Travel nursing pay is quoted as one big weekly number because one big weekly number is what makes you click. The real structure underneath is three smaller numbers, and the differences between them decide what you actually keep.
The three parts
A travel package is typically a taxable hourly base plus untaxed stipends for housing and meals/incidentals. The stipends are why the weekly figure looks so much better than staff pay — and they are only legitimately untaxed if you maintain a genuine tax home you are duplicating expenses against. If a recruiter waves that requirement off with "everyone does it," remember that the IRS audits the nurse, not the recruiter.
A low taxable base with giant stipends also has quiet costs: overtime is calculated on the base, disability and loan applications read the base, and some retirement matches key off it. Two packages with the same weekly total can differ meaningfully in what they are worth over a year.
Questions that sort recruiters quickly
Ask for the full breakdown in writing: base rate, each stipend, guaranteed hours, and what happens when the hospital calls you off for low census. Guaranteed-hours language is the single most important clause in the contract — without it, a slow week is your problem, not theirs. Then ask what the penalty is if you break contract and what happens if the hospital cancels you before the start date. A recruiter who answers all four without friction is a recruiter you can probably work with.
