Jet Set Nurse

Contract Clarity Tool

Put in the numbers from the contract in front of you. This tool shows you what it is really paying — per hour, per week, and over the full contract — and the three things to check before you sign.

I’m Nurse Ashley. Bring the contract they handed you, and we will read what it is really paying — together, before you sign.

Step 1 of 2

Your contract numbers

Specialty

Choose your specialty.

Assignment state

Choose the assignment state.

Assignment city (optional — used for local housing averages) Contract length

Choose the contract length.

Hours per week

Enter hours between 12 and 60.

Are those hours guaranteed?

Yes — guaranteed in writing No / not sure Contract says “up to” X hours

Choose the option that matches your contract.

Does this position take call?

Yes — this position takes call No

Callback rate ($ per hour when you are called in — leave blank if the contract doesn't say)

Enter the callback rate as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

On-call pay (optional — $ per hour for the hours you are on call)

Call pay only counts when the rules are written down. Your results will name what this contract states — and what it leaves open.

Enter the on-call pay as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

How did your agency quote this contract?

I have the full breakdown — taxable rate and stipends I only have the total weekly pay I only have one hourly number

Your contract pays you two ways: an hourly rate that is taxed, and stipends that are not — as long as you keep a tax home. The split between them decides your real take-home, and whether part of your stipends could be taxed later. That is why this tool asks for both.

Taxable hourly rate (the W-2 wage, $10–$150)

Enter a taxable hourly rate between $10 and $150.

Housing stipend

Weekly Monthly

Enter the housing stipend (0 if there is none).

Meals & incidentals stipend

Weekly Daily

Enter the meals and incidentals stipend (0 if there is none).

Total gross pay per week (the whole package, before tax)

Enter the total weekly pay from your quote.

Quoted as one number, the split has to be estimated. This tool estimates it the way agencies build packages: stipends at the federal (GSA) caps for your assignment city, and the rest as taxable pay. Enter the assignment city above for the closest match — leave it blank and the standard federal caps are used.

Quoted hourly rate (the single hourly figure you were given)

Enter the hourly figure from your quote.

One hourly figure is the whole package stated as a rate. This tool treats it as the full package, then estimates the split the way agencies build it: stipends at the federal (GSA) caps for your assignment city, and the rest as taxable pay. Enter the assignment city above for the closest match — leave it blank and the standard federal caps are used.

Contract start month

Federal lodging caps change by month in many cities. Your results price the caps for the month your contract starts.

Do you maintain a tax home?

Yes — I pay rent/mortgage at a permanent home AND at my assignment No Not sure

Choose the option that matches your situation.

Your Transition Fund (optional — the number that sets this tool apart)

The Transition Fund is what it costs to get to an assignment and through its start: travel or shipping a car, about three months of housing secured up front including a deposit, one unpaid week when the contract starts and one when it ends, your own insurance if you carry it, and at least one month of tax-home expenses saved. The standard fund is $4,000–$5,000. Enter yours if you know it — leave it blank and your results run on the standard.

Enter your Transition Fund as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

Sign-on bonus (optional — leave blank if none)

Taxed Not taxed

Enter the sign-on bonus as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

Completion bonus (optional — leave blank if none)

Taxed Not taxed

Most bonuses are taxed as wages, but some are not — set each bonus the way it was offered. Your results price them accordingly, added at the contract level — they are never blended into the weekly rate.

Enter the completion bonus as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

Reimbursements promised (optional — licensing, labs/testing, certifications, travel)

Reimbursements repaid under an accountable plan are not income — they come back tax-free. Your results keep them out of the pay figures and add them to the contract's value at face value.

Enter the promised reimbursements as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

Monthly cost to keep your tax home (optional)

Enter the monthly cost as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

Monthly housing cost at the assignment (optional — what you will actually pay to live there)

Duplicating expenses means paying for two homes at once. Enter both monthly costs and your results will set this contract's total take-home against them — so you can see whether the contract breaks even or leaves you a surplus.

Enter the monthly cost as a dollar amount, or leave it blank.

Step 2 of 2

Your headline number

$0.00/hour

Your blended hourly rate — everything in the package, divided by your hours.

This rate is built on an estimated split — your package was quoted as one number.

