The Permanent Change of Station (PCS) FAQs provide information on frequent questions or concerns. If you have questions about specific topics not included here, please contact us.
For VEN Frequently Asked Questions, see Virtual Employee Network (VEN) FAQs
Acronyms and Definitions
| Acronym | Definition |
|---|---|
| CONUS |
The lower 48 Continental United States and the District of Columbia. |
| OCONUS |
Outside Continental United States. It specifically refers to states and U.S. territories that are not a part of the continental U.S., such as Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Puerto Rico, America Samoa, and U.S. Saipan. |
| POV |
Privately Owned Vehicle |
| HHG |
Household Goods |
| GBL |
Government Bill of Lading |
| HOR |
Home of Record. The place the employee was living when they were transferred or appointed to an overseas assignment. The HOR does not change during the period overseas duty. The HOR determines the maximum travel and transportation allowances |
| OTRAT |
Overseas Tour Renewal Agreement Travel. Refers to travel of the employee and their immediate family returning to their home in the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii between overseas tours of duty. The Department has determined that OTRAT is necessary for recruitment and retention of employees in a post of duty overseas or in remote locations of Alaska and Hawaii. |
| TQSE |
Temporary Quarters Subsistence Expenses. Temporary quarters is defined as any lodging obtained from private or commercial sources to be occupied temporarily by the employee or members of their immediate family until more suitable permanent lodging can be obtained. Temporary quarters subsistence expense (TQSE) is defined as expenses incurred by the employee and their immediate family while occupying temporary quarters. Temporary quarters may be obtained at either the old official duty station or the new official duty station. TQSE is not an entitlement, but a discretionary allowance to be authorized only when the Agency determines it to be in the best interest of the government. |
| WTA |
Withholding Tax Allowance. The WTA is an advance estimate of the RITA, which is added to each PCS claim, when needed, to defray an employee’s out-of-pocket expenses. Each time covered taxable moving expenses are claimed, WTA is calculated and added to the travel voucher. The WTA only covers the estimated Federal withholding tax amount. The reimbursement amount the employee will receive will be the amount claimed less deductions for non-reimbursable items and the estimated amounts withheld for State taxes and FICA/Medicare. The WTA is considered taxable income, and is subject to tax withholding. The total amount of an employee’s WTAs paid during a calendar year, as well as the total of all other allowable moving expenses, is included on the W-2 as wages, tips, and other compensations |
| RITA |
Relocation Income Tax Allowance. The difference between the WTA and the RITA is that the WTA is an estimate of the Federal withholding taxes due and the RITA uses actual figures provided by the employee after the tax year to determine the Federal, State, and local tax effects from the move. The RITA is calculated the year after the reimbursements involving taxable moving expenses along with a WTA, are received. For each year in which the employee receives a payment of covered taxable moving expenses and WTA, the following year the employee must submit a RITA travel voucher. The RITA utilizes actual figures provided by the employee to calculate the proper amounts that should have been reimbursed for Federal, State and local taxes. If the employee has been reimbursed more WTA than the RITA allowed, the employee will receive a bill of collection for the overpayment of the WTA. If the employee has not received enough WTA for the moving expenses, the employee will receive a payment to make up the difference |
Travel Voucher Submissions
Employees only (Not supervisors or approving officials) will need to navigate to https://relomw.com/ and click the Sign In button and follow the instructions to use PIV card to sign into VEN.
The basic version of Acrobat reader is all that is needed to successfully sign your VEN voucher using your PIV card. Adobe Pro is not needed.
The bureaus listed below have elected to allow their employees to self-initiate submission of PCS travel vouchers online via VEN. If your bureau is not listed, you will need to follow the PCS travel voucher submission process outlined by your bureau.
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
- Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
- Office of the Secretary of the Interior (OS/DO)
- Office of Surface Mining (OSM)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The passage of H.R.1 suspends United States Code U.S.C. 26 Section 217 (Moving Expenses). Section 217 reflects deductions for qualified moving expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer. This directly impacts relocating federal civilian employees.
