More Common Relocation Mistakes
Working for a government entity in the United States, one can often be transferred to other offices in a new city or state.
While the government offers assistance with moving, there are also common relocation mistakes that can be made along the way. Read about some more relocation mistakes here.
Common Relocation Mistakes
Non-Compliance with Government Rules
The U.S. government has several published regulations in place to enforce compliance by government agencies and contractors. These include the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR), and the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), as well as IRS tax regulations. Many agencies struggle to fully comply with the regulations due to their complexity and expertise necessary to comply, if they do not have an automated solution assisting them.
Disorganized Expenses Tracking
Relocation requires a myriad of payments to the transferee and vendors. As a transferee, keeping up with these expenses in order to be reimbursed can become a paperwork nightmare. Without a solid relocation accounting system to account for expenses, expenses are not recorded, or not recorded correctly, and receipts may be lost. These may result in a loss of reimbursement. Likewise, for vendors, if the agency does not track their invoices against expected expenses, there can be a lag in payment that can result in prompt payment interest charged against the agency.
Thinking that All Expenses are Covered
The U.S. government has limitations on who qualifies for relocation benefits and what benefits are covered. For example, the relocation must be a government-authorized relocation. And when miscellaneous expenses are incurred, such as those common to living expenses and not covered by other relocation benefits, they may also be subject to agency approval in some cases. In addition, with a government-authorized relocation, certain expenses are allowable for the transferee like the house hunting trip, en route travel, and temporary quarters. However, these same allowances may not be obtainable for family members, depending on the type of relocation and whether that employee is a new appointee or a current employee being transferred.
Creation of Taxable Income
When transferees opt for reimbursement to cover their relocation expenses, they may not realize that this money may be taxable by the U.S. government as income. Depending on the situations, third-party payments may also be required to be reported as taxable income. As a result, the government may provide a tax allowance as part of the relocation benefits.
Relocation Accounting Made Easy
Although recording and processing government relocation expenses has traditionally been complicated, the mLINQS turnkey software and cloud solution for relocation cost management isn’t. The system fully automates expense management and policy compliance. Don’t let common relocation mistakes derail a government relocation or cause frustration for the transferee. Contact mLINQS today.