Staff job in one state
Your employer withholds from each check and files a W-2. Your first question is whether withholding roughly matches your final tax. Check it after a raise, a marriage or a big overtime year.
Money
Taxes for nurses and EMS clinicians
What an offer means at tax time: what comes out of your check, what you actually owe, which states get a return, and how to file it.
Rules for tax year 2026 unless a line says otherwise. Written November 2, 2026.
For general information only. This is not tax, legal or financial advice, and we are not your tax preparer. Rules change and your facts decide how they apply, so consult a qualified tax professional before you act on it.
Understand my taxesWithholding, brackets, payroll tax, two jobs and quarterly payments. Find my stateEvery state and D.C.: official forms, nonresident returns and agreements. Choose filing helpFree official routes, self-filing software and how to check a preparer.
Start with your situation
PRN or per diem, no travel allowance
Per diem here is a schedule, not a tax break. PRN pay is ordinary wages, taxed like staff pay. A PRN job on top of a staff job often comes up short at filing, because each employer withholds as if it were your only job.
Travel contract, tax home not settled
Count the stipend as taxable until you have worked through the tax-home factors and asked payroll how it is paid. An address, a second rent or a recruiter saying it is tax-free does not settle it.
Worked in more than one state
Your home state usually taxes all of it, each work state usually taxes what you earned there, and a credit or an agreement keeps you from paying twice. Start a work calendar now; it is the first thing a preparer will ask for.
Moved during the year
You likely file a part-year return in both states and split income by the date you changed residence. Keep proof of the move date, and give the new employer the new state's withholding form.
Paid on a 1099
Nothing is withheld, so you set aside income tax and self-employment tax yourself and usually pay quarterly. Business expenses go on Schedule C. A contract calling you independent does not decide your status; the actual work relationship does.
Comparing an offer right now?
The offer calculator opens in a new tab here, so anything you have typed there stays put. It counts a stipend as taxed until you mark it otherwise, and shows what that choice is worth.
Dates for tax year 2026
- Estimated payments: April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, then January 15, 2027.
- Now through year-end: run the IRS withholding estimator while a new W-4 can still change your remaining checks.
- January 2027: the IRS says Free File returns then. W-2s and 1099s start arriving. Check that each one matches your work calendar.
Sources for this page
- IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses 2025 edition, for 2025 returns
- IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide 2026 edition
- IRS Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods 2026 edition
- IRS FAQ, Estimated tax Current web page
- IRS Form W-4 Current revision
- IRS Form 1040-ES Current revision
- IRS, Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? Current web page
- IRS Free File 2026 season page, reopening January 2027
- IRS, Choosing a tax professional Current web page
Checked November 2, 2026. Everything here is free, and paid links never change these answers.