Faculty Moving Expense Guideline

(Updated June 2008 by Heather Lin)

Moving Expense Reimbursement is defined in the Payroll & Benefits Procedures Guide - Moving (Relocation) sections. This explanation is condensed from that policy.

I. Methods of Payment for Employee Moving Expense

Eligible employees can choose to pay moving expense with personal funds and then get reimbursed through the payroll process (Time Collection) or have the University pay a third party directly (moving company) through accounts payable.

If the employee chooses to have the University pay the moving company directly, information on how to process this request is available at Procurement Service Center - Purchasing Services guidelines for purchasing "How to Buy Moving Services", located at https://www.cu.edu/psc/departments/commodities/downloads/Moving.pdf.

This document is focused on reimbursing moving expense paid originally with personal funds.

Moving expense reimbursement, if provided for in the letter of offer, is allowed up to the amount stated in the offer letter. In order to be eligible for reimbursement employee's moving expenses the following conditions must be met:

Employee must submit original receipts within 60 days of expense incurred in order for non-taxable items to be non-taxable. Any expense reimbursement request filed later than 60 days after expense incurred will be taxed as regular income.

II. General Moving Expenses Taxable/Nontaxable

Unless the letter of offer stipulates certain limitations by category, any combination of expenses listed below can be reimbursed up to the amount provided in the offer letter:

General Moving Expense: Non-Taxable

General Moving Expense: Taxable

Note: The above taxable and non-taxable items only provide general guidelines. All eligible employees being offered moving expense reimbursement should consult their tax advisor to determine the full tax implication of these reimbursements.

III. Processing Moving Expenses

Eligible employee is responsible for submitting original receipts to department office manager to request moving expense reimbursement. Office manager or FSC staff will:

Resources:

Payroll & Benefits Procedure Guide is located at https://www.cusys.edu/pbs/proceduresguide/.

IRS Publication 521, Moving Expenses at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p521.pdf.

Q&As

One of our new faculty incurred moving expense in March 2008, but his official appointment will start in August 2008. According to 60 days rule, will all his reimbursement be taxable if he files the request in August?
Answer: No. Since it requires an employee ID to process a One-Time payment in our system, the University can not process reimbursement until the faculty becomes officially employed. According to PBS counselor, for this particular case, the official employment date can be used in the 60 days safe harbor rule. That means, if the faculty submit original receipts within 60 days of his (her) official employment, non-taxable items will be treated as non-taxable.
I understand that all the names on the original receipts should match the eligible employee's name. Occasionally, the eligible employee's spouse's name will show on the receipts. What should I do?
Answer: We need a statement signed by the employee stating that the person on the receipt is their legal spouse. This will help us substantiate the reimbursement.
Who will fund Eligible employee Moving Expenses?
Answer: In eligible employee's offer letter, it normally specifies the dollar amount and the party that will cover the moving expense. Moving Reimbursement will be processed according to the offer letter. If the department would like to use discretionary funds to cover the extra portion which is not specified in the offer letter, approval in writing from department Chair is required. If the faculty would like to use his/her startup funds, both Associate Dean and Chair's approval in writing are required.