Corporate Housing Reimbursement

[Cynthia75]

Washington State:

I am relocating to Seattle for a new job. Since my house in Texas has not sold, my company has agreed to pay $2,500 a month for a lease on a home for my family in the Seattle area. Instead of the company paying out $2,500 plus taxes so that the net I receive is $2,500, can I just expense the $2,500 rental payment each month and have my company reimburse me just like I do my hotel stays and flights up to Seattle now? That way it doesn't go into "my income".

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by Cynthia75

Washington State:

I am relocating to Seattle for a new job. Since my house in Texas has not sold, my company has agreed to pay $2,500 a month for a lease on a home for my family in the Seattle area. Instead of the company paying out $2,500 plus taxes so that the net I receive is $2,500, can I just expense the $2,500 rental payment each month and have my company reimburse me just like I do my hotel stays and flights up to Seattle now? That way it doesn't go into "my income".

I am pretty sure that the benefit is going to be taxable income to you. However you can certainly consult with a local tax pro who can do some research on it to see if there is a way around that.

[Flyingifr]

The problem is that by changing your Tax Home to Seattle, there is no legal way to write off the personal housing expenses of living in your tax home situs, even if you are stuck with another home far away that you must also pay for. Tax Code does not deal with difficulty in relocation, just the expenses of the actual relocation.

By changing Tax Home the expenses cannot qualify for Form 2106, which is what I assume you are thinking of.