mLINQS commends GSA for issuing their latest FTR bulletin that clarifies relocation processing under the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
mLINQS provided similar guidance to our customers as early as December 2017 and we are glad to see that guidance affirmed in the GSA bulletin.
The GSA Bulletin, FTR 18-05, details the new regulations for determining WTA and RITA amounts based on the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017”. The bulletin will be effective from January 1, 2018 until an official amendment is created or is unambiguously canceled. Employees under FTR § 302-1.1 who are permitted reimbursements under FTR and who receive reimbursements on or after January 1, 2018 are required to follow FTR 18-05.
More specifically, the bulletin outlines eight relocation expense reimbursements that are now taxable in addition to the current taxable expenses under FTR Chapter 302. FTR 18-05 also defines which expenses are not taxable, stating that the “Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act of 2017” does not affect the RSC home sale program when transferee properties are sold in an independent transaction after being purchased under a RSC supplier contract. It is still unclear whether prior non-taxable items acquired before 2018 but paid after January 1, 2018 will be taxed. The bulletin further answers civic questions concerning the act and informs agencies to “update internal relocation policies and reimbursement procedures regarding changes to the tax code”.
For more details, see the bulletin at the GSA website.