Locality + date matter
Some localities have seasonal lodging schedules. Assignment start and end dates can change the applicable benchmark; unsupported jurisdictions are shown as unavailable rather than guessed.
Federal benchmark education
What the per-diem comparison can—and cannot—tell you.
RVNS uses its verified local dataset to resolve date-aware CONUS locality rates where available. The result is a published benchmark and a calculation on your inputs, not a tax determination.
Your offer comparison
Housing and M&IE amounts you enter are compared with the applicable published weekly benchmark. A standard CONUS fallback is labeled as a fallback—not a local rate.
Classification is fact-dependent
A comparison cannot establish tax-home eligibility, accountable-plan compliance, or whether any payment is taxable. Those depend on facts not present in an offer.
Ask your recruiter
- Which locality and assignment dates did you use for the stipend?
- How does your accountable plan treat any amount above the benchmark?
- What documentation do you require for housing and tax-home eligibility?
Where the benchmark stops being enough
A per-diem comparison tells you how a stipend sits against a published federal ceiling. It says nothing about the terms that decide what you actually keep: the guaranteed-hours clause, the cancellation window, who pays for housing you already committed to, and how float and call-off are handled. Those live in the contract, not the pay package.
- Compare two offers side by side — model the whole package, not just the stipend line.
- Red Flag Library — the specific clauses that most often cost travelers money.
- What is a tax home? — the eligibility question a stipend comparison cannot answer.
- Cancellation and housing exposure — what happens when an assignment ends early.
Free: the contract red-flags checklist
The same checklist I use before signing — the clauses to read first and the exact questions to put in writing. Sent by email, no cost.
This page is educational. RV Nurse Systems does not determine tax liability, tax-free eligibility, legal compliance, or a private employer’s permitted payment amount.
Next step · $39 one time
The per diem is the benchmark. The contract is the commitment.
Once the stipend checks out against the federal rate, review the terms that decide what the assignment really costs — cancellation, guaranteed hours and housing exposure.
Get the Contract Protection Pack — $39
Seven working documents. Educational and organizational tools — not legal, tax or financial advice.