How to Use This Nurse Paycheck Calculator
This tool was built to mirror the exact order of inputs recruiters and HR will throw at you. Work through each field and your weekly, biweekly, and annual net will update in real time.
- Select your state — the calculator loads the correct 2026 state income tax brackets. If you split the year across states, enable the multi-state toggle and enter the percent of the year worked in each.
- Filing status — single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household. This controls both federal and state bracket thresholds.
- Base hourly rate and contract type — choose staff or travel. Travel mode reveals weekly stipend fields for housing, meals, and incidentals, plus a tax-home toggle.
- Weekly hours — 36, 40, 48, or custom. Overtime past 40 is auto-calculated at 1.5x. Shift differentials can be added separately on the shift differential calculator.
- 401(k) or 403(b) percent — contributions lower your federal taxable wages (pre-tax) but not FICA.
- Pre-tax expenses — add health insurance premiums, HSA, and commuter benefits to model your real take-home.
All results use projected 2026 federal brackets based on the IRS inflation formula from Rev. Proc. 2024-40. Verify numbers with your recruiter, staffing contract, and a licensed CPA before making decisions.
Understanding Your Nurse Paycheck: Taxes, Stipends, and Take-Home Pay
The single biggest misconception I hear at 3 a.m. on night shift is that a higher gross rate always means a bigger paycheck. It doesn't — the structure of your pay package matters as much as the headline number. Here is how the math actually breaks down:
Federal income tax: marginal vs effective
Federal tax is progressive. Only the dollars inside a given bracket are taxed at that bracket's rate. A travel nurse in the 22% bracket does not pay 22% on every dollar — the effective rate is almost always 4 to 6 points lower than the marginal rate. The calculator shows both so you can plan withholdings correctly.
FICA: Social Security and Medicare
FICA is a flat 7.65% on wages (6.2% Social Security up to the 2026 projected $184,500 wage base, plus 1.45% Medicare with no cap). An extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax kicks in above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint. Travelers: FICA applies only to your taxable base rate, not to stipends.
State income tax
Nine states levy zero income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Working assignments in these states pads your net — but only if your tax-home state also has no income tax, or you allocate days carefully.
Travel-nurse stipends and the tax-home doctrine
Housing, meals, and incidentals stipends are tax-free when you maintain a qualifying tax home (IRS Pub 463). You need a permanent residence with duplicate living expenses, and you cannot stay in one metro area more than roughly 12 months without losing tax-home status. A blended travel rate splits weekly pay into W-2 taxable wages plus non-taxable stipends — efficient for take-home, brutal for mortgage applications where underwriters only count W-2 income.
Clinical Context: Why I Built This Calculator
I have spent more than a decade in nursing, ten of those years as a travel nurse bouncing between ICU, psych, corrections, and telehealth. In every break room at every hospital, the conversation was the same: "I thought I was making $2,800 a week — where did it all go?" Agencies quote gross, HR explains brackets wrong, and recruiters underestimate state tax by hundreds of dollars because they genuinely don't know the rules.
The spreadsheet that eventually became this calculator lived on my phone for years. Before accepting any contract, I would plug in the base rate, the stipends, the state, and my 403(b) percentage, and I would know within $50 what would actually land in my account every Friday. That meant I never again signed a $3,100 gross contract that netted less than a $2,650 gross contract at a different facility.
This tool is that spreadsheet, productized and free. No lead-gen form, no recruiter up-sell, no "premium tier." Pair it with the overtime calculator and stipend calculator to see the full picture before you sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are travel nurse stipends really tax-free?+
Yes, but only if you maintain a qualifying tax home. The IRS requires a legitimate permanent residence where you incur duplicate living expenses while on assignment. Without a valid tax home, every dollar of housing, meal, and incidentals stipend becomes taxable W-2 wages. Stipends must also stay at or below GSA per-diem limits for the assignment location to remain tax-free. Document rent receipts, utility bills, and voter registration.
Which states have no state income tax for nurses?+
Nine states have no state income tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Taking assignments in these states lets travel nurses keep more of their taxable base rate. Be aware that you still owe tax to your tax-home state if it imposes state income tax on residents regardless of where income was earned.
How is overtime taxed on my paystub?+
Overtime is not taxed at a higher rate. Your paystub may look like it because the extra income is withheld at a higher marginal bracket for that pay period, but at tax time the IRS only cares about your annual taxable income. Overtime dollars are taxed at the same federal, FICA, and state rates as your regular wages — the annual total is what determines your actual bracket.
How does the 8/80 FLSA rule change my paycheck?+
Hospitals can elect the 8/80 rule under FLSA, which requires overtime pay for any hours worked over 8 in a day or 80 in a 14-day pay period, whichever is greater. For nurses on 12-hour shifts, that means 4 hours of automatic overtime per shift even if weekly hours stay under 40. Your paycheck grows faster per shift, but your employer must elect this rule in writing and apply it uniformly.
How much should I contribute to my 403(b) as a nurse?+
At minimum, contribute enough to capture the full employer match — usually 3 to 6 percent of your base pay. A common target is 15 percent of gross including employer match. For travel nurses, remember the 403(b) contribution is based on taxable W-2 wages only, not tax-free stipends, so your max contribution room may be smaller than you expect. The 2026 elective deferral limit is projected near $24,000.
Do I owe tax in multiple states as a traveler?+
Usually yes. As a travel nurse you typically owe non-resident state income tax to each state where you physically worked, plus resident state income tax to your tax-home state. Your resident state generally gives you a credit for taxes paid to the non-resident state, so you rarely pay twice, but you may file three or more state returns in a heavy travel year. Track days worked in each state carefully — tax software will ask.
JM
Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
Registered Nurse — 12+ Years Clinical Experience
10 years of travel nursing taught me that the gross weekly rate is a trap — what matters is what lands in your account after federal, FICA, state, and whatever tax-home math your contract forces on you. Background in ICU, psych, correctional nursing, telehealth, and unit management. No sponsored content, no paywalls.
This calculator is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute tax, financial, or legal advice. Tax law changes constantly and travel-nurse tax-home rules are audit-sensitive — verify all results with a licensed CPA before making contract or financial decisions.