Reading a Travel Nurse Contract: The 8 Numbers That Decide If It Pays

1. The taxable hourly rate

This is the only number your overtime, your retirement contributions, and often your unemployment and disability are calculated from. A contract that shifts money out of hourly and into stipends looks tax-efficient but shrinks every rate that's derived from your hourly. A low taxable base — think single digits per hour — is a red flag worth questioning.

2. Guaranteed hours

The advertised weekly rate assumes you work every scheduled hour. Guaranteed hours are the contractual floor the agency pays even if the unit calls you off. No guarantee means a slow census week can quietly cut your pay. Read exactly how call-offs are handled — some contracts let the facility flex you down before guarantees kick in.

3. The stipend breakdown: housing and M&IE

The non-taxable portion is usually split into a housing stipend and a meals-and-incidentals (M&IE) stipend. These are only legitimately non-taxable if you're duplicating expenses — maintaining a tax home while paying for housing at the assignment. If you don't qualify, that money is taxable and the whole contract math changes.

4. Your tax home status

This is the number that isn't on the contract but governs everything above. If you don't maintain a legitimate tax home, the stipends can become taxable income, and a contract you evaluated as $4,500/week net is suddenly a very different offer. This is worth a conversation with a tax professional who knows travel nursing — not the recruiter.

5. Overtime and its rate

Overtime is paid on the taxable hourly rate, not the blended rate — so a contract with a low hourly base pays weak overtime. If the assignment is likely to run long or the unit is chronically short, the OT rate matters more than the recruiter implies. Confirm whether OT is time-and-a-half of the hourly base and whether it's guaranteed or at the facility's discretion.

6. Travel and licensure reimbursements

One-time reimbursements for travel to the assignment, license fees, and certifications add up, but they're often paid on completion or split across the contract. Check the amount, when it's paid, and whether you forfeit it if you cancel — some are clawed back if you don't finish.

7. Cancellation and missed-shift penalties

This is the clause that turns a good contract bad. Look for what happens if the facility cancels the contract early, what you owe if you leave, and how missed shifts are penalized. Some contracts dock you multiple times your daily rate for a single called-out sick day. Know the number before you're sick in an unfamiliar city.

8. The real net, per hour, in your pocket

Every number above rolls up into one you have to compute yourself: estimated take-home per hour actually worked, after taxes and expenses. That's the only figure that compares two contracts honestly — a headline $4,500/week with weak guarantees and a punishing cancellation clause can net less than a plainer $4,000 offer.

Run the math before the recruiter's enthusiasm does it for you. A calculator that blends hourly, stipends, guaranteed hours, and estimated taxes into a single net-per-hour number will tell you in thirty seconds what a contract PDF hides in eight pages.