Travel Nurse Taxes

Travel Nurse Taxes is an annual topic that I usually publish on my Blog and/or the The Travel Nurse Newsletter. Travel nurses have to submit income tax returns just like everyone else.  If you are working for a U.S. based travel nurse agency then you will be subject to the usual income tax and social security tax withholding rules and regulations.

The good news is that travel nurses can take a few additional tax deductions that other nurses may not be eligible for.  One of the best places to go to find out all the tax deductions you are entitled to is www.irs.gov.  Download publications and forms year round to stay current.  Using software such as Microsoft money or Quicken can help you track your expenses easily.  You will still be obligated to maintain receipts and records substantiating your expenses and deductions.  Many banks also offer money management tools online and can make importing your tax information into tax software such as TaxAct or Turbotax a reasonably easy task.

Tax deductions that you can deduct from your travel nurse taxes include travel expenses to a new job, tax fares, public transportation fares, meals and other incidental expenses.  If you have an established home and you work more than 50 miles from your legal residence then you can deduct all the business expenses related to working away from home.  According to the IRS the test is that you must be traveling "away from home for substantially longer than an ordinary days work and you need to rest or sleep to meet the demands of the work".  If you meet this test then you can deduct the actual cost of all expenses related to work such as meals, lodging (if you are not compensated for it) and travel expenses such as air fare.  Or you can claim a standard per diem deduction for each day that you work.  It's important that you maintain the legal status of your home of record.  In general if you pay real estate taxes and vote as an absentee voter from one residence that is considered your legal domicile for IRS purposes. 

Other expenses that are tax deductible for travel nurses include:
equipment such as stethoscopes
reference books such as a drug reference or a lab values book
nursing uniforms
continuing education fees
Nursing license renewal fees
Professional dues to nursing and other professional organizations
Subscriptions to professional journals such as American Journal of Nursing
College tuition and other expenses related to college.

You can easily do your own taxes with free or low cost software. Other travel nurse tax advantages which are not unique to travel nurses include deductions for real estate taxes, charitable donations and medical expenses.  Of course, don't forget to get your state income taxes if your legal domicile is in a state that has state income tax.