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Your tax home is the single most important factor in keeping your stipends tax-free. The IRS defines it as your “regular place of business” or, for travel nurses, the area where you maintain a permanent residence with ongoing financial ties. Without a valid tax home, all of your stipends become taxable income.
For a deeper explanation of what a tax home is and why it matters, see Tax Home Explained.
Tax Home page showing strength indicator, stipend eligibility, cost-benefit analysis, and document uploads

The Tax Home page shows your strength score, cost-benefit analysis, eligibility status, and supporting documents.

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Setting Up Your Tax Home

Go to Tax Home and enter your permanent residence details:
If your property is rented out to tenants, the IRS may view it as an investment property rather than your personal residence, weakening your tax home claim.

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Tax Home Strength Indicator

The Tax Home Strength card evaluates 5 factors with three levels each (strong, weak, critical):
  1. Rent vs. FMR — Is your rent reasonable compared to local Fair Market Rent?
  2. Visit frequency — Are you visiting regularly (every 30 days)?
  3. Documentation ties — Do you have voter registration and matching driver’s license?
  4. Property status — Is the property not rented out?
  5. Cost records — Are you tracking tax home maintenance costs?
Verdicts:
  • Strong — 0 critical factors, 1 or fewer weak
  • Moderate — 0 critical, 2+ weak
  • Needs Attention — 1 critical factor
  • At Risk — 2+ critical factors

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Stipend Eligibility

The Stipend Eligibility card evaluates 6 IRS criteria and gives a verdict: When not eligible, the card shows your total stipends at risk and estimated additional tax impact. Each failing criterion shows a plain-English IRS consequence.

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Cost-Benefit Analysis

The top card on the Tax Home page compares two scenarios:
  • Base pay is taxable
  • Stipends remain tax-free
  • All mileage, expenses, and tax home costs are deductible
  • State taxes computed on base pay only
The card shows:
  • Net benefit — Green “+X,XXX"orred"−X,XXX" or red "-X,XXX”
  • ROI — Percentage return on your tax home maintenance costs
  • Cost breakdown — Rent, utilities, insurance, return trips, visit mileage
The analysis shows “Free benefit” when your maintenance cost is $0 (e.g., family member covers rent).

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Tax Home Abandonment Checklist

A conditional “Tax Home at Risk” card appears when risk conditions are detected:
  • Visit overdue (>30 days since last visit)
  • No rent being paid
  • Property rented out to tenants
  • No maintenance costs recorded
  • No supporting documents uploaded
  • No return trip mileage logged
Each item shows the IRS consequence and a direct action button to fix it.

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Document Uploads

Document upload form showing file selection, type picker, and upload progress

Upload rent receipts and utility bills as supporting documentation for your tax home.

Upload supporting documentation to strengthen your tax home claim:
  • Rent receipts — Monthly proof of payment
  • Utility bills — Shows ongoing residential use
Documents are stored securely in S3 with presigned URLs for viewing. Upload via the document form, specifying the type, month, and year.

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Tax Home Costs

Track monthly maintenance costs in 5 categories: These costs feed into the cost-benefit analysis and are included in your deduction calculations for 1099 users.

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Collapsible Sections

The Tax Home page uses progressive disclosure — sections collapse to reduce density. Tap any section header to expand or collapse it.