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[Relocation Expense Claims]

B-219546 Published: Nov 29, 1985. Publicly Released: Nov 29, 1985.
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Highlights

An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee claimed reimbursement, as a part of his miscellaneous expense allowance, for: (1) the purchase and installation of locks; (2) plumbing costs; (3) the removal of a tree from his former residence at his old duty station; and (4) the cost of his wife's travel to attend settlement for the purchase of a residence at his new duty station. GAO noted that Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) list the types of costs covered by the miscellaneous expenses allowance that may be reimbursed in connection with a transferred employee's discontinuance of residence. GAO found that: (1) miscellaneous expenses may not be used to reimburse costs incurred in connection with structural alterations, remodeling, or modernization of living quarters; (2) the miscellaneous expense allowance is intended to reimburse fees for disconnecting appliances involved in relocation, but the plumbing work for which the employee claimed reimbursement was not involved in disconnecting the appliance; and (3) it was irrelevant that the need for the repair became apparent after the employee had executed the contract to sell his former residence. GAO also found that: (1) the cost of removing a damaged tree from the claimant's former residence was analogous to the costs of structural alterations which may not be reimbursed in light of the FTR prohibition; (2) FTR specifically prohibit reimbursement of operating and maintenance costs as items of real estate expense and they may not be reimbursed as part of the miscellaneous expenses allowance; and (3) an agency may authorize round-trip travel for an employee and/or his spouse to seek a residence at the new duty station, but round-trip travel to attend settlement on a new residence is not authorized by statute or regulation. Accordingly, none of the costs may be reimbursed.

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Claims settlementEmployee transfersMaintenance costsReal estate expense claimsRelocation allowancesRelocation expense claimsTravel allowancesModifications