Travel Nurse Stipend Calculator
Enter the ZIP code of your assignment to see the most a travel nurse or allied traveler can receive in tax-free housing and meal stipends there: the federal per diem rate for that location, times seven for a week spent away from home. For fiscal 2027, the standard rate that applies anywhere without its own listing is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for meals and incidentals, a weekly ceiling of $1,267.
What the result means
The figure is a ceiling, not a stipend. Under IRS Revenue Procedure 2019-48, a per diem allowance up to the federal rate for the place you sleep is treated as substantiated without receipts; anything paid above it is wages. Agencies may pay any amount up to the ceiling tax-free and usually pay less, putting the rest into the taxable hourly rate.
None of it is tax-free unless you are traveling away from a tax home you maintain. See the tax home rules and, if you live with family, whether your parents' house can be your tax home.
How it works
- Enter the five-digit ZIP code where you will be living on assignment
- We find the county and the General Services Administration rate for it: nightly lodging, which can change by month, and daily meals and incidentals
- The weekly ceiling is lodging plus meals, times seven
- Optionally enter the weekly stipend in your offer to see how it compares
GSA sets a few rates by city limits rather than county, such as Cambridge, Massachusetts and Santa Monica, California. When one applies in your state, the calculator lists it so you can check which side of the line the address is on. Alaska and Hawaii use Department of Defense rates instead of GSA's.
Every state and major city, with what changed this year: travel nurse stipends by state. To see what a whole package takes home, use the pay calculator.
Common questions
- What is the maximum tax-free stipend for a travel nurse?
- It is the federal per diem rate for the location where you sleep: GSA lodging plus meals and incidentals. For fiscal 2027, the standard rate that applies anywhere without its own listing is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for meals and incidentals, a weekly ceiling of $1,267. High-cost areas are higher, and seasonal areas change by month. It is a ceiling: agencies may pay less, and none of it is tax-free without a tax home you maintain.
- How is a weekly travel nurse stipend ceiling calculated?
- Take the GSA nightly lodging rate and the daily meals and incidentals rate for the location, add them, and multiply by seven for a week spent entirely away from home. Lodging rates can change by month in seasonal areas, so the ceiling can too. Days spent back at your tax home do not count.
- Is the stipend in my offer supposed to equal the GSA rate?
- No. The GSA rate is the most that can be paid tax-free, not an entitlement. Agencies usually pay less and put the rest into the taxable hourly rate. A stipend above the ceiling is not illegal, but the excess is taxable wages.