Moving and Relocation Assistance

Newly hired faculty and staff relocating to the Rochester area to work at RIT may be eligible for moving and relocation assistance. The amount and form of assistance are determined at the discretion of the hiring department and may vary based on factors such as budgetary resources, the distance of the relocation, and whether domestic or international.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 made all employer-paid moving and relocation expenses taxable income to the employee, effective January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2025. In 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) extended this provision permanently. Additionally, New York State treats employer-paid moving and relocation expenses as taxable income to the employee.

This is the recommended method for providing employer-paid moving and relocation expenses as it is the easiest to administer and offers the recipient the greatest flexibility.  At the time of the offer, a new hire is provided with a fixed dollar amount for moving and relocation assistance. The hiring department shall initiate a 'One-Time Payment - Taxable Moving Expense' in Workday for the fixed amount during the employees first pay cycle, and it will be taxed accordingly.  The offer letter should reflect the fixed amount; receipts and documentation are not required.

An RIT hiring department, at its own discretion, may choose to pay a moving company directly, either in lieu or in addition to paying a fixed dollar amount for moving and relocation assistance to an employee via a 'One-Time Payment - Taxable Moving Expense.'

The benefit of this option is that the employee will not have to wait until their first paycheck to receive funds attributable to their relocation.  However, this option requires additional steps for the hiring department.

Moving and relocation assistance paid directly to a moving company is taxable to the employee and must be imputed to the employee as taxable income.  Federal and state tax will be withheld from the employee in their next available pay cycle, reducing their net pay by the associated tax withholding.

Procurement Services maintains preferred providers for relocation services, which can be found HERE.  Navigate to ‘HR Services’ and then ‘Relocation.’

The hiring department is responsible for making the arrangements with the selected service provider, creating the purchase order, and remitting payment to the vendor.

At the completion of that process, the hiring department must complete the RSC request below so that the Tax Department can impute the income to the employee in the next pay cycle. 

Moving & Relocation Assistance Request Form