The short answer is “yes”. Relocation expenses for employees paid by an employer (aside from BVO/GBO homesale programs) are all considered taxable income to the employee by the IRS and state authorities (and by local governments that levy an income tax). This includes household goods transportation, temporary living expenses, miscellaneous allowances, lump sum payments and more. Read More

If you’ve never written a relocation RFP—or any RFP—before, the process might seem intimidating. However, if you take a systematic approach, it isn’t difficult. An RFP need not be overly long, but it should be thorough enough to elicit the information you need when searching for a relocation management company (RMC).

Your objective is to learn more about potential relocation partners, assess their capabilities and decide how well each aligns with your company’s needs, culture and values. You ultimately will weed out those RMCs that are not a good fit and select several finalists. Read More

After your company has completed the preliminary steps of the RFP process and reviewed the final presentations from prospective corporate relocation management services providers, you will be ready to evaluate pricing proposals and proceed to contract negotiations. Once the contract is signed, your new provider will work closely with you to implement your new program. A successful partnership will strengthen the competitiveness and success of your employee mobility program.

Following are some tips on working through pricing and contract negotiations with a corporate relocation management services partner. Read More

Once you’ve accomplished the first steps in the developing a comprehensive and accurate request for proposal (RFP), and you have your initial list of prospective partners, the next step is to contact the targeted relocation management companies (RMCs). As a first step, most companies either request a proposal from the RMCs or they issue a more formal RFI (Request for Information).

An RMC’s standard proposal will give you general information about the company and its capabilities, but it will be a rather high-level document, as the RMC would not have the information at this stage to present a more customized solution. Read More

In a time of talent shortages and an ever more connected world, employee relocation can give your company a leg up on your competition. However, with its intersection of talent, tax policy, technology, immigration regulations and other moving parts, global mobility is complex and help from expert relocation specialists become essential. Yet many growing companies have no idea how to find the help they need to support domestic reassignments and international relocations.

For many companies, employee relocation begins in an ad hoc way. There are no polices and few precedents, so the program often consists of a straightforward reimbursement of relocation expenses as they occur. If this describes your company, then this is an excellent time to consider a formal, outsourced relationship with a relocation management company (RMC) and well-thought-out relocation policies. Read More