my head is spinnning, re: moving expenses and taxes

[meg-momto2]

i've been googling for over an hour and i'm more confused then when i started.

DH got our moving expenses reimbursement payment with his paycheck. it was heavily taxed. is that normal? i've been reading that some things are taxable and some are not. we gave them an itemized list but i think they just did a lump sum reimbursement. if it is normal can we still deduct the expenses on our taxes? will we get the money back with our return? i'm so confused. we were really counting on the full amount and didn't even think about it being taxed.

[dubfam]

I have NO IDEA but I had to reply and at least say that I am sorry you are going through this. How CRAPPY!!
Our tax system is :

DH got laid off a couple months ago and his severance check got taxed almost 50%!!!
Obviously we needed that...he had just lost his job!!! But the government saw it as bonus money or something :

I hope that it turns out to be an error and you get more of your money back.
How FRUSTRATING

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by meg-momto2

DH got our moving expenses reimbursement payment with his paycheck. it was heavily taxed. is that normal? i've been reading that some things are taxable and some are not. we gave them an itemized list but i think they just did a lump sum reimbursement. if it is normal can we still deduct the expenses on our taxes? will we get the money back with our return? i'm so confused. we were really counting on the full amount and didn't even think about it being taxed.

That's weird. I would call the HR department and ask for an explanation, since it shouldn't be taxed. Chances are that someone categorized it incorrectly.

Originally Posted by dubfam

DH got laid off a couple months ago and his severance check got taxed almost 50%!!!
Obviously we needed that...he had just lost his job!!! But the government saw it as bonus money or something :

Unfortunately, that's standard. :

[meg-momto2]

dubfam- that stinks.

cristeen- i'm really hoping your right but i'm not finding much that says otherwise. DH said he'll talk to HR if i can get some more info. it was more then a 1/3 of the moving reimburement that got taxed off.

[madsommer]

We just moved because of DHs job as well. A reimbursement check should not be taxed!!!! You already paid taxes on those items when you paid out of your pockets!!! Call HR right away! Good luck

[SleeplessMommy]

We got taxed on reimbursed moving expenses - not sure if it was fully or partially - but it did hurt!

One more vote for an improved tax system.

[meg-momto2]

i'm bumping this in hopes someone might be able to send me the right direction. DH is going to talk to HR on Monday. he also talked to his buddy from work who, can't remember for sure but, doesn't think his reimbursement was taxed. the only info i can find is about when filing taxes. i'm still confused if we can write this off on our taxes even though we got reimbursed. HR or payroll still has all our receipts. we went through the numbers again and it was closer to half the money taken for taxes. blargh!!!

[nixnux]

I'm almost positive that you can not deduct moving expenses on your taxes if they were reimbursed by the company. Also, they shouldn't have taxed your reimbursement, sound like a mistake to me. Good luck.

[grazy101]

DH relocated this year, so this topics are of great interest for me.

I read the IRS doc - publication 521 and it stated that there are two types of account the employer may chose to enroll in.

Accountable plan -- you have receipts or a log to show what you paid for. This should not be taxable

Nonaccountable plan -- this is the "extra" monies you received from the company for moving. And this is taxable.

For me, I guess i will have DH asked his HR and see what plan his company was in and will request for a breakdown on how they calculate the taxes under accountable plan. i KNOW we got tax a lot and I was too lazy then to look into it.

[madsommer]

Originally Posted by grazy101

DH relocated this year, so this topics are of great interest for me.

I read the IRS doc - publication 521 and it stated that there are two types of account the employer may chose to enroll in.

Accountable plan -- you have receipts or a log to show what you paid for. This should not be taxable

Nonaccountable plan -- this is the "extra" monies you received from the company for moving. And this is taxable.

For me, I guess i will have DH asked his HR and see what plan his company was in and will request for a breakdown on how they calculate the taxes under accountable plan. i KNOW we got tax a lot and I was too lazy then to look into it.

This is correct information. Did your DH give copies of receipts itemizing expenses? If so, then his reimbursement check should NOT have been taxed. But if he was just given a lump sum of money, then it WILL be taxed.

[angelcollector1]

When my company had me relocate 2 years ago they taxed the $ they provided me with for my moving expenses. Once I moved and filed my taxes, I had to provide and declare the expenses on my taxes so that the total amount of the gross amount they offered me for the move would be wiped out from my taxes.

[grazy101]

Originally Posted by madsommer

This is correct information. Did your DH give copies of receipts itemizing expenses? If so, then his reimbursement check should NOT have been taxed. But if he was just given a lump sum of money, then it WILL be taxed.

Yep, we gave receipts for the relo and still got tax!!

[Virginia884]

I get reimbursed all the time for work, and it is NEVER taxed. Like someone else said, you've already paid tax on this amount of money when you paid for your move, so your reimbursement should not be taxed. Did HR stick it in there with salary?? I hope it all worked out!

[madsommer]

Originally Posted by grazy101

Yep, we gave receipts for the relo and still got tax!!

Ok. Then if you aren't getting an answer from HR you should try calling the payroll department/accounting department. If it is a larger company, then HR is not the ones dealing directly with the checks. But yeah, you definitely should be getting money back from the company. Sorry you're having to deal with all of this. It's such a headache!!

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by grazy101

Yep, we gave receipts for the relo and still got tax!!

OK, well in this case it's expense reimbursement. It should NOT be taxed. They need to fix that for you. :