irs definition of temporary work assignment

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Long-Term Stay RV Parks vs Traditional Accommodations: Which is Right for You?

If you’re planning an extended vacation or need temporary housing for a work assignment, you may be considering long-term stay RV parks as an alternative to traditional accommodations. Long-term stay RV parks offer a unique and flexible way to experience the great outdoors while providing all the comforts of home. In this article, we will explore the benefits and considerations of long-term stay RV parks compared to traditional accommodations, helping you decide which option is right for you.

Flexibility and Mobility

One of the biggest advantages of staying in an RV park for an extended period is the flexibility and mobility it offers. Unlike traditional accommodations, such as hotels or rental properties, RVs allow you to easily move from one location to another. This means you can explore different areas without having to pack and unpack your belongings every time.

Additionally, long-term stay RV parks often provide amenities like laundry facilities, recreational areas, and even swimming pools. These added conveniences make it easier to enjoy your surroundings while still having access to essential services.

Cost-Effectiveness

Another significant advantage of long-term stay RV parks is their cost-effectiveness compared to traditional accommodations. Renting an RV can be more affordable than booking multiple hotel rooms or renting a furnished apartment for an extended period.

In addition to lower upfront costs, staying in an RV park allows you to save money on dining out since most RVs come equipped with kitchens. You can prepare your meals instead of relying on expensive restaurants or room service.

Connection with Nature

Staying in an RV park offers a unique opportunity to connect with nature that traditional accommodations often lack. Many long-term stay RV parks are located in picturesque settings surrounded by natural landscapes like mountains, lakes, or forests.

This proximity to nature allows you to engage in outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, or birdwatching right outside your doorstep. It provides a sense of tranquility and relaxation that can be difficult to achieve in a bustling city or crowded tourist destination.

Considerations and Limitations

While long-term stay RV parks have many advantages, it’s important to consider some limitations before making a decision. RV living requires adapting to a smaller living space and potentially sacrificing certain luxuries found in traditional accommodations.

Additionally, the logistics of finding suitable RV parks, especially during peak travel seasons, can be challenging. Some parks may have limited availability or specific restrictions on the size or age of RVs they accommodate. It’s crucial to research and plan your stay well in advance to ensure you find an RV park that meets your needs.

In conclusion, long-term stay RV parks offer flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and a unique connection with nature compared to traditional accommodations. However, it’s essential to consider the limitations and logistics involved in RV living before making a decision. By weighing the pros and cons outlined in this article, you can determine whether long-term stay RV parks are the right choice for your extended stay needs.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

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• Tax Matters

Defining the Temporary Workplace

For most taxpayers getting to and from work—no matter how arduous, frustrating or costly their daily commute—is a nondeductible personal expense.

Taxpayers whose residences are their principal places of business, however, may deduct daily transportation expenses between a home office and other temporary or regular work locations related to their trade or business. A home office qualifies as a principal place of business even if it is used only for administrative or managerial activities.

In the past, the IRS defined a "temporary" location as any location at which the taxpayer performed services on an irregular or short-term (days or weeks) basis.

In Walker v. Commissioner (101 TC 537, 1993), the Tax Court held a lumberjack could deduct daily transportation expenses even though his only regular place of work was his home and the home did not qualify as his principal place of business.

Taxpayers following Walker could thus deduct the costs of commuting to temporary work sites even if they didn't have a home office.

In revenue ruling 99-7 (1999-5 IRB), however, the IRS has redefined the meaning of "temporary employment" illustrated in Walker .

According to the new ruling, employment is temporary only if

• It is realistically expected to last (and does, in fact, last) for one year or less.
• It is initially expected to last for one year or less, but at some later date it becomes apparent the work will exceed one year (the work is temporary only until the date of the changed expectation).

If employment at a certain location is realistically expected to last for more than one year and is completed in less than a year, the employment is not considered temporary under the new ruling.

The following is an example of how the new definition might be applied. A foreman is asked to oversee a new production process at another plant for a temporary period. She normally commutes to work by bus, but the new plant is 40 miles away. She drives to and from the distant site for nearly four months until the project is completed.

Prior to the issuance of revenue ruling 99-7, this probably would not have been considered a qualified trip. Under this ruling, however, it qualifies as a deductible transportation expense.

What would happen if the foreman's work at the temporary site had lasted 13 months?

According to the new regulation, the foreman would not be able to deduct her travel expenses after she realized her assignment would last more than one year. Her expenses would not be deductible from the fifth month or the tenth month, or whenever she knew her work would exceed the year. Her expenses prior to the change in her expectation would remain deductible.

Observation. Taxpayers who work out of their homes, but whose homes, like Walker's, do not qualify as principal places of business, may not be able to deduct transportation expenses under revenue ruling 99-7. In order for a home office to qualify, the taxpayer must conduct substantial administrative or management activities at the location.

Consequently, CPAs should advise their clients to perform administrative tasks in their home offices or to open another regular place of business (shop) outside of their homes. Doing so will enable these taxpayers to deduct the expenses of commuting to work locations.

—Michael Lynch, CPA, Esq., associate professor of tax accounting at Bryant College, Springfield, Rhode Island.

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What Does The IRS Consider A Temporary Work Location?

In this week's Ask the Tax Expert, a reader asks about the IRS definition of a "temporary work location." This can be important to know if you plan to take a mileage deduction and drive from your home to a temporary work location.      

IRS Temporary Work Location Definition

Q. I'm a W-2 employee for an agency that contracts me out on assignments. My agency is in New Jersey and I live in Massachusetts. My current assignment is scheduled to last only two years. It's also about 15 miles from my home. Can I claim a deduction for my travel to and from this temporary office?    

‍ - Michael, Springfield, Mass.

‍ A. No, you can't. Travel from home to a regular work location is ordinarily not deductible. The IRS considers this to be commuting. Commuting is a personal expense and is never deductible.    

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The exception to the IRS commuting rule is when you travel from home to a temporary work location. Yet, the IRS defines a temporary work location as a place where you realistically expect to work less than one year. Your situation is not a temporary work location because your assignment is expected to last two years.  

Your situation probably still wouldn't qualify for a temporary work location even if your assignment was expected to last less than one year. This is because a temporary work location can be inside or outside of the metropolitan area where you live. But, if the location is inside your metropolitan area, you must have an outside office or other regular work location away from your home. With no outside office, you could only deduct your mileage when you travel from home to work assignments outside your metropolitan area.    

Your metropolitan area is defined to be a region including a city and the densely populated surrounding areas that are socially and economically integrated with it. As a rule, your metropolitan area extends no more than 35 to 40 miles from your home. Since you're only traveling 15 miles from home, you likely within your metropolitan area.

Still tracking miles by hand?

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Temporary Work Assignments

Extend the time limit for temporary work assignments in construction, background:.

• The IRS “temporary work assignment” definition for construction is 12 months and the construction industry commonly requires its employees to travel to out of town job sites. In recent years construction contracts have become increasingly larger and complex.

AGC Message:

• Extend “Temporary Work Assignment” Definition to 24 Months.  AGC supports increasing the “temporary work assignment” IRS definition for construction workers from the present limitation of 12 months to a new limitation of 24 months. Many jobs now require more than 12 months but less than 24 months to complete.
• Construction Has A Mobile Workforce.  The extension of the temporary assignment period from 12 months to 24 months merely recognizes the mobile nature of the construction work force, the modern complexity and size of contracts, as well as reasonable delays outside the control of the contractor. For example, a highway construction contract in Florida that can be completed in 12 months may require up to 24 months to complete in Alaska due to weather and other on-site delays.
• Reimbursement and Necessary Living Expenses Are Not Subject to Taxation.  Ordinary and necessary living expenses paid on behalf of or reimbursed to an employee when working away from home on temporary assignments are not subject to taxation to the employee and are deductible business expenses. Existing tax law requires reimbursements to employees be treated as additional compensation when the work assignment time becomes expected to exceed 12 months. Typically, the employer “grosses up” (includes in gross income) the reimbursement so that the employee is receiving a tax neutral benefit to the expense of the employer and the contracting customer. This gross-up effectively doubles the cost of the employee to the employer.

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IRS Letter Explains How One-Year Rule Affects Exclusion of Travel Reimbursements

EBIA   

May 30, 2019 · 5 minute read

IRS Information Letter 2019-0003 (Dec. 21, 2018)

Available at  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/19-0003.pdf

The IRS has released an information letter explaining the statutory one-year rule that determines when a work assignment ceases to be temporary for purposes of travel deductions and the income exclusion for travel expense reimbursements. Generally, travel reimbursements are excludable if they would be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses under Code § 162(a). Travel expenses are deductible under that Code provision only if the taxpayer is traveling “away from home” in the pursuit of a trade or business. A taxpayer is not considered away from home, however, if the assignment exceeds one year. The information letter responds to a request for a waiver or other action allowing certain employees and contractors to treat per diem reimbursements as nontaxable travel reimbursements. The letter suggests that the reimbursements at issue were treated as taxable income because they did not meet the one-year rule.

The letter explains that a taxpayer’s tax home is generally the taxpayer’s regular or principal place of business. If an employee is assigned to a different location, and the assignment is realistically expected to last—and does last—for one year or less, the assignment is considered temporary. If the assignment is expected to last longer than a year, it is not temporary regardless of its actual length. And if the assignment is expected to be shorter, but that expectation changes, the assignment ceases to be temporary when the expectation changes. When the assignment ceases to be temporary, the new location becomes the taxpayer’s tax home, and travel expenses incurred at that location are no longer deductible. Because the one-year rule is statutory, the IRS has no authority to waive it.

EBIA Comment: The one-year rule took effect in 1993, but employees continue to be surprised and confused by it (e.g., see our Checkpoint article ). There may also be confusion as to how travel expense reimbursements can still be excludable despite most employees’ inability to claim a deduction for unreimbursed travel expenses. Employee travel expense deductions are miscellaneous itemized deductions, and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) suspended miscellaneous itemized deductions for most employees for tax years after 2017 and before 2026. (The suspension does not affect Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with disabilities who have impairment-related work expenses. It also has no effect on contractors, whose travel expense deductions are not considered miscellaneous itemized deductions.) But that suspension does not prevent employers from providing excludable business travel expense reimbursements (see our Checkpoint article ). Employers that do not intend to gross up taxable reimbursements should consider educating their employees about the one-year rule (and the current lack of a deduction to partially offset loss of the exclusion) at the start of any assignment that could last more than a year. For more information, see EBIA’s Fringe Benefits manual at Sections II.E (“Employee Business Expense Reimbursements”) and XXI (“Travel Expense Reimbursements”).

Contributing Editors: EBIA Staff.

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Temporary Work Locations & Commuting Expenses Tax Deductions

by Team Falcon · Published · Updated

Table of Contents

What does the IRS consider a temporary work location and how does this impact commuting expenses write offs? Read to find out.

Many people, particularly self-employed individuals, and independent contractors take jobs that last only a short period of time. These jobs could also be called temporary work. In addition, for some of these temporary jobs, the worker is required to commute to a temporary work location. And the expenses of this work commute can add up. Therefore, many tempory workers wonder, are commuting expenses a tax write-off?

Read this article to learn how the IRS defines a temporary work location, and how to determine if your temporary work location commuting expenses are a tax write-off.

How does the IRS define a temporary work location?

The IRS defines a temporary work location as a work location expected to last for less than a year. For example, an employee’s or contractor’s commute between their home and regular work location is not a deductible business expense.

Daily round-trip commute expenses are tax-deductible, regardless of the distance, if the work location is temporary then the

Factors that Determine a Temporary Work Location

Temporary employment isn’t considered temporary for work locations if it’s expected to last longer than one year. Also, temporary employment is not considered temporary if it was initially planned to last less than a year but ended up lasting longer than a year. Therefore, in this case, the commuting expenses are not deductible. For example, an individual accepts an offer for a new full-time job but resigns within the first year of employment.

Also, a work location is not considered temporary if the employment was initially expected to last less than a year and at a later date was expected to last more than a year. Further, once it is realized that the employment will last longer than a year the work location is no longer considered temporary.

What does the IRS consider commuting expenses?

The IRS defines a commute as ‘transportation between your home and your regular place of work’. Please review this article for more detailed information on commuting expenses, How Does the IRS Define Commuting? .

What if I have more than one work location?

If the employee works between two or more work locations the commuting expenses between the two work locations are deductible. Also true for someone employed by two different employers. In the event that the commuter does not go directly from one location to the other, only the amount of the commuting expense is deduct ible.

No Ordinary Place of Work

Many workers have no ordinary place to work. Meaning, they don’t have a regular office that they go to on a daily basis, Monday through Friday. Instead, these workers are traveling around to different work locations throughout the day and throughout the week.

What commuting expenses are tax-deductible if you travel to different work locations for work? Commuting expenses aren’t deductible if the job requires you to travel to different workplaces around the city where you live. However, if the commuting requires the taxpayer to travel outside of their metropolitan area, then these commuting expenses are deductible. For information about what qualifies as “Away From Home”, review the post, IRS Business Travel Definition for “Away From Home” .

Temporary Work Location vs Travel

Transportation is a travel expense if the temporary work location is outside of the area where the taxpayer lives and it involves overnight stay. A travel expense is not a temporary work location commuting expense.

Therefore, expenses, in this case, deductible business travel expenses instead of commute expenses. For more information on business travel expenses please review the following post, What Qualifies as Tax Deductible Business Travel Expenses .

How do I track of mileage expense write offs?

• Odometer Log Enter the start and end odometer readings of your business transportation, Falcon Expenses calculates miles driven and expense reimbursement amount using the custom reimbursement rate set in the app. Check out this article for more information, Falcon Expenses Odometer Log Feature .
• Start and End Trip Addresses Enter start and end address for a tax deductible commute or transportation, Falcon Expenses calculates the number of miles driven and the expense reimbursement amount. Check out this article for more information, Falcon Expenses Addresses Feature .
• GPS Mileage Tracker Use an integrated GPS tracker to track tax deductible business transportation miles while you are driving. Falcon Expenses will calculate the deductible mileage expense amount for your when the trip is complete. Check out this article for more information, Falcon Expenses GPS Tracker .

About Falcon Expenses

Falcon Expenses is a top-rated mobile application for self-employed and small businesses to track expenses and tax deductions. Falcon customers record $6,600, on average, in annual tax deductions. Start today. The longer you wait the more tax deductions you miss out on.

Automatically track mileage expenses and expenses, keep an odometer log, receipt vault and log billable hours. Quickly organize expenses by time period, project, or client. Easily prepare reports to email to anyone in PDF or spreadsheet formats, all from your phone. Use for keeping track of tax deductions, reimbursements, taxes, record keeping, and more. Falcon Expenses is great for self-employed, freelancers, realtors, business travelers, truckers, and more.

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Tags: Away From Home Business Expenses Business Tax Deductions Business Transportation Expenses Contractor Expenses Freelancer Independent Contractor Self Employed Temporary Work Location

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Topic No. 511, Business Travel Expenses

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Travel expenses are the ordinary and necessary expenses of traveling away from home for your business, profession, or job. You can't deduct expenses that are lavish or extravagant, or that are for personal purposes.

You're traveling away from home if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home for a period substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and you need to get sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away.

Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home. For example, you live with your family in Chicago but work in Milwaukee where you stay in a hotel and eat in restaurants. You return to Chicago every weekend. You may not deduct any of your travel, meals or lodging in Milwaukee because that's your tax home. Your travel on weekends to your family home in Chicago isn't for your work, so these expenses are also not deductible. If you regularly work in more than one place, your tax home is the general area where your main place of business or work is located.

In determining your main place of business, take into account the length of time you normally need to spend at each location for business purposes, the degree of business activity in each area, and the relative significance of the financial return from each area. However, the most important consideration is the length of time you spend at each location.

You can deduct travel expenses paid or incurred in connection with a temporary work assignment away from home. However, you can't deduct travel expenses paid in connection with an indefinite work assignment. Any work assignment in excess of one year is considered indefinite. Also, you may not deduct travel expenses at a work location if you realistically expect that you'll work there for more than one year, whether or not you actually work there that long. If you realistically expect to work at a temporary location for one year or less, and the expectation changes so that at some point you realistically expect to work there for more than one year, travel expenses become nondeductible when your expectation changes.

Travel expenses for conventions are deductible if you can show that your attendance benefits your trade or business. Special rules apply to conventions held outside the North American area.

Deductible travel expenses while away from home include, but aren't limited to, the costs of:

• Travel by airplane, train, bus or car between your home and your business destination. (If you're provided with a ticket or you're riding free as a result of a frequent traveler or similar program, your cost is zero.)
• The airport or train station and your hotel,
• The hotel and the work location of your customers or clients, your business meeting place, or your temporary work location.
• Shipping of baggage, and sample or display material between your regular and temporary work locations.
• Using your car while at your business destination. You can deduct actual expenses or the standard mileage rate, as well as business-related tolls and parking fees. If you rent a car, you can deduct only the business-use portion for the expenses.
• Lodging and non-entertainment-related meals.
• Dry cleaning and laundry.
• Business calls while on your business trip. (This includes business communications by fax machine or other communication devices.)
• Tips you pay for services related to any of these expenses.
• Other similar ordinary and necessary expenses related to your business travel. (These expenses might include transportation to and from a business meal, public stenographer's fees, computer rental fees, and operating and maintaining a house trailer.)

Instead of keeping records of your meal expenses and deducting the actual cost, you can generally use a standard meal allowance, which varies depending on where you travel. The deduction for business meals is generally limited to 50% of the unreimbursed cost. For information on a temporary 100% deduction for food or beverages provided by a restaurant paid or incurred after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2023, refer to Notice 2021-25 PDF . For more information on a special rule that allows the temporary 100% deduction for the full meal portion of a per diem rate or allowance, refer to Notice 2021-63 PDF .

If you're self-employed, you can deduct travel expenses on Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (Sole Proprietorship) , or if you're a farmer, on Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Farming .

If you're a member of the National Guard or military reserve, you may be able to claim a deduction for unreimbursed travel expenses paid in connection with the performance of services as a reservist that reduces your adjusted gross income. This travel must be overnight and more than 100 miles from your home. Expenses must be ordinary and necessary. This deduction is limited to the regular federal per diem rate (for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses) and the standard mileage rate (for car expenses) plus any parking fees, ferry fees, and tolls. Claim these expenses on Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses and report them on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR as an adjustment to income.

Good records are essential. Refer to Topic No. 305 for information on recordkeeping. For more information on these and other travel expenses, refer to Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses .

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Short-Term Assignments: Key Considerations and Essential Information

By Tracy Langlois, CRP, GMS

Short-term work assignments have been steadily increasing over the years and certain factors like the pandemic have shined a light on vulnerabilities within numerous industries. For instance, the demand for travel nurses has never been higher, as certain staffing agencies need to fill voids and provide additional support at hospitals all over the US. Other companies are asking employees to train new hires at different locations or attend workshop programs and conferences out of state. Those working in media may need to spend days, weeks, or months in different locations covering news stories. HR representatives are focusing on talent mobility, which may require employees to take on short-term work assignments for specialized training and upward growth within a company.

No matter the industry or reason, employers are recognizing the value of short-term assignments, as well as the logistical steps required to smoothly transition their employees from point A to B. With that in mind, CapRelo put together an overview of short-term assignments, so your company knows what is needed to assist your employee during the hectic transition of a short-term assignment.

What is a Short-Term Assignment?

A temporary assignment is defined as a work stint lasting for one year or less. A short-term assignment can be a series of shorter rotational assignments or an assignment that requires an employee to stay in one place for the entire duration. Similar to temporary duty assignments in the military, short-term assignments are not permanent and are meant to carry out a specific purpose. Companies may send one employee or a whole team out on temporary assignments, depending on the industry and work goal.

What is the Purpose of a Short-Term Assignment?

There are plenty of different reasons why companies would send their staff out on short-term assignments. For instance, an employee may need to assist a branch that’s struggling to perform and help them to increase their sales numbers. It’s also not uncommon for staff to oversee different departments during a company merger, requiring temporary assignments to ensure company policies are being carried out consistently across the board. Perhaps limited resources have prevented staff at different locations from being properly cross-trained, necessitating the need for temporary work trips.

Whether three weeks or three months long, short-term assignments typically require companies to cover lodging, food, transportation, and other travel-related expenses with stipends.

Benefits and Challenges of Short-Term Assignments

While short-term assignments sound like a breeze, they can pose some serious challenges for both the employee and the company itself. International short-term assignments can pose tax and immigration issues if companies don’t comply with the laws and regulations in each country. Secondly, some countries have turbulent landscapes, which could potentially put staff at risk. Employees may also get stranded in the assignment country due to canceled flights or COVID-related concerns, further implicating the company when temporary assignments do not go according to plan.

On the flip side, a company can create a robust talent mobility strategy with initiatives that reward current and new hires willing to take on short-term assignments. For instance, paying employees during travel time can lead to higher retention rates. Companies can also train staff across locations to improve their skills, eliminating any consistency errors. A change of scenery might help employees to improve productivity as well, especially in locations that offer plenty of sunshine and warm weather for post-work relaxation.

Short-Term Assignment FAQs

• Are Short-Term Assignments International? Short-term assignments can be either domestic (within a country) or international (across country borders). Certain companies like Amazon, FedEx, and Apple are known for leading the way with the most corporate travel, requiring employees to rack up airline miles to fulfill their job duties.
• How Does the IRS Define Short-Term Assignments? The IRS defines short-term assignments as work in one location that can be reasonably completed in one year or less (and is). Employees typically file taxes with their home state. If a work assignment lasts for longer than a year then it is considered an indefinite assignment, prompting an employee’s tax home to change.
• What is Relocation Tax Assistance? Before 2018, any moving-related payments or reimbursements to employees were not included in their annual reportable wages. These expenses did not require withholding taxes and would have been paid by the employee and later deducted. The Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017 changed the way payroll handled relocation expenses. Nowadays, employers can offer relocation tax assistance or tax gross-ups. A tax gross-up simply means that a company provides a larger payment sum to the employee to compensate for the taxes that will be withheld from their payment if that employee is relocating somewhere new.
• Do Family Members Join Employees on Short-Term Assignments? When it comes to temporary assignments, most companies do not assist families to join the employee in the new location if the assignment is expected to have a duration of six months or less. