Travel therapy glossary
These are the words you meet in travel therapy offers, contracts and tax rules, each defined in three sentences or fewer. Where a term has a legal meaning, the definition follows the official source and says where it was read.
# A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T
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- 50-mile rule
- Publication 463 sets no mileage figure for traveling away from home: the test is whether your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home substantially longer than an ordinary day's work and you need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work. As fetched, the publication contains no “50 miles” or “50-mile” test for this, so a distance minimum in an offer is agency policy, not IRS law. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (no mileage threshold; tools/data/fifty-mile-rule.json), read October 10, 2026. See also: Traveling away from home, Tax home.
A
- Accountable plan
- The IRS name for an employer's reimbursement or allowance arrangement whose payments stay out of your wages. Publication 463 says it must include all of its rules: your expenses must have a business connection, you must adequately account to your employer for them within a reasonable period of time, and you must return any excess within a reasonable period of time. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Stipend, Per diem, Taxable base rate.
- Acute care
- Hospital care for patients with a new illness, injury or surgery, usually during an inpatient stay. Therapists in acute care evaluate and treat patients on hospital units and help plan their discharge. See also: Outpatient, SNF (skilled nursing facility), Home health.
- Agency (travel therapy staffing agency)
- A staffing company that contracts with facilities to fill openings and hires therapists to work them. On a travel contract the agency, not the facility, is your employer of record: it runs payroll, withholds taxes and offers any benefits. See also: Recruiter, Bill rate.
- ASLP Compact (ASLP-IC)
- The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact, which its commission describes as “an interstate compact, or formal agreement among states, that facilitates interstate practice.” Under it, audiologists and speech-language pathologists licensed in good standing in a member state can practice in other member states through a “compact privilege,” which the commission calls “equivalent to a license.” Source: Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC), read October 22, 2026. See also: Compact privilege, CompactConnect, OT Compact.
B
- Background check
- A criminal history search an agency or facility runs before you start, often alongside license verification and a drug screen. What it covers and how far back it looks depend on the facility and the state. See also: Compliance packet, Drug screen, Credentialing.
- Bill rate
- The hourly amount the facility pays the agency for your work. Your taxable wage, stipends, benefits, the agency's other costs and its margin are all paid from it. See also: Blended rate, Agency (travel therapy staffing agency), Gross weekly pay.
- Blended rate
- A single hourly figure that combines a contract's taxable wage and its stipends, spread over the guaranteed hours. It makes offers easier to compare, but your paystub does not show it: the taxable and stipend parts are paid and taxed differently. See also: Taxable base rate, Stipend, Bill rate.
C
- Cancellation clause
- The contract terms that say who can end an assignment early, how much notice is required, and what is owed when it ends. Read it in both directions: the facility's right to cancel you and any penalty if you leave early. See also: Guaranteed hours, Completion bonus.
- CEU (continuing education unit)
- A unit of continuing education credit. Each state board sets how much continuing education you need to renew a license and which courses count, so a traveler with several licenses tracks each board's rules and renewal dates. See also: Compact privilege.
- COBRA
- The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which the Department of Labor says gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited periods of time. It applies after events such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked and transition between jobs. Qualified individuals “may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102% of the cost to the plan.” Source: U.S. Department of Labor: COBRA Continuation Coverage, read October 22, 2026. See also: Agency (travel therapy staffing agency).
- Code L (Form W-2, box 12)
- The code your employer uses in box 12 of Form W-2 for substantiated employee business expense reimbursements. Publication 463 says that if your allowance is more than the federal rate, “your employer must include the allowance amount up to the federal rate under code L in box 12 of your Form W-2,” and the excess allowance is included in box 1. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Form W-2 (box 1), Per diem, Accountable plan.
- Compact privilege
- The PT Compact Commission defines it as “the authorization to practice in a compact member state other than your home state” and calls it “the legal equivalent to a state-issued license.” The holder is responsible for following the scope of practice where the patient is located. Source: PT Compact Commission: What is a Compact Privilege?, read October 22, 2026. See also: PT Compact, Home state (compact), Jurisprudence exam, Licensure by endorsement.
