[Decision Concerning Interior Employee's Claim for Reimbursement of Relocation Expenses]

The Bureau of Reclamation requested a decision concerning a transferred employee's claim for reimbursement for an underwriter's fee and a tax service fee charged by the lender incident to the employee's purchase of a residence at his new duty station. The employee argued that the agency should reimburse him because the fees were analogous to abstract and attorney fees charged for research and review before settlement. GAO held that an underwriter's fee and a tax service fee were finance charges under applicable laws and regulations, and as such, were not reimbursable. Accordingly, the claim was denied.