract until the end.
  3. Referral Bonus:
    Know other nurses who might want to join your agency? You can earn extra money by referring them.
travel nurse pay package

How Bonuses Boost Your Earnings:

Bonuses can make a big difference in your take-home pay. For example, a sign-on bonus can range from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the assignment.

Tips for Getting Bonuses:

  1. Ask for Them:
    Don’t be shy about asking if bonuses are available when negotiating your contract.
  2. Keep Up Your Performance:
    If you want that completion bonus, make sure you maintain a good record throughout your assignment.
  3. Refer Friends:
    Spread the word to other nurses, and you can earn extra cash through referral bonuses.

More Than Just Pay: Other Travel Nurse Benefits

Besides great pay, travel nurse jobs often come with additional benefits like:

  1. Health Insurance:
    Many travel nursing agencies offer solid health insurance plans that include medical, dental, and vision coverage.
  2. Retirement Plans:
    Some agencies will contribute to your retirement savings, like a 401(k), helping you prepare for the future.
  3. Continuing Education:
    Many travel nursing jobs offer stipends for continuing education so you can keep learning and stay up-to-date with your skills.
  4. Other Perks:
    You might also get reimbursed for things like licensing fees and travel costs and even have access to employee assistance programs.

Understanding all the parts of a travel nurse pay package can help you make smarter decisions about your assignments and boost your earnings. From hourly wages and tax-free stipends to bonuses and retirement plans, each part plays a role in making your travel nurse career both exciting and financially rewarding. Ready to start your next adventure? Connect with us today and explore the opportunities that travel nursing has to offer!

Find Your Next Travel Nurse Assignment with Our Job Board!

Are you on the hunt for your next travel nurse gig? Look no further than our job board! Click here to explore all our current opportunities.

Discover the Perfect Housing for Your Next Assignment

Need somewhere to stay on your next travel nurse assignment? We’ve got you covered. Check out our housing page to find your ideal home away from home. Click here to start your search.

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By The Gypsy Nurse

March 10, 2019

12433 Views

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Diagnosing Your Travel Nurse Pay Package – Part 2

Posted on by The Gypsy Nurse

This article is the second in a series of articles we’re calling “Truth in Travel Nursing.”  Designed to provide reliable information to travel nurses, we hope these articles help clear up what we feel are some common misconceptions in the travel nursing profession today.

Tips to determine your best Travel Nursing Pay options:

Travel Nurse Pay PackageHey Gypsies!  We’re here to help shed light on some more myths and misunderstandings about your travel nursing pay options as part of our ongoing “Truth in Travel Nursing” series. As we covered in Part 1, there’s many components that make up a solid travel nurse pay package. It is important that travel nurses consider the full picture when comparing compensation packages. This means uncovering the full scope of benefits and pay options.  So, as part of our effort to better equip you, we’ve compiled these important tips designed to help you make the best choices for your financial well-being and the Gypsy Life!

Licenses and Certifications

We all know we need a nursing license for each state where we work. This includes permanent, new or renewal licenses, and temporary nursing licenses as offered by some states.

You may also get hit with certification costs for BLS, ACLS, PALS, and NRP and any other advance certifications required by the facility. Since certifications are nationally recognized you won’t have to obtain new certifications for every state where you work, but these certifications typically expire every two years and fees must be paid for renewal.

Unfortunately, licenses and certifications can easily add up to over $1,000 – yikes! Gypsy nurses will have to comply with the specific requirements of each assignment to begin work. Be sure to check if your agency offers reimbursements for these expenses and how those benefits are paid out.  This is an often-overlooked benefit when you are comparing packages; it’s not in the travel nurse pay rate but it is a part of the package!

It’s best to know in advance if you have a license or certification that’s going to expire during your next contract so the terms of reimbursement can be discussed upfront. And while some agencies will pay these fees directly, it’s best to stay organized and save all of your receipts.

Medical Records

Travel nurses are also required to provide medical records as part of the travel nurse portfolio, prior to starting an assignment. If you don’t have a current proof of acceptable results you will need to arrange these tests—often times at the facility where you will work. These can include drug screen, TB exam, a physical exam, X-rays, and an MMR titer report. Depending on the requirements, these tests can easily add up to several hundred dollars – yikes!  So, be sure to include this to your discussion list with the agency, to ensure you understand:

  1. How much of the fees are covered
  2. When they are paid or reimbursed
  3. Policies around providing you with copies of all results so that you can use for future assignments.

This is another overlooked benefit when comparing packages; it’s not in the pay rate but it is part of the travel nurse pay package!

Insurance

You may want to secure your own medical benefits to ensure you will have continuity of care. This makes it easier if you switch to a new travel nurse staffing agency. Having your private insurance means you can take your plan with you.  This also allows you to have a more predictable “Schedule of Benefits.” Changing agencies and changing providers can often mean different co-pays, deductibles, coverage limits, and other variables.  On the downside, you may end up paying more for less coverage. Agencies likely receive discounts for purchasing in volume. Be sure you look at the total picture. Don’t choose on the cost alone. The terms of coverage are important. Make sure that the package you select includes catastrophic coverage.

Bonus Pay

Some agencies offer various bonuses to travel nurses. And while these are not typically big dollars, or a primary reason to choose one agency over another, the extra income is always cool!

