Disclaimer

Last updated 2 August 2026

1. We are not your adviser

TravelPayLab is an independent publisher. We are not a certified public accountant, an enrolled agent, a tax preparer, an attorney, a financial adviser, an insurance broker or a staffing agency. Reading this site, using the calculator or emailing us does not create a professional, advisory or fiduciary relationship, and no communication from us should be treated as advice on which you may rely.

2. Why this matters more here than on most websites

Travel healthcare taxation turns on facts-and-circumstances tests. Whether your stipends are excludable from income depends on whether you maintain a qualifying tax home, whether you genuinely duplicate living expenses, whether each assignment is temporary, and how your particular agency operates its accountable plan. Two clinicians with identical pay packages can have entirely different correct answers.

The consequences of getting it wrong are not theoretical. If stipends are reclassified as wages, the result is back income tax and payroll tax on amounts you received and spent, potentially across multiple years, plus interest and possible penalties — assessed long after the money is gone. That is why every page here points you toward a specialist rather than pretending the internet can settle it.

3. What the calculator does

The calculator applies published 2026 tax parameters to the figures you type in. Specifically it applies:

• federal income tax using the 2026 brackets and standard deduction from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32;
• FICA: 6.2% Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base, 1.45% Medicare on all wages, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above the applicable threshold;
• the "no tax on overtime" deduction (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, tax years 2025–2028), limited to the FLSA-required half-time premium on hours beyond 40 a week, capped at $12,500 (single) or $25,000 (joint) and phased out above $150,000 ($300,000 joint). It reduces federal income tax only — not FICA, and not state tax;
• state income tax using each state's published 2026 single-filer brackets, standard deduction, personal exemption and personal credit;
• an optional local or payroll tax rate that you supply.

It annualises your taxable wage over the number of weeks you tell it you work, so that the marginal bracket is realistic, and converts the resulting effective rate back into weekly and contract figures.

4. What the calculator does not do

This list is not exhaustive, but these are the omissions most likely to move your real number:

• Pre-tax deductions. 401(k) or 403(b) contributions, health premiums, HSA and FSA contributions are not modelled. All of these reduce taxable income.
• Tax credits and itemised deductions. None are applied.
• Other income. A spouse's earnings, PRN work, self-employment, investment income or unemployment benefits will change your bracket.
• Multi-state filing. Travellers commonly owe a nonresident return in the state where they worked and a resident return at home, with a credit to relieve double taxation. The tool estimates tax for one state only.
• State payroll levies. California SDI, Washington PFML and WA Cares, Oregon Paid Leave, Colorado FAMLI, New Jersey and Rhode Island contributions, Massachusetts PFML, Minnesota Paid Leave, New York PFL, Hawaii TDI and similar programmes are not included. Use the optional local/payroll tax field.
• Local income taxes. City, county and school district income taxes — routine in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York City and elsewhere — are not applied automatically.
• State filing status. State tax is estimated using single-filer parameters for every state, regardless of the federal filing status you select.
• State-specific mechanics. Exemption and deduction phase-outs, Oregon's federal tax subtraction, Connecticut's benefit recapture, Wisconsin's phased standard deduction and similar rules are noted where relevant but are not modelled.
• Withholding. The output is an estimate of tax owed for the year, not of what your employer will withhold from a given paycheque. Those two numbers are rarely the same.
• Non-W-2 arrangements. The tool assumes you are a W-2 employee.

5. Estimates, not entitlements

Every output is an estimate. Red-flag warnings — including the wage-recharacterisation warning — are heuristics based on published IRS principles and general market wage levels. They are prompts to ask a question, not determinations that anything is improper, and their absence is not a clearance. There is no published IRS threshold for an acceptable taxable rate; the standard is reasonable compensation for services performed, judged on the facts.

6. Sources and currency

We cite primary sources — IRS, GSA, SSA, BLS, state revenue departments — and date our figures. Tax law changes, per diem rates reset each 1 October, and states amend their schedules mid-year, often retroactively. Figures on this site were last reviewed on 3 August 2026, when the state table was re-verified against state revenue departments; five states had changed their 2026 law since February and were corrected. Figures may have changed since. Always check the current published rate before relying on it.

7. No guarantee of results

Nothing here is a prediction or guarantee of earnings, employment, tax treatment, agency behaviour or contract terms. Pay packages described in examples are illustrative and are not offers, market averages or benchmarks.

8. Third-party content and advertising

The site links to external sources and displays third-party advertising. We do not control or endorse third-party content, and an advertisement is never an endorsement. Any transaction with an advertiser or linked site is at your own risk.

9. How to get real advice

Look for a CPA or enrolled agent who works with travel healthcare clinicians specifically and can discuss tax home determinations, multi-state filing and per diem substantiation without needing the concepts explained to them. Ask how many travellers they file for. The cost is small relative to the exposure, and the right time to engage one is before your first contract, not after a notice arrives.

For contract terms, employment disputes or non-compete questions, consult an attorney licensed in the relevant state.

10. Your responsibility

You are responsible for your own tax filings and financial decisions. By using this site you accept that any action you take based on it is at your own risk, and you agree to the terms of use, including their limitation of liability.