Subchapter A - Introduction

You are generally eligible for relocation expense allowances under this chapter if you are:

      (a) A new appointee appointed to your first official station (as discussed in this chapter)

      (b) An employee transferring in the interest of the Government from one agency or duty station to another for permanent duty, and your new duty station is at least 50 miles distant from your old duty station (see §302-2.6 of this chapter);

      (c) An employee of the United States Postal Service transferred for permanent duty, under 39 U.S.C. 1006, from the Postal Service to an agency as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5721;

      (d) An employee performing travel in accordance with your overseas tour renewal agreement (see §§302-3.209 through 302-3.224 of this chapter);

      (e) An employee returning to his/her place of residence after completion of a prescribed tour of duty for the purposes of separation from Government service or separation from the overseas assignment for reassignment to the same or different Government agency;

      (f) A student trainee assigned to any position upon completion of college work;

      (g) An employee eligible for a “last move home” benefit upon separation from the Government (and your immediate family in the event of your death prior to separation or after separation but prior to relocating);

      (h) A Department of Defense overseas dependents school system teacher;

      (i) A career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) as defined in 5 U.S.C. 3132(a)(4), and a prior SES appointee who is returning to your official residence for separation and who will be retaining SES retirement benefits; or

      (j) An employee that is being assigned to a temporary duty station in connection with long-term assignment.

You are not eligible to receive relocation expense allowances under this chapter if you are:

      (a) A Foreign Service Officer or a Federal employee transferred under the rules of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended;

      (b) An officer or an employee transferred under the Central Intelligence Act of 1949, as amended;

      (c) A person whose pay and allowances are prescribed under title 37 U.S.C., “Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services;”

      (d) An employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to whom 38 U.S.C. 235 applies; or

      (e) A person not covered in §302-1.1.

A comprehensive, automated relocation management system is a system that integrates into a single, electronic environment, information related to all aspects of employee relocation, including these and similar items:

      (a) Authorizations;

      (b) Reimbursements to employees and service providers;

      (c) House hunting trips;

      (d) Travel to the new permanent duty station;

      (e) Temporary quarters;

      (f) Transportation and storage of property;

      (g) Residence transactions;

      (h) Use of relocation services companies;

      (i) Property management services;

      (j) Miscellaneous expenses;

      (k) Relocation income taxes and allowances;

      (l) Appropriate electronic connections to agency payment and finance processes for all of the above; and

      (m) Standard and unique reports for use by agency relocation managers, agency executives, GSA, and others as needed.

Agencies should work toward unifying all aspects of relocation into a comprehensive, automated relocation management system.

You may begin your transfer or reassignment only after your agency has approved your travel authorization (TA) in writing (paper or electronic).

No, you must have the written TA (paper or electronic) before you relocate to your new official station.

Your entitlements and allowances for relocation are determined by the regulatory provisions that are in effect at the time you report for duty at your new official station. However, this does not change the requirement that all aspects of a relocation must be completed by time specified in §§302-2.8 through 302-2.12.

Your effective transfer or appointment date is the date on which you report for duty at your new or first official station, respectively.

Yes, you may relocate from a place other than from where you are authorized. However, you will be required to pay all additional costs incurred for expenses above your authorized travel and transportation cost.

Generally no; you may not be reimbursed for relocation expenses if you relocate to a new official station that does not meet the 50-mile distance test.

      (a) The distance test is met when the new official station is at least 50 miles further from the employee’s current residence than the old official station is from the same residence. For example, if the old official station is 3 miles from the current residence, then the new official station must be at least 53 miles from that same residence in order to receive relocation expenses for residence transactions. The distance between the official station and residence is the shortest of the commonly traveled routes between them. The distance test does not take into consideration the location of a new residence. This follows the distance guidelines found in Internal Revenue Service Publication 521, Moving Expenses.

      (b) The head of your agency or designee may authorize an exception to the 50-mile threshold on a case-by-case basis when he/she determines that it is in the best interest of the Government. However, the agency cannot waive the applicability of the IRC; that is, all reimbursed expenses would be taxable income to you, and the agency would have to reimburse those taxes.

      (c) Any relocation must be incidental to the transfer and not for the convenience of the employee.

If you attempt to defraud the Government:

      (a) You forfeit reimbursement pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2514; and

      (b) You may be subject under 18 U.S.C. 287 and 1001 to one, or both, of the following:

           (1) A fine of not more than $10,000, and/or

           (2) Imprisonment for not more than 5 years.

You and your immediate family member(s) may begin travel immediately upon receipt of your authorized TA.

You and your immediate family member(s) must complete all aspects of your relocation within one year from the effective date of your transfer or appointment, except as provided in §302-2.11.

No, if you are furloughed to perform active military duty, the 1-year period to complete all aspects of relocation is exclusive of time spent on furlough for active military service.

No, the 1-year time period in §302-2.9 does not include time that you cannot travel and/or transport your household effects due to shipping restriction to or from your post of duty OCONUS.

