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TaxHomeBase’s tax engine is validated against a library of real-world travel nurse scenarios. Each scenario defines a nurse’s situation — employment type, filing status, tax home, assignments, expenses — and the verified tax outcome. These scenarios are also run as automated tests on every code change to prevent regressions.
All dollar amounts in scenarios are weekly rates unless noted. Stipend amounts are set within GSA per diem limits unless the scenario specifically tests GSA compliance.

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Basic Tax Situations

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W-2 Nurse with Valid Tax Home

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio (rent $800/mo, visited 15 days ago, voter reg, OH license)
AssignmentKaiser Sacramento, CA — 13 weeks
Base pay$1,500/wk
Housing stipend$1,000/wk
M&IE stipend$450/wk
Expected Outcome
Federal taxGreater than $0
Total stipendsGreater than $0 (tax-free)
CA state taxGreater than $0
CA filing requiredYes
Deduction methodStandard (TCJA)
What this verifies: A compliant W-2 nurse with a valid tax home receives tax-free stipends. Federal and California state taxes are computed on base pay only. A CA non-resident return is required.

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No-Income-Tax State (Texas)

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeTexas
AssignmentMD Anderson, Houston, TX — 26 weeks
Base pay$1,700/wk
Expected Outcome
Total state tax$0
TX filing requiredNo
Federal taxGreater than $0
What this verifies: Texas has no income tax. State tax is zero and no non-resident return is needed.

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No Assignments — Zero State

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio (valid)
AssignmentsNone
Expected Outcome
Taxable income$0
Stipends$0
Federal tax$0
State tax$0
Quarterly payment$0
What this verifies: With no assignments, all tax values are zero. The engine handles the empty state cleanly.

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Employment Classification

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1099 Contractor — SE Tax, Schedule C, QBI

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment type1099
Tax homeOhio
AssignmentCleveland Clinic Weston, Jacksonville, FL — 26 weeks
Base pay$1,500/wk
Expenses$1,200 travel
Tax home costs$850 rent
Mileage800 mi (tax home visits)
Expected Outcome
SE taxGreater than $0
Deduction methodBusiness expense (Schedule C)
QBI deductionGreater than $0 (income below threshold)
Federal taxGreater than $0
State tax$0 (Florida)
What this verifies: 1099 contractors pay self-employment tax. Business expenses reduce Schedule C income before SE tax. The 20% QBI deduction applies because income is below the $191,950 threshold.

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1099 Above QBI Phase-Out Threshold

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment type1099
AssignmentCedars-Sinai, Los Angeles, CA — 51 weeks
Base pay$4,000/wk
Expected Outcome
QBI deduction$0
SE taxGreater than $0
Deduction methodBusiness expense
What this verifies: When net self-employment income exceeds the QBI threshold ($191,950 for single filers), the 20% QBI deduction is fully phased out.

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1099 High Earner Above SS Wage Base

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment type1099
AssignmentsMayo Clinic FL (26 wks, 4,000/wk)+HoustonMethodistTX(26wks,4,000/wk) + Houston Methodist TX (26 wks, 4,200/wk)
Total base pay~$210,000/year
Expected Outcome
SE taxGreater than $0
Taxable incomeGreater than $170,000
State tax$0 (FL + TX)
What this verifies: Social Security tax (12.4%) is capped at the wage base ($176,100 in 2025). Medicare (2.9%) continues on all earnings. Both assignments are in no-tax states.

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1099 Low Income — Full QBI

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment type1099
AssignmentMercy Health, Cleveland, OH — 13 weeks
Base pay$2,000/wk
Expenses$500 travel
Tax home costs$700 rent
Expected Outcome
QBI deductionGreater than $0
SE taxGreater than $0
Federal taxGreater than $0
What this verifies: A low-income 1099 nurse below the QBI threshold receives the full 20% QBI deduction on qualified business income.

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Filing Status

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Head of Household

InputValue
Filing statusHead of household
Employment typeW-2
AssignmentTexas Children’s, Houston, TX — 26 weeks
Base pay$1,600/wk
Expected Outcome
Federal taxGreater than $0
State tax$0 (Texas)
Deduction methodStandard
What this verifies: Head of household filers receive a higher standard deduction (22,500in2025vs.22,500 in 2025 vs. 15,000 for single), reducing federal tax.

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Married Filing Jointly

InputValue
Filing statusMarried filing jointly
Employment typeW-2
AssignmentTampa General, FL — 26 weeks
Base pay$1,500/wk
Expected Outcome
Federal taxGreater than $0
State tax$0 (Florida)
StipendsGreater than $0
Deduction methodStandard
What this verifies: Married filing jointly receives the highest standard deduction ($30,000 in 2025). Even with a 26-week assignment, a significant portion of income is covered by the deduction.

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Multi-State Situations

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Two States in One Year (CA + NY)

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio
Assignment 1Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles, CA — 13 weeks, $1,600/wk
Assignment 2NYU Langone, New York, NY — 12 weeks, $1,700/wk
Expected Outcome
State count2
CA filing requiredYes
NY filing requiredYes
Total state taxGreater than $0
What this verifies: Income from each state is tracked separately. Non-resident returns are required in both California and New York.

