Reimbursable Relocation Expenses and Rates
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Some settlement charges for relocating federal employees purchasing a home are reimbursable, but others are not. The Home Purchase Expenses Matrix [XLSX - 26 KB] details which fees on a home purchase closing disclosure are reimbursable and the rates at which you will be reimbursed.
In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosure rule, known as TRID. TRID replaces previous disclosure requirements such as the Truth in Lending and HUD-1 disclosures with two new forms: a loan estimate and a closing disclosure form. You can view guidance on these two forms in the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Guide to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms. The matrix above includes categories from the new forms.
The following rates are for transporting relocating federal employees’ household goods. These rates are based on the average standard commercial tariff charges for an 18,000 pound shipment, and include both transportation-related services (including a four percent insurance-related general increase, full valuation, and a five percent accessorial bump for the needs of the specific move) and 30 days of Storage-in-Transit (SIT), if the items need to be temporarily stored before being delivered. A 56 percent discount off of the standard commercial tariff charges was applied to the transportation-related charges, and a 52 percent discount was applied to the SIT charges.
| Miles |
Cost per 100 Pounds (CWT) |
| 1 to 500 |
$146.32 |
| 501 to 1,000 |
$165.04 |
| 1,001 to 1,500 |
$176.49 |
| 1,501 to 2,000 |
$185.44 |
| 2,001 to 2,500 |
$199.27 |
| Over 2,500 |
$204.51 |
For example, if you moved a distance of 1,485 miles with 10,000 pounds of household goods, you would multiply $176.49 (the rate for distances between 1,001 and 1,500 miles) by 100 (10,000 pounds of goods divided by 100 to get the CWT weight), for a reimbursement amount of $17,649.
Employees who receive relocation entitlements are subject to additional tax liability for federal, state, and local taxes. Agencies are authorized to pay a Withholding Tax Allowance (WTA) and a Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) to cover “substantially all” of the increased tax liability resulting from receipt of the relocation expense reimbursements either paid directly or indirectly. As part of the RITA process, agencies are required under FTR § 302-17.40(d) and (e) to use the tables published by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state/district, Puerto Rico, and local tax authorities for all relocation payments, and to follow the procedures in FTR Part 302-17 to calculate the RITA. We no longer issue annual FTR Bulletins for RITA tax tables.
U.S. General Services Administration