Repayments No Longer Deductible due to TCJA

by | Dec 11, 2018 | Uncategorized

Major tax reform rocked the relocation industry on December 22, 2017 when The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was approved by congress. The most realized effect was the removal of tax exempt status for qualified moving expenses. In November’s edition of Mobility Magazine, Peter Scott, Worldwide ERC®’s tax counsel, details an additional effect of the TCJA.

employee relocation

A Repayment Agreement protects your financial investment in an employee’s relocation. The agreement establishes that an employee must repay reimbursable relocation expenses upon termination of employment. Typically, these are structured on a prorated basis determined by the length of employment, such as 100% repayment within the first year and 50% repayment between 13-24 months.

According to Scott, “repayments in the same [tax] year as the move are not at issue, because such repayments are accounted for by simply adjusting withholding and payroll taxes.” The company would credit the employee the overpayment in withholding and FICA and adjust the wages on Form 941 accordingly.

Previously, repayments in a subsequent year were deductible on the employee’s taxes. With the passing of the TCJA, employers must now:

  • provide a Form W-2c for the FICA and Medicare collected;
  • refund the employee share of FICA and Medicare;
  • obtain a written statement from the employee that they will not seek a refund; and,
  • claim a FICA and Medicare credit on a subsequent Form 941.

The TCJA’s suspension of miscellaneous itemized deductions applies to all repayments beginning with moves in 2018. Scott does additionally mention Section 1341, however given the fact that it is only applicable if “a deduction is allowable for the taxable year,” it cannot be used in this instance.

As we approach 2019, this change may seriously impact the employee from a financial standpoint. However, Scott warns that under no circumstance should the debt be forgiven or written off. The IRS treats forgiveness of the repayment agreement debt as taxable wages to the employee, requiring a Form W-2, income tax withholding, and payment of payroll taxes. This creates additional expenses on part of the company.

Click here to read the full article in Mobility.

relocation benchmark

An Emphasis on COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment)

by | Dec 4, 2018 | News

Creating policies that are competitive, compliant, and up-to-date for our clients is a top priority at WHR Group. By using the results collected from WHR’s 2018 Mobility + Culture benchmark study, we hope to do exactly that. The study has served as a tool to help us identify ways that we can enhance relocation programs and policies to ensure they are the best fit for the employees of current and future clients of WHR.

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WHR’s recent blog post outlined a handful of questions within the Culture Guide section of the study. These questions help us gain insight into what is important to companies when creating a relocation program or choosing a relocation management company. One question focused on whether the primary function of the company’s relocation program was to recruit new employees or retain existing employees. Questions regarding a Cost of Living Analysis (COLA) and its impact on employees were also included in the study. It was reported that 56% of companies that are retention focused offer a Cost of Living Adjustment.

Companies surveyed for the Mobility + Culture Benchmark study were instructed to ask their employees for the top reasons why they would deny relocation. A top reason for denial was due to the cost of living in the new destination being too high. Of the companies that reported this reasoning for denial, 75% of them do not offer COLA in their relocation policy. If these companies were to reorganize their relocation programs to accommodate for the cost of living, they might see more participation in relocation.

Reasons to Offer a Cost of Living Adjustment

Relocation is already a long and stressful process for the employee and their family. By offering a Cost of Living Adjustment benefit within a relocation program, a company can demonstrate to the transferee that they understand they are asking the employee (and their family) to make a huge life change. This leads to a possible positive affect on the company’s retention rate because the transferee feels less alone in their adjustment to a new way of living.

Organizations that that are more concerned about recruiting new employees could also gain from offering COLA within their relocation programs. By showcasing that a company offers more benefits within a relocation program, the organization is being proactive and competitive within their industry.

The Impact of an Integrated Relocation Strategy

It’s clear that we’re facing a talent shortage. In 2012, the McKinsey Global Institute reported that by 2020 the global economy could face 38 to 40 million fewer workers with college or postgraduate degrees than employers will need. Additionally, we’re facing 45 million too few workers with secondary education by 2020. As baby boomers exit the workforce and technology continues to advance, the demand for highly trained, sophisticated workers increases. These pains are heard all the way to the board room, where senior leaders frequently cite finding talent as their most significant challenge.