Estimated weekly take-home: $0,000 – $0,000
Estimated total for this contract: $00,000 – $00,000
True value after your Transition Fund: $00,000 – $00,000
Surplus after duplicated expenses: $00,000 – $00,000
Annual equivalent at this pace: $000,000 – $000,000
Before you sign — check these 3 things

Your full breakdown is one step away

First name

Enter your first name.

Email (where your copy gets sent)

Enter a valid email address.

Website

Your breakdown

Reclaim — the real numbers, reclaimed from the headline

$0.00/hour

Estimated split — this package was quoted as one number, so the split between taxable pay and stipends is estimated from the federal caps for the assignment area. The federal caps section below shows the math.

That’s what this contract is really paying you per hour — not the number the recruiter led with.

Estimated weekly take-home—

Estimated total for this contract—

With your bonuses—

Total value of this contract—

Annual equivalent at this pace—

Commonly covered: state license and endorsement, drug screen and labs, pre-employment physical, BLS/ACLS and required certifications, travel to the assignment. Get the list, the caps, and the receipt deadline in writing — a lump sum paid without receipts is taxed as wages.

Estimates use standard tax ranges. Your real numbers depend on your full tax picture — this is clarity, not tax advice.

After the move — the true value of this contract

Every contract costs money before it pays any: getting there, housing up front, the unpaid weeks at both ends. That cost is your Transition Fund — and it comes out of this contract. No pay calculator shows you this number. Here it is.

Transition Fund—

True value after the Transition Fund—

Weeks of take-home to refill the fund—

A Transition Fund covers: travel or shipping a car · about three months of housing, including a deposit · one unpaid week when the contract starts and one when it ends · your own insurance, if you carry it · at least one month of tax-home expenses saved.

Does this contract duplicate your expenses?

Keeping a tax home means paying for two homes at once. This is the question underneath every offer: set the contract's total take-home against what duplication costs, and you can see whether you break even — or come out ahead.

Keeping your tax home—

Housing at the assignment—

Duplicated over this contract—

Surplus after duplicated expenses—

Counted only from the two monthly costs you entered — a blank field is not counted, so enter both for the full picture. This is separate from your Transition Fund: the fund is the cost of the move itself; this is the cost of carrying two homes while you work.

The federal caps for this assignment

Housing stipend vs the lodging cap—

Meals stipend vs the meals cap—

What housing actually costs there

Root — ground it before you sign

One question changes this contract

Before you sign — check these 3 things

Estimated taxes where you're working

Local taxes — a city or county tax, like New York City's — are not included in this estimate.

Is this contract sustainable?

Sustainability here is not a score. It is a read, in dollars and in writing: a contract is sustainable when it pays for its own move, covers the life it duplicates, and protects the hours it promises.

Rise — where this contract sits, and what is next

How this contract compares

What to say to your recruiter

Can this contract fund your life?

A contract is only half the picture. Put your monthly life next to it — what goes out every month, and the goal you are aiming at — and this section does the plain math: what is left each month, and how long the goal takes at this contract's pace. Every amount is monthly. Leave blank what does not apply, and your entries stay on this device for next time.

Transportation Housing & utilities Living expenses Healthcare Savings & investments Debt payments Lifestyle (vacations, entertainment, hobbies) Education (CEUs) Savings goal ($) Goal name (optional)

Monthly take-home at this contract's pace—

Your monthly budget—

Left each month after the budget—

Your budget over this contract—

Left from this contract after the budget—

Share of this contract's take-home—

Only the totals travel with your breakdown — the budget total, what is left, and the goal. The eight category amounts never leave this page.

Clarity first. Confidence next. Freedom after that.

This estimate is one contract. Your career is a 20-year runway.

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Help make this tool more useful

This tool grows from what nurses ask for. If a number you needed is missing, or your contract raised a question this page did not answer, tell me here — I read every note.

Your suggestion

Write a line or two first — even a short note helps.

Thank you — your note is in. It goes straight onto my list for the next version of this tool.

A branded card with your headline numbers — save it, or share it with a nurse who needs it.

Your complete breakdown as a branded PDF — every number, check, and talking point on this page, in a document you can keep.

This tool provides educational estimates only. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a qualified travel-healthcare tax professional about your specific situation.