- CompactConnect
- In its own words, “an open-source data system for occupational licensure compacts.” It serves the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Counseling, and Occupational Therapy compact commissions, which jointly own it. Source: CompactConnect, read October 22, 2026. See also: OT Compact, ASLP Compact (ASLP-IC), Compact privilege.
- Completion bonus
- A bonus an agency pays when you finish a contract, as the offer defines finishing. Check what voids it, such as a cancellation by either side, and whether it is paid as taxable wages. See also: Extension bonus, Cancellation clause.
- Compliance packet
- The documents a facility needs before your first day: license verification, health records such as immunizations, titers and TB results, certifications, a background check, a drug screen and signed agency forms. The agency collects them and keeps them current, and anything missing can delay your start date. See also: Credentialing, Titer, Skills checklist, Background check.
- Credentialing
- The process of proving to an agency and a facility that you are qualified and cleared to work: licenses, certifications, health records, references and checks. It runs before every contract, and its paperwork is the compliance packet. See also: Compliance packet, Background check, Skills checklist.
D
- Drug screen
- A drug test required before a contract starts. The facility sets what is tested and how close to your start date it must be done. See also: Background check, Compliance packet.
- Duplicated expenses
- One of the three factors IRS Publication 463 uses to decide whether your main home is your tax home: “You have living expenses at your main home that you duplicate because your business requires you to be away from that home.” In practice that means keeping up the costs of your main home while you also pay for lodging where you work. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Tax home, Itinerant, Stipend.
E
- Estimated tax
- Tax paid to the IRS during the year on income that withholding does not cover. The IRS says that if the income tax withheld from your salary is not enough you may have to make estimated tax payments, and that if you receive salaries and wages you can avoid having to pay estimated tax by asking your employer to withhold more tax from your earnings. Source: IRS: Estimated taxes, read October 6, 2026. See also: Form W-2 (box 1).
- Extension
- Staying on at the same facility after a contract ends, under a new contract or an amendment. Pay and terms can change at extension, so read the new offer as you would any other, and remember that a long stay in one area can affect your tax home under the one-year rule. See also: Extension bonus, One-year rule, Indefinite assignment.
- Extension bonus
- A bonus offered for agreeing to extend a contract at the same facility. Ask whether it is paid as taxable wages and what would void it. See also: Extension, Completion bonus.
F
- Float
- Being assigned to work at more than one site or unit of a facility or health system during a contract. If an offer mentions floating, ask which sites, how far apart they are and whether travel between them is paid. See also: Guaranteed hours.
- Form W-2 (box 1)
- The wage statement your employer gives you for each year; box 1 shows your taxable wages. Publication 463 says, “If your allowance is less than or equal to the federal rate, the allowance won't be included in box 1 of your Form W-2,” and that an excess allowance will be included in box 1. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Code L (Form W-2, box 12), Stipend, Per diem.
G
- Gross weekly pay
- The total a contract pays per week before taxes and deductions: taxable wages plus any stipends. Because qualifying stipends are not taxed, two offers with the same gross weekly pay can leave different amounts in your account. See also: Blended rate, Taxable base rate, Stipend.
- GSA per diem rate
- The rates the General Services Administration sets “that federal agencies use to reimburse their employees for lodging and meals and incidental expenses incurred while on official travel within the continental United States.” GSA says “A standard rate applies to most of CONUS” and “Individual rates apply to about 300 non-standard areas.” Source: GSA: Per diem rates, read October 22, 2026. See also: Per diem, M&IE (meals and incidental expenses), Housing stipend.
- Guaranteed hours
- The hours per week a contract promises to pay even if the facility schedules you for fewer. Read the clause for its exceptions, such as hours you miss by choice or a facility closure, and whether stipends are also reduced. See also: Missed-shift penalty, Cancellation clause, Float.
H
- Home health
- Therapy delivered in patients' homes, usually through a home health agency. Home health travelers drive between visits, so mileage reimbursement and per-visit or hourly pay terms matter. See also: Outpatient, SNF (skilled nursing facility).