Any transactions paid by the government on your behalf is taxable income, including amounts charged onto the government travel card or corporate card.
All taxable income will be reflected on your Earnings and Leave Statement.
Employee will receive a summary notification by the IBC reflecting reimbursable amounts from your travel vouchers and for third party invoices paid on your behalf (e.g. household goods (HHG)/POV shipment. HHG storage).
| CONUS Moves | OCONUS Moves |
|---|---|
|
|
All GBL shipments and storage are taxable income and are reported to payroll for tax withholding. The tax withholding is incorporated with your Earnings and Leave Statement. Please refer to question 6 for an example of how this may affect your paycheck.
Employees will be provided a copy of their GBL invoice(s) at the time IBC receives the invoice. Please review the invoice for any discrepancies and notify the moving company immediately about anything you feel is incorrect.
Any expense claimed on a travel voucher associated with self-shipment of HHGs including those incurred via third party moving companies is taxable income. As a self-shipment is typically far less expensive than a move completed by GBL, the tax liability may be less for relocating employees.
In accordance with the FTR 302-17.8, only transferring employees currently receive a Withholding Tax Allowance (Currently 28.21%) to offset Federal Tax withholding (See Question 6 for an example of how this will impact your paycheck).
WTA is not authorized for new appointees or retirees.
The Withholding Tax Allowance (WTA) is an advance payment of the RITA and the intent is to defray the out of pocket expenses in respect to the Federal tax withholding on reimbursable expenses for transferring employees. New Appointees and retirees are not entitled to WTA. The WTA is calculated at the rate of 28.21%, is then combined with the taxable PCS expenses and reported to payroll as taxable income. The income is located on the Earnings and Leave Statement under the Earnings section as “other taxable income”. These amounts are also included in your gross wages for the year and included in box 1 of an employee’s W-2.
In accordance with DOI Financial Management Memorandum (FMM) 2018-016 dated October 3, 2018, which directs payments made to a third party vendor on behalf of the employee (e.g. HHG Shipment, POV Shipment, and Storage) to be reported to payroll in full at the time of processing.
The additional taxable income amount will be reflected on your Earnings and Leave Statement as “Other Taxable Income”. Tax withholding amounts are: Federal (22%), State/Local (Applicable rates), OASDI (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%).
The reported taxable income will result in one of the following scenarios:
Transferee Example: IBC receives a HHG invoice for $15,000 from the vendor that moved the relocating employee. The employee pays Colorado state tax (4.63%). The payroll office will report 100% of additional taxable income to be included on employee’s W-2. The payroll system will utilize the WTA amount paid to withhold taxes in sequential order (OASDI, Medicare, Federal Taxes, State Taxes) until this amount is exhausted. Any remaining taxes not withheld will be the responsibility of the employee to pay.
| Invoice Amount | WTA Paid to help offset Federal Taxes (28.21%) |
Total Additional Taxable |
|---|---|---|
| $15,000.00 | $4,231.50 | $19,231.50 |
PCS Additional Income Tax Withholding
| WTA Paid to help offset Federal Taxes (28.21%) |
$4,231.50 |
|---|
Taxes Owed
| OASDI | ($19,231.50 * 6.2%) | $1,192.35 |
| Medicare | ($19,231.50 * 1.45%) | $278.86 |
| Remaining WTA This amount used to partially pay Federal Taxes |
$2,760.29 | |
| Federal Tax | ($19,231.50 * 22%) | $4,230.93 |
| Remaining WTA | $2,760.29 | |
| Difference Employee responsible to pay remaining Federal Taxes not withheld |
$1,470.64 | |
| Colorado State Tax Employee responsible to pay State Taxes not withheld |
($19,231.50 * 4.63%) | $890.42 |
New Appointee/Retiree Example: IBC receives a HHG invoice for $7,000.00 from the vendor that moved the relocating employee. The employee pays Colorado state tax (4.63%). The payroll office will report 100% of additional taxable income to be included on employee’s W-2. No WTA authorized for new appointee or retiree. The payroll system will attempt to collect all taxes (OASDI, Medicare, Federal Taxes, and State Taxes) from an employee’s paycheck.
