Housing

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cheneylisa
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:44 am

Housing

Unread post by cheneylisa » Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:28 am

Hi. I am presently in my second contract about to negotiate my third contract. I live in Boston (Go Sox!!) I just got licensed in FL. I am not clear on how the housing works. If my company pays for my housing, do I make less hourly?? How is that feasible if I have a home in Boston also? Any insight would be fantastic. Happy Holidays!

Hobohealth
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Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:32 pm
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Re: Housing

Unread post by Hobohealth » Fri Dec 12, 2014 9:42 pm

Definitely go Sox! And currently more important, go Pats!

Think of your pay package as a single amount no matter how it is allocated (of course you can feel free to negotiate more). Within this single amount, if pay is going towards housing, it has to come out of somewhere else - likely your hourly. But, your housing stipend will be tax free, so this benefits you.

In order to receive portions of your pay tax-free, you must have a tax home. Most frequently a tax home is a place you pay for (rent or own) that you are working away from. This can get complicated for a lot of people, but it sounds like you have a place in Boston that will very clearly be your tax home. So, by having your place in Boston, you are able to collect tax-free housing stipend and per diem while working away.

These are just the basics of it, and I hope this is starting to answer your questions. Here are a couple blogs that may fill in some of the missing details:
http://hobohealth.com/wordpress/2014/06 ... -you-paid/
http://hobohealth.com/wordpress/2012/09/09/the-housing/

Please feel free to ask further if this hasn't fully answered your questions! :-) ...and go say hi to Fenway for me!

James

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