How long can I work in the same area on travel assignments?
Last updated: September 1, 2026
Applies to: US W-2 employees on travel assignments — the kind that include a per diem or travel stipend. If you are an independent contractor, an international worker, or you are not on a travel assignment, this limit does not apply to you.
Summary: Travel assignments are capped at 12 months in the same metro area. Only months you actually worked and were paid for in that area count toward the cap, and if an extension would push you past 12 months there, it cannot be set up. The cap is a scheduling rule — what actually decides whether your stipend stays tax-free is whether you have a real tax home you are travelling away from and returning to.
The 12-month cap
Ascen limits travel assignments to 12 months in the same metro area. "Metro area" is broader than a single facility or city — moving to a different hospital or a nearby town in the same metro usually counts as the same area.
The count is based on the months you actually worked and were paid on travel assignments in that area, not on how long a contract was scheduled to run. Months where you did not work, or where your hours were never approved and paid, do not add to the count.
What actually matters: your tax home
The 12-month cap is Ascen's scheduling rule. The thing that actually decides whether a stipend can be paid to you tax-free is whether you have a real tax home that you are travelling away from — and that comes down to your actual living situation, not to how your assignments are spaced out.
Your tax home is your regular place of business, or — if you do not have one — the area where you regularly live and keep genuine ties. You hold onto it by actually duplicating your living costs: you keep paying for a home you return to, and you pay to stay near the assignment. It is also what you confirm when you sign your Travel Assignment Agreement — that you are sleeping away from your tax residence, that the worksite is at least 100 miles from it, and that you intend to return.
If you do not maintain that home — if you move from assignment to assignment and there is nowhere you actually go back to — the IRS treats you as itinerant. Your tax home travels with you, you are never "away from home," and the entire stipend is taxable no matter how the assignment dates are arranged (IRS Publication 463 — Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses). For what that looks like on your pay, see Are per diem stipends included on the W-2?.
So moving between metro areas is not, on its own, a way to keep a stipend tax-free, and cycling through areas on a schedule is not a strategy. Whether time you have already spent working in an area still weighs against you depends on your own circumstances and the economic reality of your situation — where you genuinely live, what you genuinely pay for, and whether you genuinely return. If you are not sure where you stand, talk to a tax professional before counting on tax-free treatment.
What happens as you approach the limit
Around 11 months in one area, your staffing Partner is notified that you are close to the cap. This is your cue to talk to them about where your next assignment should be.
At 12 months, a new travel assignment or an extension in that same area cannot be set up. If your Partner tries, the system will reject the dates.
An extension whose end date would fall more than 12 months after your start date also cannot be set up, even if it is your first assignment in the area.
Why this limit exists
Travel stipends and per diem are only tax-free while your assignment is genuinely temporary — under IRS rules, that generally means realistically expected to last one year or less at the same location (IRS Publication 463 — Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses). An assignment realistically expected to run longer than a year is treated as indefinite whether or not it actually lasts that long, and the same money then has to be treated as taxable wages. If the expectation changes partway through, the treatment changes from that point forward rather than retroactively.
Capping travel assignments at 12 months in a metro area is how Ascen keeps assignments inside that one-year window. The cap on its own does not determine how your stipend is taxed — that turns on your tax home and your own circumstances. For how that plays out on your W-2, see Are per diem stipends included on the W-2?
This is a general explanation, not individual tax or legal advice — for your own situation, consult a tax professional.
What to do about it
Plan ahead with your Partner. They place you and set your assignment dates, so bring it up before an extension is on the table rather than after.
Keep your tax home real. Whatever area your next assignment is in, the stipend rules still depend on your maintaining a home you pay for and return to. If your living situation changes — you give up that home, or you stop going back — tell us within 24 hours, because it changes how your stipend has to be taxed.
Keep your timesheets current. The count is built from approved, paid time, so a large backlog of unapproved hours can make the picture change once it is processed.
If something's wrong / who to contact
Your next assignment, extensions, where you are placed, timesheet entry → your staffing Partner.
Anything else — HR, payroll, your stipend or how it is taxed, tax forms, or if you think the months counted against you are wrong → Ascen at support@ascen.com.