Travel Nurse Employment: Tax Advantages of Per Diem Deductions

NURSE CRISIS

Tip! Over the past few years, registered nurse salaries have increased a great deal. The largest increases are for experienced nurses.

When you are a travel nurse you need to have a good understanding of per diem rates and how they might lower your taxes. Many travel nurses believe that per diem is only a tax benefit that staffing agencies offer and yet, surprisingly, others do not. This misunderstanding about what per diem is and how it may affect your taxes is an important financial issue that you need to understand. How you report your per diem earnings could mean the difference in thousands of dollars in tax savings.

Whether you are looking to maximize deductions, reduce taxes, or increase your returns, travel nurses should take the time to learn as much as possible about the IRS per diem tax rules. Certainly, one way to learn is to go to the IRS home page and download publication 1542 and read the rules so that you have a working idea of what to expect by tax time next year. Another great resource, especially, now a days is to do your taxes yourself if you have a personal computer or laptop. Turbo Tax is a great software program. Not only is it inexpensive and tax deductible itself, but it is very easy to work when you use the step-by-step wizard. You can walk through your entire tax return, and file it electronically. You can get your refund deposited directly into your checking account in a matter of days.

A couple of travel expenses to have a heads up about include:

The travel nurse has a permanent tax home

The travel nurse takes a temporary (less than 12 months) assignment away
from their tax home

Unfortunately, one of the most common tax mistakes that a travel nurse makes is not being educated or even aware of the tax advantages to per diem deductions. Now that you are are aware that savvy travel nurses are eligible for per diem deductions for every day that they are on temporary assignment away from their tax home, pass on the work to your co-workers, or email them this article so that they can bookmark this overview and take advantage of these tax benefits themselves.

Tip! Many organizations require college degree (Associate or Bachelors degree) from an accredited institution for a registered nurse. Required classes to for this degree include chemistry, physiology, anatomy, behavioral science classes, and nutrition.

It is important to be aware that some companies don't pay per diem allowance, pay too little per diem, or only pay per diem as a function of hourly pay. You can learn what these scenarios mean for you personal tax situation by consulting with a tax advisor or researching the IRS rules. You deserve to to get every dollar of per diem related deductions that you are entitled to, and we hope that this article has helped you.

Tip! Registered nurses are classified into three: full-time, part-time, and casual. Registered nurse salaries are varied in each category.

Note: while much care has been taken to make this article accurate, tax rules do change. Please be sure that you are up-to-date on the latest IRS rules. This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not meant to replace the advice of a skilled tax advisor.

Learn more about Travel Nurse Deductions and Financial Issues at the Travel Nurse Employment Portal. Or, to find Travel Nurse Jobs that updated every two hours from around the web . . . let us help you find your next travel nurse position.