§ 302-17.21 Relocation expenses covered by the WTA.

The WTA covers certain allowances, reimbursements, and/or direct payments to vendors, to the extent that each of them is taxable income. However, the WTA does not cover the following relocation expenses: (a) Any reimbursement, allowance, or direct payment to a vendor that should not be reported as taxable income when an employee files their Federal tax return; this includes but is not limited to expenses for transportation of POVs for OCONUS assignments. (b) Reimbursed expenses for extended storage of household goods during an OCONUS assignment, if reimbursement is permitted under agency policy. (c) State and local withholding tax obligations. To the extent that the employee's state or local tax authority requires periodic (such as quarterly) tax payments, the employee is responsible to pay these from their own funds. Agencies will reimburse employees for substantially all of these payments through the RITA process, but the agency does not provide a WTA for them. If required to by state or local law, the agency may withhold these from the reimbursement. (d) There are additional taxes due under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act including Social Security tax, if applicable, and Medicare tax. Current law does not allow Federal agencies to reimburse transferees for these employment taxes on relocation benefits. However, agencies will deduct these taxes from any reimbursements for taxable items. (e) Home marketing incentive payment. In accordance with part 302-14 of this chapter, agencies may not provide either a WTA or RITA for this incentive. (f) Any recruitment, relocation, or retention incentive payment that an employee receives. Any withholding of taxes for such payments is outside the scope of this section. Rather, it is covered by regulations issued by the Office of Personnel Management, Treasury's Financial Management Service, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). (g) Any allowances, reimbursements, and/or direct payments to vendors not related to the relocation; for example, a reimbursement for office supplies would not be covered by the WTA, even if it occurred during the relocation.