Do Travel Physical Therapists Really Make More Money?

It is time for us to answer for once and for all the most common questions amongst new grad physical therapists and perm staffers deep in the trenches.  Do travel physical therapists really make more money? And, what is a good pay rate for a travel therapist?

To answer the first question the answer is simple: YES

Now, we are not talking about prime rib and Stags Leap red every night kind of money, but the difference can be quite staggering. Travel therapists make more money largely because a beefy chunk of our income is tax exempt.  Where a permanent clinician might make $80,000/yr salaried, 25+% of that will be taxed leaving them with $60,000 in their pockets at the end of the year.

To answer the second question – What is a good pay rate for a travel therapists? – the answer is a little more complicated.

You see, it depends on what you consider to be a “good” rate.  Travel physical therapists generally can expect anywhere from $1,400 – $1,800/week, with some contracts cresting the $2,000/wk mark, all in after tax money!

All of this sounds somewhat impressive to the uninitiated, but to truly grasp what a contract looks like and how it compares to a permanent staffers job I decided to break down a hypothetical contract not unlike the one I am working currently in Lexington, Kentucky.

I am contractually obligated NOT to share the details of my pay package so we will use nice round numbers that are in the ballpark of  what jobs in this geographical area are paying.

First off, to determine limits on tax free stipends we can check out the GSA site for federal limits on allowable stipends.  Here in Lexington the limits are around $101/day for housing and $54/day for M/IE (meals and incidental expenses).  Using these numbers we can go into a negotiation armed with a decent idea of what is reasonable to expect for the tax free portion of your pay.  Remember, these are the MAXIMUM allowable, so most likely your contract will be close, but not the full amount.

For this experiment lets say the contracts delineates $90/day for food and $45/day for M/IE.

Next we will set the hourly wage.  A very common hourly wage to expect as a traveler is $18-22/hr.

Our imaginary contract is going to pay $20/hr.

Now we will go through some simple math to determine Total Take Home Pay, and at the end we will even figure out the Salary Equivalent needed to bring the same money home at the end of the year.

OK, Here we go.

Step 1 – calculate tax free income

Housing: $90/day x7 days = $630

Meals/Incidental Expenses: $45/day x 7 days = $315

Total non-tax income per week = $945

Step 2 – calculate net taxable wages

Hourly Wages: $20/hr x 40hrs = $800 pre tax

$800 x 25% tax assessment = Post tax wages = $600

Step 1 + Step 2 = Total Take Home

$945 + $600 = $1545/week *this is considered a modest travel pay package

One step further – calculate yearly salary equivalent

$1545/week x 52 weeks = $80,340

$80,340 yearly / 0.75 = $107,120 Salary Equivalent

Not bad eh?!

$1,700/wk translates to $117,866/yr

$1,800/wk to $124,800/yr

Imagine landing one of the rare $2,000/wk jobs: $138,666 salary equivalent!

How many of you are working jobs paying $107,120/yr currently?  How many places can you make that kind of money as only a staff therapist?

The travel life is not for everyone.  There are many reasons why a therapist should not travel.  Clearly, lack of descent pay is not one of them.

Written by: Stephen Stockhausen