The government sets per diem (daily) rates for lodging and for meals & incidentals in every part of the country. Agencies often use them as the ceiling for how high your stipends go.

• For Oct 1, 2026 to Sept 30, 2027 (FY2027), the standard rate is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for M&IE.
• About 295 higher-cost areas get a higher rate. M&IE in those areas runs from $68 to $92 a day.
• The rates change every October 1.

👉 Look up the city you're headed to: GSA per diem rate lookup. Check it against what your recruiter offers. If a stipend is well under the GSA rate, you may be able to negotiate. Keep in mind the pay package as a whole still has to work.

Per IRS Publication 463, travel money can only be tax-free if you're traveling away from your tax home. In plain words:

• If you don't have a main place of work, your tax home can be the home where you regularly live. The IRS looks at 3 things: (1) you do some work in the area of that home and stay there when you do, (2) you keep paying for that home while you're away, so you're paying for two places, and (3) you haven't abandoned the area, or family lives there, or you often stay there.
• Meet all 3 and you have a tax home. Meet only 1 and you're considered "itinerant." Your tax home is then wherever you work, and travel money isn't tax-free.
• An assignment in one place generally counts as temporary if it's expected to last a year or less (and actually does). Expected to go longer than a year? It's "indefinite," that place becomes your tax home, and the living-expense money becomes taxable.
• Back-to-back contracts at the same place can add up to an indefinite assignment.

Not tax advice. Tax-home questions get complicated fast (RV living, staying with family, selling your house). Talk to a tax pro who knows travel healthcare before you take tax-free stipends.

• Taxable hourly rate by itself, and how the stipends are split out (housing, M&IE, travel).
• Guaranteed hours: how many hours a week are guaranteed? What happens to pay and stipends if they cancel me for low census?
• Cancellation policy: how many shifts can they cancel per contract? How much notice do I get? What happens if the whole contract gets canceled early, or if I need to leave?
• Shift and schedule: days, nights or rotating? 8s or 12s? Is it self-scheduling? Are weekends and holidays required?
• Call and floating: any on-call? Which units or campuses could I float to?
• Overtime: when does it start, what's the rate, and are extra shifts allowed?
• Time off: can I get my requested days off written into the contract?
• Extension: is there a chance to extend, and does the rate stay the same?
• Licensing and travel reimbursement: will they pay for a new state license and compliance items? What about travel to and from the job? How much, and when is it paid?
• Health insurance: when does it start (day 1 or later)? What does it cost? What happens to it between contracts?
• Completion bonus: how much, exactly what do I have to do to get it, when is it paid, and what makes me lose it?
• Start date and orientation: how many orientation hours, and are they paid at the full rate?
• Can I see all of this in the written contract before I sign?