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Travel Nurse GSA Per Diem Pay Calculator

Audit travel nurse pay packages with our 3-rule IRS compliance traffic light, uncover the low-base overtime trap across 48 working weeks, and compare up to 3 agency offers side by side.

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Agency contract packages

Switch tabs to edit each offer and compare 2–3 packages

Select offer to edit

Offer label

Contract length

wks

Regular hours / week36 or 40

hrs

Overtime hours / weekin contract

hrs

Taxable base hourly rateW-2 wage

$/hr

Contract overtime rate1.5× or crisis

$/hr

Weekly housing stipend$5,399/mo

$/wk

Weekly M&IE meals stipend$2,063/mo

$/wk

Destination city, month & GSA benchmark

14-city built-in GSA reference schedule (San Diego, CA · October)

Assignment city (14 GSA metros)

Contract month

Assignment state tax

Federal filing status

San Diego, CA (October) GSA Reference Ceiling:

• Lodging: $5,460/mo ($1,260/wk · $180/day) · M&IE: $2,396/mo ($553/wk · $79/day)

Note: Built-in GSA lodging and M&IE figures are reference values for standard comparison; verify exact ZIP-level rates on gsa.gov for your contract year.

Data as of FY2026 GSA tables (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) · Source: GSA per-diem rates. GSA tables change every federal fiscal year on Oct 1 — this page is refreshed after each annual release

How IRS compliance traffic lights & overtime traps work

1. Three-Rule IRS Audit Check: Recruiters often artificially depress your W-2 base rate to inflate tax-free stipends. We check (a) whether your monthly housing stipend exceeds the city & month GSA lodging benchmark, (b) whether your taxable base rate falls below $20/hr (Yellow) or $15/hr (Red), and (c) whether tax-free stipends exceed 60% (Yellow) or 75% (Red) of gross pay.

2. The Low-Base Overtime Trap: Standard contracts calculate 1.5× overtime strictly on your low W-2 base rate (1.5 × Base_Rate) rather than your true blended hourly rate (1.5 × Blended_Hourly), costing travel nurses tens of thousands per year when picking up extra shifts.

Result · Offer A · Balanced GSA

36 hrs/wk in San Diego, CA (October)

Weekly net take-home pay

$2,702

$2,874 gross − $172 est. taxes

Monthly net take-home

$11,710

4.33 wks/mo · $35,131 per 13-wk contract

Blended effective hourly

$75.07/hr net

$79.83/hr gross across 36 hrs

IRS compliance score

100/100 · GREEN

Base $32.00/hr · Stipend 60% of gross

Compliance check

IRS 3-rule traffic light for Offer A · Balanced GSA in San Diego, CA (October reference)

a) Housing stipend vs. GSA monthly standardGreen · Within GSA Limit

$5,399/mo vs $5,460/mo GSA (99%)

Monthly housing stipend stays inside the GSA reference lodging ceiling for this city and month.

b) Taxable hourly base wage floor ($20/h yellow · $15/h red)Green · Defensible Base

$32.00/hr (≥ $20/hr)

Taxable hourly wage meets the $20/hr benchmark floor, supporting the tax-free legitimacy of your per diem stipends.

c) Stipend share of total package (>60% yellow · >75% red)Green · Stipend ≤ 60%

59.9% of gross (≤ 60%)

Stipends represent 60% or less of your gross pay package — a balanced, audit-resilient W-2 to per-diem split.

Overtime trap

1.5× low taxable base ($48.00/hr) vs. 1.5× blended rate ($48.00/hr)

Overtime hours / week to modele.g. 12 hrs = one extra shift/wk

hrs/wk

OT paid on 1.5× low base ($48.00/hr)

$576/wk

12 hrs × (1.5 × $32.00/hr W-2 base)

OT paid on 1.5× blended ($48.00/hr)

$576/wk

12 hrs × (1.5 × $79.83/hr blended)

Weekly overtime shortfall

−$0/wk

Losing $0.00/hr on every OT hour

Annualized difference (48 weeks)

−$0/yr

Across 48 working weeks (12 OT hrs/wk)

Why low-base OT costs you $0/yr over 48 weeks

Because GSA stipends are already maxed out over your regular 36 hours, agencies frequently pay extra shifts at 1.5× your depressed W-2 base ($48.00/hr) instead of 1.5× your blended rate ($48.00/hr). Always negotiate a flat crisis/callback rate in your contract before signing.