Yes, the 1-year time limitation for completing all aspects of a relocationmay be extended by your Agency for up to 1 additional years, but onlyif you have received an extension under §302-11.22.

A service agreement is a written agreement between you and your agency, signed by you and an agency representative, stating that you will remain in the service of the Government for a period of time as specified in §302-2.14, after you have relocated. A service agreement must also include the duplicate reimbursement disclosure statement specified in §§302-2.21, 302-2.22, and 302-2.100(g).

Yes, you are required to sign a service agreement when transferring within or outside the continental United States or performing renewal agreement travel. The minimum periods of service are:

      (a) Within the continental United States for a period of service of not less than 12 months following the effective date of your transfer;

      (b) Outside the continental United States for an agreed upon period of service of not more than 36 months or less than 12 months following the effective date of transfer;

      (c) Department of Defense Overseas Dependent School System teachers for a period of not less than one school year as determined under chapter 25 of Title 20, United States Code; and

      (d) For renewal agreement travel a period of not less than 12 months from the date of return to the same or different overseas official station.

Yes, if you violate a service agreement (other than for reasons beyond your control and which must be accepted by your agency), you will have incurred a debt due to the Government and you must reimburse all costs that your agency has paid towards your relocation expenses including withholding tax allowance (WTA) and relocation income tax (RIT) allowance.

Yes, if you accept a transfer/appointment to an OCONUS location, you must immediately provide your agency with the information needed to determine your actual place of residence and to document it into your service agreement.

No, you do not need to sign a service agreement for a “last move home” relocation.

If you fail to sign a service agreement, your agency will not pay for your relocation expenses.

No, service agreements which are already in effect cannot be voided by subsequent service agreements.

Yes, service agreements can not be grouped together and must be adhered to separately. Each agreement is in effect for the period specified in the agreement.

A duplicate reimbursement disclosure statement is a written statement signed by you and submitted to your agency. It states that you and/or your immediate family have not accepted, and will not accept, duplicate reimbursement for relocation expenses. Furthermore, it states that, to the best of your knowledge, no third party has accepted duplicate reimbursement for your relocation expenses. The duplicate reimbursement disclosure statement must be incorporated into your service agreement.

Yes, you must sign a duplicate reimbursement disclosure statement to receive any relocation benefits.

Yes, you may receive a travel advance if approved by your agency.

Your relocation travel authorizationmust authorize you to receive a travel advance.

Yes, you may receive a travel advance if approved by your agency.

Before authorizing a relocation allowance, you must set internal policies that determine:

      (a) How you will implement the governing policies throughout this part;

      (b) How you will determine when a relocation is in the best interest of the Government;

      (c) When you will allow a travel advance for relocation expenses;

      (d) Who will authorize and approve relocation travel;

      (e) Under what additional circumstances will you require an employee to sign a service agreement;

      (f) Who is required to sign a service agreement; and

      (g) How you will ensure that all relocating employees sign a duplicate reimbursement disclosure statement, which is to be incorporated into their relocation service agreements (see §302-2.22).

You may authorize reimbursement for relocation expenses:

      (a) When you have determined that an employee’s permanent change of station is in the best interest of the Government;

      (b) Only after an employee has signed a service agreement to remain in service for the period specified in §302-2.14; and

      (c) When you have determined that the employee’s relocation is incident to his/her change of official station.

The agency head or his/her designee must authorize and approve relocation expenses.

To administer the authorization for relocation of an employee, you must:

      (a) Issue an employee a TA for relocation before he/she transfers to his/her new official station;

      (b) Inform the employee of his/her transfer within a timeframe that will provide him/her sufficient time for preparation;

      (c) Establish timeframes on when employees must submit a TA request;

      (d) Provide new employees with the applicable limitations of their travel benefits; and

      (e) Provide counseling about relocation benefits to all relocating employees. In addition, you should offer counseling as early as possible during the relocation process and you should consider offering counseling to employees who are contemplating acceptance of a job that would require them to relocate.

On the TA, you must state the:

      (a) Specific allowances that the employee is authorized; and

      (b) Procedures that the employee is authorized to follow.

When an employee transfers between Federal agencies, all allowable expenses must be paid from the funds of the agency that the employee is transferring to. However, in the case of a reduction in force or transfer of function, an agreement may be made between the agencies concerned as to what relocation allowances will be paid by either agency or split between them.This shouldinclude the payment of expenses for the extended storage of the employee’s household goods when assigned to an isolated permanent duty station within CONUS or a transfer to, from, or between foreign countries.

Yes,the agency head or his/her designee may waive any statutory or regulatorylimitations for employees relocating (to/from a remote or isolated location) when determining that failure to waive the limitation would cause an undue hardship on the employee.

Yes, you should encourage employees to begin travel as soon as possible after authorization of travel is approved and informemployees that they must complete all aspects of relocation withina 1-year period from his/her effective date of transfer or appointment, unless the employee’s 1-year period is extended to include:

      (a) Time spent on military furlough;

      (b) Delays caused by overseas shipping or other restrictions; or

      (c) An extension for completion of residence transaction (see §302-11.22 of this chapter).