Introduction
Purpose
Due to legislation changes in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which reinstated personal moving expense payments as taxable wages, the University has changed the payment procedure so that the payment and tax implications are contemporaneous.
Scope of Applicability
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Procedure for Employee Relocation Compensation applies to departments who are engaging in the recruitment of highly qualified and/or highly recruited individuals and issuing payment to relocate the individual for initial employment.
Procedure
Departments should submit the payment request with corresponding documentation including the appointment letter which states the payment amount via the Relocation Compensation lump sum payment ePAR form. The ePAR should be submitted after the new hire action has executed, utilize the first day of the current pay period, and use account 517140. The work period start and end date should be the same date as the payment date. The Relocation Compensation payment is assumed to be inclusive.
In rare cases, other taxable reimbursements are agreed to in the offer letter or contract. These payments should be submitted after the employee's start date and follow the Relocation Compensation lump sum process, use the Relocation Compensation lump sum ePAR, and be paid on account 517140. In the ePAR comment section, specify which type of expense is being reimbursed and include an attestation that the employee is moving from a city that is 50 miles or more from Chapel Hill and satisfies the criteria of the relocation compensation policy. An example of an acceptable attestation is: "<Employee Name> is moving from <City, State> to Chapel Hill, NC. This move is 50 miles or more from their existing residence and satisfies criteria of the relocation compensation policy." An ePAR that does not contain a relocation attestation statement will be returned to the department. A copy of the appointment or offer letter in which the relocation compensation was agreed must be attached to the ePAR if it has not been previously uploaded to ConnectCarolina.
Regardless of the amount submitted via an ePAR, the employee should not expect to net the amount submitted via receipts due to tax considerations. Due to the tax impact, employees can net significantly less than the original expense.
Related Data
Instructions for creating an ePAR may be found on the ConnectCarolina website.
Related Requirements
External Regulations and Consequences
University Standards and Procedures
Contact Information
Primary Contacts
| Office |
Telephone |
Email |
| Payroll Services |
919-962-0047 |
payroll@unc.edu |
| University Controller |
919-9621370 |
controller@unc.edu |