Travel nurse

diana2840 · April 26, 2016

I am going to full time travel nursing in July and am looking for info that would help with the taxes and domicile and things like that. My husband is a free lance artist and photographer. We do not own a home our 5th wheel will be our permenant residence. Any help and info welcomed--thankyou

lappir · April 26, 2016

Greetings,

Welcome to the Forum. I have traveled since 1989 off and mostly on. Plan to travel until I can no longer work. There are a lot of rules and regulations and they are getting more and more every day. I am in the process of moving from one location to another with the same company. I have had so many people want information from me, about me that I can't remember all the names. When I started travel I had one person who handled everything. I always knew who to call and who to blame if something wasn't right. Now it's just pass the buck and most of them are coming out of my paycheck. There is only so much money that a hospital is willing to pay and apparently the 7 people between me and that amount only shrinks the amount I will be getting.

Why do I still do it? Because it's the best way to do what I want when I want. It keeps me busy and interested and so far is paying the bills. A few key points. There is no sick time, no vacation time. You don't work you don't get paid. You take too many days off and the companies will take money away from you in the form of housing costs or they will deduct the amount you expect to receive, regardless of the reason.

It costs a lot of money to move. The "travel reimbursement's" haven't changed since 1989 that I can see. Winter travel can be difficult, depending on your RV

If you have specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Rod.

Daveh · April 27, 2016

Rod, How is health insurance handled do you get health insurance through the agency and can you continue that between assignments? That would be a big issue as it relates to residency since if you need to go through Obamacare the repeated residency changes would be a real pain.

Kirk W · April 27, 2016

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are here to help so do feel free to ask questions and offer comments as much as you wish. Our club began as a group of working RV families and even though today most members are retired, we do have a growing number of members who are younger and who still earn their living while the move about in the RV so help should be very available here.

Income taxes are paid via your domicile address for the federal part but you will need to pay state income taxes to each state that you spend time employed in. That part can usually be handled by the employer, via withholding but it usually means filing in each state that you worked in each year. Choosing a domicile is important as only a few states allow the use of a mail forwarding service as your permanent address for things like a driving license, vehicle & health insurance, and vehicle registrations, as well as voting. For that reason there are 3 states that tend to be most popular as they share a lack of state income tax, accepting mail service addresses, and have reasonable costs for other fees. With the recent changes in laws related to health insurance, that side of the equation has become much more complicated. I invite you to read this article about domicile from a previous Escapee magazine, and suggest that you consider a membership in the Escapees RV Club for the support that they offer.

Please do keep us informed as you move forward with your plans and do become a regular on these forums!

lappir · April 28, 2016

Rod, How is health insurance handled do you get health insurance through the agency and can you continue that between assignments? That would be a big issue as it relates to residency since if you need to go through Obamacare the repeated residency changes would be a real pain.

It was easier before Obamacare for sure. I just didn't carry insurance for many years. I was healthy and thankfully never needed it. As I got older I decided to just get a policy for my self and not worry about which company I was going to be working for and how long. One company provided an "insurance subsidy" but that too seems to have evaporated. There are many things to consider before taking your first Travel Contract. What happens if you Hate it and can't complete your first contract? What happens if you really like the place you have gone and want to stay forever? What happens with this and that? I can tell you what has happened to me but your experience will be whatever happen to you.

Rod