§ 302-17.100 Agency responsibilities for taxes on relocation expenses.

To ensure that all provisions of this part are fulfilled, agencies must: (a) Prepare a relocation travel authorization that includes an estimate of the WTA and RITA, to obligate the funds that will be needed. (b) Determine, in light of the specific circumstances of each employee relocation, which reimbursements, allowances, and direct payments to vendors are taxable, and which are nontaxable. (c) Decide whether or not the agency will allow individual employees and/or categories of employees to choose not to receive the WTA. (d) Calculate the WTA and credit the amount of the WTA to the employee at the time of reimbursement. (e) Prepare the employee's W-2 Form(s) and ensure that it (they) reflect(s) the WTA. (f) Provide each employee an itemized list of relocation expenses after the end of each calendar year in which the agency provided an allowance, reimbursement, or direct payment to a vendor. (g) Establish processes for identifying the relevant Federal, State, and local marginal tax rates and for keeping that information current. (h) Establish processes for identifying states that treat a reimbursement or direct payment to a vendor as taxable even though it is nontaxable under the Federal IRC, and for keeping that information current. (i) Calculate the employee's CMTR(s). (j) Decide whether the agency will use the one-year or two-year RITA process and whether the agency will use different processes (that is, one-year or two-year) for different groups of employees within the agency. (k) Make sure the RITA calculation is done correctly and in a timely manner, whether agency policies call for the calculation to be done by the agency or by a third party. (l) Make sure that payment of the RITA occurs in a timely manner (this is especially critical for the one-year process). (m) Develop criteria for accepting and rejecting requests for recalculation of RITA. (n) Establish a process for recalculating the RITA when the employee's request for recalculation is accepted. (o) Consult with the IRS for clarification of any confusion stemming from taxes on relocation expenses.