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Virginia Home, DC Assignment

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeVirginia
AssignmentMedStar Georgetown, Washington, DC — 13 weeks, $1,800/wk
Expected Outcome
DC filing requiredYes
Total state taxGreater than $0
What this verifies: DC has its own income tax. A nurse working in DC owes DC non-resident tax regardless of home state.

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Multiple Assignments, Same State

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio
Assignment 1Kaiser Sacramento, CA — 13 weeks, $1,500/wk
Assignment 2Stanford Health, Sacramento, CA — 12 weeks, $1,600/wk
Expected Outcome
State count1
CA filing requiredYes
Total state taxGreater than $0
What this verifies: Income from multiple assignments in the same state is aggregated into a single state entry. Only one CA non-resident return is needed.

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State-Level Deductions

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W-2 in California — No AGI Floor

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio
AssignmentUCSF Medical, San Francisco, CA — 26 weeks, $1,800/wk
Expenses2,000travel+2,000 travel + 500 licensing
Tax home costs$800 rent
Mileage500 mi (work travel)
Expected Outcome
CA filing requiredYes
CA state deduction appliesYes
Deduction methodStandard (federal)
What this verifies: California doesn’t conform to TCJA. W-2 employees can deduct business expenses on the CA state return from the first dollar — no 2% AGI floor.

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W-2 in New York — 2% AGI Floor

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio
AssignmentMount Sinai, New York, NY — 26 weeks, $1,750/wk
Expenses3,000travel+3,000 travel + 1,000 licensing
Tax home costs$1,200 rent
Mileage600 mi (work travel)
Expected Outcome
NY filing requiredYes
NY state deduction appliesYes
Deduction methodStandard (federal)
What this verifies: New York allows W-2 expense deductions but applies a 2% AGI floor. Only the amount exceeding 2% of federal AGI is deductible on the NY state return.

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1099 in NY — W-2 Deduction Does Not Apply

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment type1099
Tax homeOhio
AssignmentMount Sinai, New York, NY — 26 weeks, $1,750/wk
Expenses$2,000 travel
Expected Outcome
NY state deduction appliesNo
Deduction methodBusiness expense (Schedule C)
SE taxGreater than $0
What this verifies: 1099 contractors deduct expenses on Schedule C, not via state-specific W-2 deduction rules. The NY W-2 deduction does not apply to 1099 workers.

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Tax Home Compliance

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Itinerant Nurse — No Tax Home

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeNone
AssignmentMemorial Hermann, Houston, TX — 26 weeks, $1,600/wk
Expected Outcome
Stipend risk alertYes
Compliance scoreBelow 100%
State tax$0 (Texas)
What this verifies: Without an established tax home, the IRS may treat all stipends as taxable income. TaxHomeBase flags the stipend risk.

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Long Assignment — 12-Month Rule

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio
AssignmentGeneral Hospital, Los Angeles, CA — 52 weeks (full year)
Expected Outcome
Long assignment alertYes
CA filing requiredYes
What this verifies: The IRS 12-month rule states that if assignments at one location exceed 12 months, that location becomes the nurse’s tax home. A year-long assignment triggers a warning alert.

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Property Rented Out — Disqualification Risk

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio (rent $1,000/mo, property rented out)
AssignmentCleveland Clinic Main, Houston, TX — 26 weeks
Expected Outcome
Property rented out alertYes
Compliance scoreBelow 100%
What this verifies: Renting out the tax home property may disqualify it as an IRS tax home. TaxHomeBase flags this as a compliance risk.

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No Visit Recorded — Overdue Alert

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio (no visit date recorded)
AssignmentRush University Medical, Chicago, IL — 13 weeks
Expected Outcome
Visit overdue alertYes
IL filing requiredYes
State taxGreater than $0
What this verifies: The IRS recommends returning to the tax home every 30 days. When no visit is on record, TaxHomeBase generates a visit overdue alert.

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Expensive Tax Home — Negative Net Benefit

InputValue
Filing statusSingle
Employment typeW-2
Tax homeOhio
AssignmentRural Community Hospital, San Antonio, TX — 9 weeks, $1,300/wk
Housing stipend$700/wk
M&IE stipend$300/wk
Tax home costs24,000rent+24,000 rent + 3,000 utilities + 2,000insurance+2,000 insurance + 4,000 return trips
Mileage1,200 mi (tax home visits)
Expected Outcome
Tax home analysis availableYes
Net benefitNegative (costs exceed savings)
Tax savingsGreater than $0
Cost of maintainingGreater than $0
What this verifies: When tax home maintenance costs (rent, utilities, return trips, visit mileage) exceed the tax savings from keeping stipends tax-free, the net benefit is negative. The nurse may be better off going itinerant — TaxHomeBase’s cost-benefit analysis shows this clearly.