Tax Deductions for Travel Nurses

Travel nursing is a venture that allows you to move from one place to another, providing your valuable skills and talents to short staffed hospitals and clinics. Along the way, various expenses will be accrued that must be met. In many trades and professionals, travel expenses are the norm. For example, hair stylists in New York may need to relocate to Florida for training sessions where a hotel stay would be provided for by their employer company.

Before requesting tax deductions from travel nursing agencies, it is important to establish a tax home first. Having a permanent address and mail forwarding system under your name will allow you to declare travel costs as a tax deduction. Without one, a technicality will state that you never went away from "home" in the first place. Normally, your travel nursing job will require that you stay away from your "tax home" in the three month range, so tax deductions ring true here.

Travel nurses enjoy many expense deductions on their meals. Typically, meal allowances go as high as $40 every day for travel nurses. Other expenses that travel nurses can apply for are transportation expenses and mileage expenses. Because travel nurses eat, drive cars, and pay for lodging - it is extremely important that they keep track of all travel-related expenses. Receipts, tabs, stubs, and other proofs of purchase must be saved and recorded in order to be eligible for tax and expense deductions. Many seasoned travel nurses use popular programs like Quicken and Microsoft Money to enter and save expense data. Keep all receipts in a large envelope, preferably divided into categories like "Food", "Transportation", and "Housing." After a careful review, tax deductions can be accumulated with these proofs.

Don't forget that work materials are often included with deductible expenses. Out of pocket expenses may include professional related fees and dues, small work-related items like stethoscopes, H&R Block tax preparation fees, advanced education and more. When combining all of these expenses, your tax bill can be significantly reduced.

Remember, state income tax returns must be filed as well (one for each state you're working in) on top of federal tax returns. Many states grant travel nurses the privilege of deducting travel expenses on your federal return or offer you credit because of the taxes you've paid to the states you worked in. As your best bet, ask an accountant to prepare all of your tax documents for you. They're familiar with each states tax deductions and where/when you qualify for them.

Tax deductions are just one of the many perks travel nurses enjoy throughout their careers. It is up to you to keep track of all your bills and be pleasantly rewarded come tax time.