The mountainous talent challenge seems impossible. What do we do? Use the tools we have. If you’re already offering relocation, increase your attention to the program. We believe it’s important to view relocation as a strategic enhancement to your company’s acquisition plan, not an uncomfortable, expensive necessity. By using data from benchmark studies, you can quickly compare your program to your competitors and make changes accordingly. This can give you an edge in recruiting or retaining your top talent.

At WHR Group, we place the utmost importance on culture as it relates to your relocation or mobility programs. Understanding an employee’s needs and wants can go a long way in creating a fitting relocation program, and we believe this goes hand in hand with our dedication to advancing lives forward.

 

 

relocation cost estimator

Corporate Culture & Your Relocation Program

by | Nov 27, 2018 | News

Corporate Culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and its management interact and handle business. Corporate culture is often implied, rather than expressed or defined, and it is something that develops organically over time. A company’s culture reveal itself in a variety of ways from dress code to the treatment of clients.

We’ve seen the results when relocation policies and programs match corporate culture and wanted to see how other companies stack up. That’s why we surveyed some of the largest and most successful companies around the world to participate in the 2018 Mobility + Culture benchmark study. Our unique Culture Guide analyzes each respondent’s cultural values through eight A/B style questions.

employee relocation

Do you prefer your partners to be High Tech or High Touch?

Is your company’s primary focus on technological advances or on relationship building? Of companies surveyed, 85% prefer to partner with high-touch companies. At WHR Group, we understand that relocating can be stressful on the transferee and their family. We heavily rely on the relationships that we build with our clients and their employees so that we can assist and help them to move forward in the best way possible.

While relationships and person-to-person communication is large component to how WHR handles relocation, technology is the tool that allows us to bring every factor included in the relocation to one destination. Our business is based on a “high-tech, human-touch” model, where we blend our intelligent, proprietary relocation technology with a dedicated team of real estate licensed relocation experts.

Do you primarily focus on budget or employee satisfaction?

When asking companies if they are primarily focused on budget or employee satisfaction, only 13% reported that there is more concern about budget. It’s clear that surveyed companies also understand the stressful nature of relocation and have placed their importance on employee satisfaction in their programs.

At WHR, we also value our employees. This is realized through our 5-time award winning culture in the Top Workplaces program by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. By hiring based off of WHR’s core values, we are able to guarantee the best service you will ever experience, regardless of the industry. Our inherently empathetic employees create high-touch relationships with transferring employees, creating a stress-free relocation experience.

Is your program designed to be proactive or reactive?

Being a “proactive” company means that the corporation actively plans ahead, and they are preparing for the needs of their employees. Of companies surveyed, 67% of them related to this culture. At WHR Group, one of our core values is to be proactive, and this is executed every day. When a transferee’s file is initiated, a call is made within 24-hours to introduce the Counseling team, and to explain what the employee can expect throughout the life cycle of the relocation. The initial call is a critical time to reveal any potential issues, set expectations, and lay the foundation for a smooth relocation.

At WHR Group, we place the utmost importance on culture as it relates to your relocation or mobility programs. We believe this goes hand in hand with our dedication to advancing lives forward.

See how WHR Group has became a leader in the global mobility industry with these 6 policies.

Values in Action

by | Nov 19, 2018 | News

Hard work, empathy, proactiveness, and trust are more than descriptive words at WHR Group. They are the core values in which business is ran. When evaluating candidates, WHR uses the Culture Index™ to identify and measure character traits. We believe that these words shouldn’t only apply in the office, but they should be entwined in WHR employee’s everyday lives. 

Corporate responsibility is more than a catch phrase at WHR Group and, to us, the time to give back isn’t inclusive to just one season. Being proactive in giving back is a task that should be executed 365 days a year. 

Placing Trust with Mayo Clinic

Founder and CEO of WHR, Roger Thrun, has been diagnosed with cancer four times over the past eleven years. Because of this, the plight of pancreatic and gastrointestinal cancers has been deeply felt within the organization that he founded. Dr. Mark Truty, a surgical oncologist at Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus, has been there for practically every step of Roger’s journey. After receiving the treatment first-hand, Roger recognized the amazing strides that Dr. Truty and his team have made. Learning that 350 (and counting) patients have been directly impacted by the research and tools provided by Dr. Truty’s lab, Roger realized the demand to help keep the lab alive through ongoing contributions.

