Moving Allowances or Expense Reimbursements for Faculty and Administrative/Professional Staff (II.A.2)

Volume II: Business and Finance
Chapter A: Accounting, Budget and Expenditures
Issuing Office: Office of the President
Responsible Officer: VP for BS and AT
Responsible Office: VP for BS and AT
Originally Issued: May 1, 2004
Most Recently Revised: November 18, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statement of Policy
Reason for Policy
Who Should Know This Policy
Related Documents
Contacts
Procedures
Special Situations
Responsibilities
History

STATEMENT OF POLICY

Purdue University is dedicated to attracting, developing, and retaining valuable people for its workforce. To fulfill this goal, it may be necessary to conduct employment searches on a national or international scale. To offer a competitive compensation package, financial assistance to defray relocation expenses may be desired to supplement the salary and excellent benefits package offered to the candidate.

REASON FOR POLICY

To offer competitive employment packages to faculty and administrative staff, heads of operating units may wish to include a provision for relocation expenses with an offer of employment. To provide flexibility, the current policy allows reimbursement of actual tax-deductible expenses and/or a moving allowance at the discretion of the operating unit. University general funds, auxiliary funds, and/or gift funds are allowable sources for payment of moving reimbursements and/or allowances.

WHO SHOULD KNOW THIS POLICY

President
Provost
Executive Vice President & Treasurer
Chancellors
Vice Presidents
Vice Provosts
Vice Chancellors
Deans
Directors/Department Heads/ Chairs
Faculty
Business Office Staff
Administrative/Professional Staff

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Moving Allowance Payments to Employees
https://www2.itap.purdue.edu/bs/BPP/Processes/Moving.pdf

Moving Expense Reimbursement to Employees
https://www2.itap.purdue.edu/bs/BPP/Processes/Moving%20Reimbursement.pdf

CONTACTS

PROCEDURES

Approval Procedures

The vice president, dean, or director of the operating unit may approve moving allowances and/or expense reimbursements up to $15,000 to defray personal moving expenses for new faculty or administrative/professional staff. The approved moving expense allowance and/or reimbursement should be documented in the candidate's offer letter or subsequent documentation.

Exceptions to the allowance or reimbursement limit require the approval of the officers reporting to the president.

Moving expense allowances and/or reimbursements for staff reporting directly to the president require approval of the president or designee.

Payment Procedures

The provision for the personal moving allowance and/or reimbursement, including amount, must be documented in the candidate's offer letter or subsequent documentation. Copies of the approved documentation will be required to process the payment.

University general funds, auxiliary funds, and/or gift funds are allowable sources for payment of moving expense allowances and/or reimbursements.

Details for processing moving expense allowances or reimbursements can be obtained from the unit's business office or online at www.purdue.edu/taxes/Relocation/Welcome.html.

Moving allowances are considered taxable income and will be subject to income and social security tax withholding. The employee may be able to recover the income tax withheld by filing the appropriate IRS forms with their tax return. This recovery is dependent on the IRS regulations in force at the time of the payment and the timing of the relocation.

Moving expense reimbursements may be taxable, depending upon the nature and timing of the actual expenses submitted for reimbursement. The intent of the policy is to reimburse for moving expenses incurred that meet IRS guidelines for tax deductibility.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS

While not considered personal moving expenses, moving expenses for laboratory equipment and supplies related to employment at Purdue University may be charged to University funds. Normal University purchasing procedures should be followed to arrange for transportation of these items.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The comptroller has been designated as the responsible party for the overall administration of the University's moving expense allowance or reimbursement policy.

HISTORY

November 18, 2011: Policy number changed to II.A.2 (formerly IV.5.6).

February 8, 2011: Related Documents section updated.

April 6, 2007: Language throughout the policy was updated and the amount for reimbursements was raised to $15,000.

May 1, 2004: This policy supersedes Executive Memorandum No. D-3, issued November 15, 2001. Executive Memorandum No. D-3 superseded policy memoranda dated August 10, 1988; August 29, 1988; and June 26, 1990.