Time of Year
Topic
Type of Resource
Policy

Faculty Moving Allowance - Policy

To pay for moving costs associated with hiring new faculty

University policy regarding relocation of faculty is found in the Administrative Guide Policy 2.1.19: Relocation of Faculty and Staff.  This section sets forth policies and procedures to facilitate the moving and reassignment of new or current Stanford faculty and is updated regularly as policy changes. Please consult this section for the policies that underlie H&S faculty moving guidelines and procedures, which follow.

 

Eligibility

  • All new appointments for regular, tenure-track faculty are eligible for moving assistance in the current academic year.
  • Faculty who are on a fixed-term appointment of two years or longer and funded from the operating budget are also eligible (e.g., a two-year fixed term assistant professor replacing one of our faculty members currently serving in an administrative position).
  • Senior lecturers, lecturers, emeriti, faculty on restricted funds, and other visitors are not eligible.
  • Significant delays in incurring moving expenses should be pre-arranged with the H&S Finance Group for funding purposes.

Offer Letter Specifications

  • Each offer letter for a new faculty member must specify that relocation costs will only be reimbursed provided that there is documentation of competitive bids and actual receipts and that some moving expense reimbursements may be reported as income per IRS guidelines.
  • Reimbursement of expenses for moving laboratory equipment, when appropriate, is handled separately through a research commitment and is specified in the offer letter. Create a separate line item for laboratory expenses. These expenses are not tax reportable.
  • Refer to Administrative Guide Policy 2.1.19: Relocation of Faculty and Staff for additional information regarding what should be included in the offer letter.

Procedures

  • Refer to Administrative Guide Policy 2.1.19: Relocation of Faculty and Staff  and Fingate for the University’s moving policies and procedures, including suggested moving companies.
  • Before approval, consult the offer letter for the exact language of the moving allowance.
  • Charge expenses directly to the Dean’s Office Faculty Moving PTA 1096104-1-AABBO.  Use either expenditure type 52260: Employee Moving Allowable or 52265: Employee Moving Unallowable, as appropriate.
  • Route first to the department manager, then to the appropriate Finance Liaison for review and approval.
  • The offer letter, documentation of competitive bids, and actual receipts must be included with the backup for reimbursement requests.

Personal Tax Liability

  • Reimbursements, unless noted, will be reported as additional income. When applying this relocation policy, departments should be aware that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires the University to report any payments, reimbursements, and advances associated with the move of the employee, the employee’s immediate family, and their household goods and personal effects as additional compensation income to the employee, subject to payroll taxes. Refer to Administrative Guide Policy 2.1.19: Relocation of Faculty and Staff for tax liability information.

Special Note:

  • Department Administrators should be thoroughly familiar with current university policy on the procedures for reimbursement of faculty moves and communicate the relevant information to the Department Chair and new faculty. Refer to Administrative Guide Policy 2.1.19: Relocation of Faculty and Staff.
  • Moving allowance includes transportation from home to Stanford-area residence, moving of home furniture, plants, pets, etc.
  • Research allowance (if any) includes transportation of former faculty office, books, etc.
  • If faculty has not yet accepted, house hunting visits are part of recruitment and are charged to the faculty search PTA, 1096105-1-AABBP, and department faculty search PTA, as appropriate.
  • If faculty has already accepted, house hunting visits are part of moving and are charged to the Dean’s Office Faculty Moving PTA 1096104-1-AABBO.