Practicing Empathy at the Women’s Center

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in four women in America have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime and 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female. Domestic Violence is a silent crime that often goes un-talked about and may be closer than most think. The Women’s Center of Waukesha is an independent, non-profit human service agency founded in 1977, whose mission is to provide safety, shelter, and support to empower all impacted by domestic abuse, sexual violence, child abuse, and trafficking. The Center is a necessity to the community that is actively helping those escape from toxic relationships and helping them to move forward to better future. While it’s next to impossible to imagine what victims go through, we do our best to support the services and tools that have the potential to help victims push forward. In addition to our regular giving, this year WHR will donate gifts to the adults, teens, and children served by the Center for under the holiday tree. We hope to spread the warmth and joy of the holiday season to those who often face uncertainty.

Demonstrating Hard Work at St. Marcus Lutheran School

In Milwaukee, 80% of students in 96 schools come from a low-income home. These schools serve approximately 30,000 students and among them is St. Marcus Lutheran School. In the past, St. Marcus has seen large downfall and low enrollment rates – there were just 54 students in 1998. In 2002, Principal Kole Knueppel called friend Henry Tyson with the hope that we would be the Vice Principal at St. Marcus. Tyson has a strong background in philanthropy work and has a passion for helping those around him. Being that St. Marcus was an 80/80 school with less than 100 students, Tyson saw this as a ground-floor opportunity to help change lives. Today, there are over 1,000 students with two campuses hosting K3-8th grade students, with the goal of preparing students for high school while molding leaders for the community. The partnership between St. Marcus Lutheran School and WHR Group is young and there is a lot of excitement to see both the relationship and the school grow.

While these three causes may differ greatly, they also have one thing in common: there is a witnessable and direct impact made with donations and other contributions. WHR knows exactly where money is going and that a difference is being made. We are proud to support these and many other organizations.

We carry our mission and values with us in and out of the office. Take a look at what is important to us.

WHR Group Simplifies Relocation Experience via DocuSign

by | Nov 5, 2018 | Press Release

New Feature Provides End-to-End Document Visibility and Efficiency

MILWAUKEE, Wis., — WHR Group Inc. (WHR), a 25-year leader in the global mobility industry, today announced a strategic technology advancement with DocuSign, provider of the world’s #1 e-signature solution as part of its broader System of Agreement Platform. This powerful new feature changes the game for transferring employees.

Perfect for relocation, the addition of e-signature capabilities allows the ability to create all necessary relocation forms in a secure, efficient, and convenient environment. WHR’s ability to provide 24/7 access to the forms combined with the convenience of eliminating wet signature requirements, greatly increases the relocating employees’ overall experience. Within 30 days of the DocuSign implementation, the average completed document return time has decreased from 72 hours to just 15 hours, an improvement of 78%.

“One clear impact from e-signatures is our ability to better service the transferring employee,” said WHR’s President Paul De Boer. “At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: employees who are ready to work in their new location. We know relocation is a difficult, stressful time. We cannot change the mechanics of the process, but we can change the delivery.”

“We are proud to choose DocuSign as their secure platform is trusted by organizations everywhere,” said Jeff Beyer, WHR’s IT Director. “It is clear that DocuSign shares our desire for the highest level of convenience and compliance.”

The implementation of e-signatures is a marked improvement from the prior technology, which required transferring employees to print documents, manually complete them, and scan or fax the documents back to WHR. The newly developed, fully integrated information collection and documentation approval process allows transferring employees to sign and complete their documents completely online.

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 About WHR Group Inc.

WHR Group offers white-glove global relocation services to companies and government agencies regardless of industry, size, or location. WHR is a privately held company founded on the industry need to offer cost-effective relocation benefits without compromising empathy, ethics, or service. This belief forms the basis of their “high-tech, human-touch” business model, blending modern relocation technology with a highly trained, dedicated team of relocation experts who are driven by quality. More information can be found at whrg.com or follow @WHRGroup on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

It’s no secret we take data security seriously. See how our technology can offer solutions for your relocation program today.