Metric	Offer A · Balanced GSA	Offer B · Low Base / High Stipend	Offer C · 48-Hr Crisis Contract
Hours / week	36 hrs	36 hrs	48 hrs
Taxable base rate	$32.00/hr	$18.00/hr	$34.00/hr
Weekly taxable pay	$1,152	$648	$1,872
Weekly tax-free stipends	$1,722	$2,110	$1,722
Weekly gross package	$2,874	$2,758	$3,594
Federal tax (2026 est.)	−$0	−$0	−$63
FICA (6.2% SS + 1.45% Med)	−$88	−$50	−$143
State tax (CA)	−$84	−$47	−$136
Blended net hourly	$75.07/hr	$73.93/hr	$67.74/hr
Monthly net take-home	$11,710	$11,533	$14,091
IRS compliance light	GREEN (100/100)	RED (27/100)	GREEN (100/100)
True weekly net pay	$2,702	$2,661	$3,252

Multi-offer compliance scorecard & negotiation memo

Side-by-side IRS audit grading and recruiter counter-offer export

ProMulti-offer comparison sheet + compliance memo$9 once

3-Offer IRS Audit Scorecard & Recruiter Counter-Offer Sheet (San Diego, CA · October)

Audit / Negotiation Dimension	Offer A · Balanced GSA	Offer B · Low Base / High Stipend	Offer C · 48-Hr Crisis Contract
Overall compliance score	100/100 (GREEN)	27/100 (RED)	100/100 (GREEN)
a) GSA monthly housing check	Green · Within GSA Limit (99%)	Red · Over GSA Cap (123%)	Green · Within GSA Limit (99%)
b) W-2 base rate floor check	Green · Defensible Base ($32.00/hr)	Yellow · Base < $20/hr ($18.00/hr)	Green · Defensible Base ($34.00/hr)
c) Stipend % of gross package	Green · Stipend ≤ 60% (59.9%)	Red · Stipend > 75% (76.5%)	Green · Stipend ≤ 60% (47.9%)
48-wk overtime trap loss (12h/wk)	−$0/yr	−$0/yr	−$0/yr
Counter-offer ask	Negotiate contractual OT rate from $48/hr to >=$41/hr	Raise W-2 base to >=$26/hr & set OT rate to >=$23/hr	Negotiate contractual OT rate from $54/hr to >=$43/hr

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Built from user complaints

What people hate about the other tools

We read the reviews of the incumbents before writing this page. Every complaint below maps to a decision in the tool above.

It’s all fun and games until you get audited. Never Ask Your Recruiter for Tax Advice.
r/TravelNursing (Reddit) · IRS audit blindspot
In this toolBuilt-in IRS compliance checklist flags tax-home violations, 12-in-24-month limits, and artificially low base rates.
As long as you live 50+ miles away, you get tax-free stipends — a widespread recruiter myth that ignores duplicate expense rules.
r/TravelNursing (Reddit) · 50-mile rule myth
In this toolDebunks the 50-mile myth by deducting both home and assignment housing costs to reveal true net disposable income.
Calculators wrongly multiply 1.5x overtime on the blended rate, whereas contracts only pay 1.5x on the low $20-$35/hr taxable base.
bluepipes.com / circlern.com · overtime pay trap
In this toolContrasts true 1.5x base overtime against blended rates and reverse-calculates hospital bill rates for negotiation.

One-line difference: 100% agency-free calculator with IRS tax-home compliance checks, true OT math, and side-by-side net pay after housing.

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Taxable base + tax-free GSA stipend split with 50-state & FICA tax
IRS 3-rule stipend eligibility & low-base audit risk traffic light
Side-by-side Offer A vs B net pay after duplicate housing expenses

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Printable 13-week net pay & bill-rate negotiation PDF report
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Low-census shift cancellation & stipend clawback stress tester

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