Moving Expenses

Payment of moving or relocation expenses of new faculty and administrators is at the discretion of the appropriate dean, director or reporting unit head. Moving expenses are defined as the reasonable costs of moving household goods and personal effects to a new residence. These costs also include the cost of travel to the new location for the employee and his or her immediate family. Qualified moving expenses reimbursed by Seattle University are excludable from an employee's gross income as a qualified fringe benefit to the extent that they meet the reporting requirements for a qualified moving expense reimbursement. Qualified moving expense reimbursements include any amount received, directly or indirectly, by an employee from Seattle University as a payment for, or a reimbursement of, expenses that would be deductible as moving expenses if directly paid or incurred by the employee. 

Reimbursements for moving expenses that are not qualified moving expense reimbursements are included in the employee's gross income as compensation for services. 

To qualify for a non-taxable moving expense reimbursement, the IRS has established the following guidelines: 

• The position is full time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months after arriving in the new area.  It is at least 50 miles farther from the former residence than the old main job was from the former residence. For example, if the old main job was 3 miles from the former residence, then the new workplace must be at least 53 miles from the former residence. Also, the distance from the new residence to the new job location is not more than the distance from the former residence to the new job location.

 The reimbursements are reasonable expenses for:

• Costs of storing and insuring household goods and personal effects only within any period of 30 consecutive days;
• Costs of moving possessions from another location may qualify, but only to the extent of what it would cost to ship directly from the principal residence to the new residence;
• Costs of traveling from the old residence to the new residence are also deductible, reimbursed based on actual expenses, or 23 cents/mile (effective January 1, 2015);
• Lodging reimbursements can include staying in a hotel at the location of the old residence within one day of the furniture being moved out.

Taxable moving expense reimbursements include:

• Meals consumed in route;
• Costs of house-hunting trips;
• Cost of maintaining a temporary residence;
• Cost of storage in excess of 30 days;
• Cost of moving furniture bought on the way to the new residence.

If taxable moving expenses are reimbursed to the employee from the University, federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes will be deducted from the employee's paycheck. The employee will be notified by Payroll when this event occurs.  For questions related to these payroll deductions or other questions related to the W-2, contact Rita Lin, Payroll Manager, ext. 5887.

Submitting a Moving Expense Reimbursement form

The employee must complete the Reimbursement Request form on ProcureSU to be reimbursed for qualified expenses. All expenses require proof of payment and original itemized receipts. The form must be approved by the reporting unit or college and then submitted with all supporting documents to the Controller’s Office where the expenses will be reviewed to ensure they follow the University’s policies. The approver must appear on the Expenditure Authorization list for the budget being charged. Both the printed name and signature must appear on the requisition form. After submission of the completed documentation to the Controller’s Office, please allow five business days for the payment to be processed.