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pittbiomed t1_iwihjsa wrote

I believe they have their own traveler division , maybe that would be a job you would like ?

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nschafer0311 t1_iwjel6e wrote

I don’t recommend doing their internal travel. I left Upmc to do agency travel, one of my friends did their internal program. The pay seems nice (85$ per hour) but they tax the shit out of it, you don’t get to pick which hospital they send you to, you’re only at each hospital 6 weeks before they can move you again, and for housing stipends, you get a 1 time stipend that they tax. So after everything you still only come out making about the same as staff.

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Sinnex88 t1_iwjhwb6 wrote

Are the tax rates not the same for all traveling nurse companies?

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nschafer0311 t1_iwjj35d wrote

The more your hourly rate is the more you pay in taxes. The money travelers make comes from their untaxed stipends. For instance, I’m at a hospital now where my hourly rate is 40$. About what a normal seasoned staff nurse would make out of state. However, I get housing stipends every week that are completely untaxed because I’m technically paying to live in 2 different locations (my actual physical house in Pittsburgh that I pay for and the cost of my rental here in Philly). UPMCs internal travel does not do weekly stipends, it’s 1 time for the entire length of your stay at 1 hospital. Which is why it’s a rip off and better to just do agency travel.

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ShuinoZiryu t1_iwl17nt wrote

Ok, I'm not going into tax's, as of course you pay more in taxes on $85 an hour than $40. However, it's the same tax rate.

For a $40/hr job to make more than an $85/hr, your stipend would need to be ~$1800 dollars every 2 weeks. Which I am assuming it's not.

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Do_Be_Suspicious t1_iwl5gur wrote

It probably is. When I worked as a traveler in rural Pennsylvania, I officially made $18 an hour and got a weekly $900 stipend. So yes, it's significantly less in taxes.

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Generic_Username28 t1_iwlbo9k wrote

All else being equal (e.g., dependents, both W2s not independent contractors), their tax rate probably went up slightly. At $40/hr, they'd be in the 22% bracket with a effective rate of 17% and at $85/hr they'd be in the 32% bracket with an effective rate of 21%. This assumes they are working 2,080 hours in a year and ignores all other tax factors.

That's only federal taxes, but if someone wanted to double my wages for a 4% tax hike, sign me the fuck up.

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ShuinoZiryu t1_iwld3sf wrote

And let's not forget all tax brackets are marginal. So both people still pay the SAME amount of taxes on the SAME amount of money.

Someone making 40,000 a year pays exactly the same amount of taxes on 40,000 dollars as someone making 80,000.

If you make 40,001 dollars and the cutoff was 40,000. Only a single dollar is taxed at 32%, the 40,000 is still taxed at 22%.

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Generic_Username28 t1_iwlhnip wrote

Absolutely correct. My effective tax rate captures that, but I didn't word my tax bracket clearly.

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Do_Be_Suspicious t1_iwl5rq3 wrote

Not sure why you got downvoted - this is just some very basic info about how being a travel nurse works. Have my upvote!

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nschafer0311 t1_iwmfe1b wrote

Lol thanks idk why either, just answering a question

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