- Home state (compact)
- Under PT Compact Commission Rules, a licensee's home state means “the person's true, fixed, and permanent home and is the place where the person intends to remain indefinitely.” The Commission uses your driver's license information as primary confirmation of home state residence. Source: PT Compact Commission: How is a licensee's home state defined?, read October 22, 2026. See also: Compact privilege, PT Compact.
- Housing stipend
- The part of a travel package meant for lodging while you work away from your tax home. Its federal reference point is the GSA lodging per diem rate, and GSA says “The lodging per diem rates are a maximum amount; the traveler only receives actual lodging costs up to that maximum rate.” Source: GSA: Per diem rates FAQs, read October 1, 2026. See also: Stipend, GSA per diem rate, M&IE (meals and incidental expenses).
I
- Indefinite assignment
- IRS Publication 463 says an assignment or job in a single location “is considered indefinite if it is realistically expected to last for more than 1 year, whether or not it actually lasts for more than 1 year.” If your assignment is indefinite, you must include in your income any amounts you receive from your employer for living expenses. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: One-year rule, Tax home, Extension.
- Itinerant
- IRS Publication 463 says that if you don't have a regular or main place of business or post of duty and there is no place where you regularly live, “you are considered an itinerant (a transient) and your tax home is wherever you work.” Because your tax home moves with you, you are never traveling away from it, and the publication says you can't deduct travel expenses. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Tax home, Duplicated expenses.
J
- Jurisprudence exam
- A test of a state's practice laws and rules. The PT Compact Commission says each member state “may require individuals seeking a compact privilege to pass a jurisprudence requirement, typically an exam, before applying for compact privileges,” and that these requirements vary from state to state. Source: PT Compact Commission: What jurisprudence requirements must be met?, read October 22, 2026. See also: Compact privilege, PT Compact.
L
- Licensure by endorsement
- The route to a full state license for someone already licensed in another state, applied for through the new state's licensing board. The PT Compact Commission says that if you are not eligible for a compact privilege, “you can still practice in another state by applying for licensure by endorsement/reciprocity through that state's licensing board.” Source: PT Compact Commission: Who is eligible to purchase a compact privilege?, read October 1, 2026. See also: Compact privilege, Temporary license.
M
- M&IE (meals and incidental expenses)
- The meals and incidental expenses part of a per diem rate. Publication 463 defines incidental expenses as “fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, hotel staff, and staff on ships,” and uses “standard meal allowance” for the federal rate for M&IE. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Per diem, GSA per diem rate, Stipend.
- Missed-shift penalty
- A deduction from your pay, sometimes taken from stipends, when you work fewer than the contract's expected hours for reasons the contract puts on you, such as a call-out. Read how it is calculated and whether it applies to shifts the facility cancels. See also: Guaranteed hours, Cancellation clause.
N
- NPTE
- The National Physical Therapy Examination, which the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy says “for PTs and PTAs is an essential part of the licensing process.” FSBPT adds that each licensing authority has its own eligibility criteria for licensure and for taking the NPTE. Source: FSBPT: National Physical Therapy Examination, read October 10, 2026. See also: Temporary license, Licensure by endorsement.
O
- One-year rule
- IRS Publication 463 says, “Generally, a temporary assignment in a single location is one that is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less.” An assignment expected to last more than 1 year is indefinite, and one that starts as temporary can become indefinite if that expectation changes. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Indefinite assignment, Tax home, Extension.
- OT Compact
- The interstate compact for occupational therapy licensure. Its commission says that under it, “Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) who are licensed in good standing in a Compact member state will be eligible to practice in other Compact member states via a ‘compact privilege.’” Source: Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact Commission, read October 3, 2026. See also: Compact privilege, CompactConnect, PT Compact.
- Outpatient
- Clinic-based therapy for patients who live at home and come in for scheduled visits, such as orthopedic and sports clinics. Outpatient contracts often set a visit or productivity expectation, so ask about caseload and schedule. See also: Acute care, Home health, SNF (skilled nursing facility).
- Overtime
- The Department of Labor says: “Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay.” On a travel contract, ask which rate the agency uses to figure it. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: Overtime Pay, read October 10, 2026. See also: Taxable base rate, Guaranteed hours.