Most bonuses are designed in such a way that the agency is essentially passing on some of their savings to the traveler. Furthermore, some are designed as an incentive and many are in collaboration with the facility. The savings are realized in terms of recruitment costs, license fees, medical test, certifications, and training.

Here’s a few examples of bonuses you can ask about for your next assignment (just remember that bonuses are taxed at a higher rate than base compensation):

  • Extension bonus– what if you agree to stay on for another contract period?
  • Retention, rebook bonus, “Loyalty”– what if you agree to stay with the agency and take a new assignment in a different area?
  • Completion bonus– does the hospital offer any incentive pay to the agency for a completed contract?

Do Your Homework

Here’s a check list of what to ask your recruiter when evaluating your next pay package:

  • What portion of your hourly rate is taxable versus non-taxable?
  • Do you qualify for tax-free per diems?
  • Are there licenses and certifications needed and how are they paid?
  • What medical records must you supply, how quickly, and who pays for them?
  • Does the company provide insurance options to you and when are you eligible?
  • How do hours worked affect your living expenses stipend?
  • Are there any bonuses available?

Do you have questions on Pay that we can help answer? Post your questions in the comments and maybe you’ll find your in-depth answer on our next post in this series.

Looking for your Next Travel Nurse Adventure?

 

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By The Gypsy Nurse

March 10, 2019

42163 Views

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Diagnosing Your Travel Nurse Pay Package- Part 1

Posted on by The Gypsy Nurse

Tips to determine your best Travel Nurse Pay Package options

Many components make up a travel nurse’s pay package. When comparing pay packages, don’t just look at the numbers. Travel nurses should dig deeper to see what other benefits are provided. Those additional benefits and bonuses can result in thousands of realized dollars on each contract.

Whether you’re ready to take on your first contract in travel nursing—or perhaps you’ve been at it for a while—determining the best compensation package can be daunting. With so many variables and agencies making promising claims, it’s important to understand what will work best for you and your financial well-being. As part of our ongoing “Truth in Travel Nursing” series, The Gypsy Nurse team has compiled the following first key steps in what to look for in your travel nurse pay package.

Hourly Equivalent

Several factors impact the hourly rate offered for travel nursing assignments. These include:

  • location: or the region and cost of living where the assignment is located
  • nursing specialties
  • timing: how quickly you can start the assignment
  • even some general supply and demand factors

A travel nurse’s pay will generally consist of two main components:

  • The regular, taxable hourly rate
  • The non-taxable reimbursements for housing and meals/incidentals. These are also called stipends, subsidies, allowances, or per diems. These reimbursement payments are meant to cover meals and lodging costs resulting from the duplicate costs of living away from home for the job. Note that you will not receive a housing subsidy if you take company housing.

While sometimes the taxable hourly rate can seem low, agencies structure pay packages to be tax-efficient for the nurse. The less money that goes to a taxable hourly rate and the more that goes to the non-taxable subsidies, the better the net pay for the nurse. This cannot be very clear. Let’s look at some variables and what they may mean for your situation.

Take a Closer Look at Your Taxable Rate

The taxable hourly rate calculates several benefits should you need to use them. Unemployment, workers’ compensation, and disability payments are based on taxable income. Taxable earnings are also where social security contributions originate. Therefore, if you are nearing retirement, lower taxable earnings could significantly impact your future social security payments. In addition, if you need to borrow money for a home or auto loan, the lender will determine your loan amount qualifications from your taxable income.

Take a Closer Look at Non-Taxable Amounts:

Higher non-taxed reimbursements will make your net paycheck increase. At face value, this is appealing. However, it may not be quite that simple. The tax code allows tax-free stipends only while working away from one’s tax home. In many pay-package discussions, the aspect of “per diems” comes up. Here is some further information to help clarify:

You must be eligible for the tax-free per diems. Do you qualify?

There is a widespread myth that if you live (tax home) more than 50 miles away from your assignment, you are entitled to, eligible for, or guaranteed the per diems completely free of taxes. IRS Publication 463 states that you can accept tax-free stipends if “you need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away from home.”  There are no guidelines, no specific distance given that would constitute your need to sleep or rest. Therefore, if a traveler prefers to drive 70 miles each way to work and back each shift, they do not qualify for tax-free lodging allowances. Why? Because they are commuting. Further, if you commute or are within a “commutable distance,” you don’t qualify. There are no duplicate lodging expenses to reimburse.

The Per Diem amounts

The General Services Administration (a federal government agency) sets GSA Per Diem Rates. These are “the maximum allowances federal employees are reimbursed for expenses incurred while on official travel.” Although designed for government employees, these rates are also applied by the IRS to private sector employees. The travel nurse industry uses these in determining per diem rates. Therefore, these reimbursements are paid free of taxes. Above all, you mustn’t assume you will be paid the exact current GSA table rates. Here are three GSA realities:

  1. GSA rates are the maximum amounts that can be reimbursed without the requirement to turn in receipts. There is NOT a requirement that these maximum amounts be paid out.
  2. GSA rates are based more on short-term hotel housing, which tends to be pricier than the longer-term housing used for a typical travel nurse assignment.
  3. Bill rates are what determine what travel pay and per diems will be. Very rarely is an agency bill rate high enough to pay out the GSA table maximum amount and retain a profit.

Stick with The Gypsy Nurse as we continue to evaluate additional factors that ultimately make up your compensation and your paycheck. We’ll continue to explore more benefits, total package value, guaranteed pay, low census protection, and more in our next article.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

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