Example A. Employee paycheck can absorb additional taxes
The employee’s net pay is usually $1,850.00 per pay period. If the employee’s paycheck can absorb all the taxes owed, the amount of net pay received may be significantly reduced.
| Invoice Amount | $4,000.00 |
|---|---|
| WTA Paid | Not Authorized |
| OASDI | ($4.000,00 * 6.2%) | $248.00 |
| Medicare | ($4,000.00 * 1.45%) | $58.00 |
| Federal Taxes | ($4,000.00 * 22%) | $880.00 |
| Colorado State Tax | ($4,000.00 * 4.63%) | $185.20 |
| Total Additional Taxes | $1,371.20 | |
| Normal Net Pay | $1,850.00 | |
| Net Pay After Tax Withholding | $478.00 | |
Example B. Employee Paycheck Cannot Absorb Additional Taxes
The employee’s net pay is usually $1,100.00 per pay period. If payroll cannot withhold all of the taxes for the additional taxable income, the payroll system does not withhold any taxes. The employee will receive a bill of collection from payroll for the OASDI and Medicare taxes ($306.00). The Federal and State ($1065.20) taxes will be the responsibility of the employee to pay. If the taxable income amount processed by payroll exceeds your net pay, the income will be included as taxable income on employee’s W-2.
| Invoice Amount | $4,000.00 |
|---|---|
| WTA Paid | Not Authorized |
| OASDI | ($4.000,00 * 6.2%) | $248.00 |
| Medicare | ($4,000.00 * 1.45%) | $58.00 |
| Federal Taxes | ($4,000.00 * 22%) | $880.00 |
| Colorado State Tax | ($4,000.00 * 4.63%) | $185.20 |
| Total Additional Taxes | $1,371.20 | |
| Normal Net Pay | $1,100.00 | |
| Net Pay After Tax Withholding | $478.00 | |
- Additional Taxes exceeded Net Pay by $271.20
- The employee will receive a bill of collection from payroll for the OASDI and Medicare taxes ($306.00).
- The Federal and State ($1,065.20) taxes will be the responsibility of the employee to pay.
- Additional taxable income will be included as taxable income on employee's W-2.
- The employee receives their Normal Net Pay of $1,100.00.
The purpose of the RITA is to settle the WTA payment(s) made to transferring employees in the prior year. As New Appointees and retirees are not entitled to WTA, they are not required to file a RITA voucher. For each year that taxable PCS expenses and WTA are paid, a RITA voucher must be filed the following year.
The RITA is calculated from the following prior year information:
- Total combined taxable income as reported on the IRS 1040
- Total taxable PCS reimbursement amounts, as indicated on line 19 of your 3-255(Permanent Change of Station Summary of Expenses Reimbursed) forms
- Total WTA paid as indicated on line 21 of your 3-255 forms
- Federal Income Tax filing status
- State income tax rate(s)
- Local income taxes (if applicable)
- When the combined taxable income as reported on the IRS 1040 aligns with the 22%Federal Income Tax bracket or higher, you will “break even” or receive a refund, as you were not provided with enough WTA throughout the prior year. The refund amount will be provided to you by means of a RITA voucher summary and will be included on your Earnings and Leave Statement. The RITA refund is taxable income and is not eligible for WTA.
- When the combined taxable income aligns with the 10 or 15% Federal Income Tax brackets, it is determined that WTA was overpaid in the prior year and a bill of collection will be issued. The amount owed to the Government will be provided to you by means of a RITA voucher summary.
Employees are encouraged to consult a tax professional for their individual situation to determine their options for paying federal, state and any local income taxes to avoid any potential tax penalties and/or interest charges.