P
- Per diem
- IRS Publication 463 says, “A per diem allowance is a fixed amount of daily reimbursement your employer gives you for your lodging and M&IE.” In travel therapy the word is also used for the stipends themselves. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Stipend, M&IE (meals and incidental expenses), GSA per diem rate, PRN.
- PRN
- As-needed work without a fixed schedule or set hours, paid per shift. It is sometimes called per diem work, which is different from a per diem travel allowance. See also: Per diem.
- Professional liability insurance
- Insurance that covers claims arising from your clinical work, also called malpractice insurance. Ask whether the agency's policy covers you on every contract and whether it is claims-made or occurrence-based. See also: Agency (travel therapy staffing agency).
- PT Compact
- The Physical Therapy Compact lets eligible PTs and PTAs practice in member states through compact privileges instead of separate licenses. In the Commission's words, you can “work in any of the participating compact states without needing to apply for a new license each time,” because “compact privileges are linked to your existing home state PT license.” Source: Physical Therapy Compact Commission, read October 22, 2026. See also: Compact privilege, Home state (compact), Jurisprudence exam.
R
- Recruiter
- The agency employee who finds openings for you, presents your profile to facilities and negotiates the offer. A recruiter works for the agency, so ask for the pay breakdown, guaranteed hours and cancellation terms in writing. See also: Agency (travel therapy staffing agency), Bill rate.
S
- School-based therapy
- Therapy in schools, mostly for students served under special education plans. School contracts usually follow the academic calendar, so check how school breaks and holidays affect pay and hours. See also: Outpatient.
- Skills checklist
- A self-rating form listing clinical skills and patient populations for your discipline and setting. Agencies send it to facilities with your profile, so rate yourself honestly. See also: Compliance packet, Credentialing.
- SNF (skilled nursing facility)
- A facility that provides short-term rehabilitation and long-term care, often after a hospital stay. SNF contracts often carry productivity targets, so ask how productivity is measured. See also: Acute care, Home health, Outpatient.
- Stipend
- The part of a travel package paid for lodging, meals and incidentals while you work away from your tax home, alongside the taxable hourly wage. Publication 463 says that if your allowance is less than or equal to the federal rate, “the allowance won't be included in box 1 of your Form W-2.” Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Housing stipend, M&IE (meals and incidental expenses), Per diem, Tax home, Accountable plan.
T
- Tax home
- IRS Publication 463 says, “Generally, your tax home is your regular place of business or post of duty, regardless of where you maintain your family home.” It weighs three factors: whether you work in the area of your main home and lodge there, whether you duplicate living expenses at it, and whether you have kept ties to it. If you satisfy only one factor, you are an itinerant and can't deduct travel expenses. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Duplicated expenses, Itinerant, One-year rule, Stipend.
- Taxable base rate
- The hourly wage on a travel contract that is paid and taxed as ordinary wages, separate from the stipends. The IRS has ruled that “an arrangement that recharacterizes taxable wages as nontaxable reimbursements or allowances does not satisfy the business connection requirement of the accountable plan rules,” using a staffing contractor that employs nurses as its example. Source: IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2012-37: Rev. Rul. 2012-25 (wage recharacterization), read October 10, 2026. See also: Stipend, Blended rate, Accountable plan.
- Temporary license
- A short-term authorization some state boards grant while a full license is pending, under each board's own name, rules and supervision terms. The Texas board, for one, says a Temporary License “is valid until issuance of the permanent license, or until the last day of the third month after the month the license is issued.” Source: Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners: PT Temporary License, read October 6, 2026. See also: NPTE, Licensure by endorsement.
- Titer
- A blood test that measures antibodies to show immunity to diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, varicella or hepatitis B. Facilities may ask for titers in place of, or alongside, vaccine records. See also: Compliance packet, Credentialing.
- Traveling away from home
- IRS Publication 463 says you are traveling away from home if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and you need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away. It is the condition that lets travel allowances stay out of your wages. Source: IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, read October 22, 2026. See also: Tax home, 50-mile rule, Stipend.