SO MANY LICENSES as a traveler!!!

So I currently have six active licenses and three of which I have used this year one is my home state and I have never worked there and two are from my very first job in perm position. I just applied for my my 7th licensed and realized that it is getting prettty expensive trying to keep them all active and making sure I have enough CEU's for each state and the each state accepts the CEU's that I have completed. 

Should I keep trying to keep them all active even if I may never go back? Can renewal fees be written off on my taxes?

Thanks!

Yes, licenses can be written off taxes.  CEUs are generally accepted by all states.  So if you have 20 hours from one state, they are generally good in another.  Just make sure that they are from reputable sources such as PESI, etc.
You might consider putting some licenses on inactive status.  I have a PTA license from IL and it is on inactive status.  In order to re-activate it I just have to pay a fee (200.00$ ?) and take some CEUs.  You can call the states you are interested in and ask them what their rules are.
I will probably never use mine again as I now work as a ICU/ER nurse.

 Cathy, keep in mind that you should be hitting up whatever travel agency you’re working with for those costs.  You should always be reimbursed for that sort of stuff.  As long as you’re traveling it should not be costing you a dime.     

Even if I am not traveling in that particular state when it is time to be renewed? I was told they only reimburse if you are working there and it needs to be renewed.

Jeremy:
 Cathy, keep in mind that you should be hitting up whatever travel agency you’re working with for those costs.  You should always be reimbursed for that sort of stuff.  As long as you’re traveling it should not be costing you a dime.     
 

I thought for you to get reimbursed you had to be working in that state for the agency.So is that wrong?I currently have 5 licenses all of them are active. I think when i first started traveling, a company did reimburse me for a Ohio license as i was working in Seattle at the time.

Thank you!

Keep in mind when working for a travel agency they can reimburse you for anything as long as it’s not for lodging, meals or incidentals (LMI).  Some companies may have their own rules but that’s them.  I can do whatever you want.  All agencies are working with a limited pool of money.  There’s always plenty of room for tax free reimbursements.  At some point it will affect your hourly rate but that can be a good thing sometimes.  Let’s say you’re working in the middle of nowhere and you’re getting a smaller per diem rate, it makes sense to take a little out of your taxable portion and reimburse you with tax free money.      

It’s a just a shell game.      

@Kathy:  I have 11 licenses (yes!) and I keep some active only if they are really expensive to reactivate ie Texas and I might want to go back, and after all I can deduct the expense as a cost of doing business.  The CEUS I earn apply to each and every state license unless they have specific requirements (again, texas) that require an extra, but I find in the usual period of renewal that I have earned enough.  Make sure you collect all the free ones offered online.  And make usre you renew ontime because some late fees ( texas! and new mexico)  are really expensive, but renewal is still cheaper and waaaay easier than reapplying in most cases.  
@ Jeremy:  So you admit "it's just a shell game".....care to admit whose money is under every shell?  

Diane

It’s only a shell game if you don’t know how it works.  There is only one per diem rate and its public knowledge.  My approach to going over the money is pretty simple; I give you the most amount of money in your hourly as I can so you know what you can make over a period of 13 weeks.  If you want to add reimbursements I’ll show you how it can affect your hourly rate (if at all).  It’s pretty simple.  Basically if you go into a contract not understanding how everything works your recruiter has not done his job. 

I find most companies WILL NOT reimburse for licenses you are not currently using. If you do a 13 week assigmnet then they will reimburse you. I find that most recruiters say one thing and do another.

Hi, guys, great posts. I work for Med Travelers, and they paid for three of my licenses to be renewed in 2011 despite the fact that I have been working in California for the past 16 months. The licensure reimbursement is a good question to ask when interviewing prospective travel companies. Tre