Travel nurse tax-free stipend limits by city

Agencies set tax-free housing and meal stipends against the federal per diem rate for the place of the assignment, which the General Services Administration sets each fiscal year: a nightly lodging rate and a daily meals and incidentals rate (M&IE). A week at those rates is the usual ceiling: $1,267 a week at the standard rate ($113 a night and $68 a day), which covers most counties, and up to $3,150 in New York City, NY this November 2026. The stipends are tax-free only for a traveler who keeps a tax home and works away from it; anything paid above the rate is taxed as wages.

By GSA's rates for November 2026, a week's lodging and meals come to the most in New York City, NY ($3,150), Santa Monica, CA ($2,625), San Francisco, CA ($2,597), Key West, FL ($2,555), Napa, CA ($2,506) and Chicago, IL ($2,268).

Seven nights at the lodging rate plus seven days at the M&IE rate for the county of the assignment: in Seattle this November 2026, for example, 7 x $188 + 7 x $92 = $1,960. Agencies may pay less than the limit and split the rest into the taxable hourly rate, so compare offers by their whole weekly gross. GSA pays 75% of M&IE on a travel day.

In 149 places GSA sets lodging by season, so the same assignment can carry a higher housing limit in the high season: New York City, NY: $358 a night Oct to Dec, $189 a night Jan to Feb, $296 a night Mar to Jun, $250 a night Jul to Aug, $358 a night in Sep; San Francisco, CA: $279 a night Oct to Dec, $325 a night Jan to Mar, $232 a night Apr to Aug, $279 a night in Sep; Key West, FL: $279 a night Oct to Nov, $383 a night Dec to Jan, $452 a night Feb to Apr, $267 a night May to Sep. M&IE stays the same all year. The rates run from October to September and are reset every October.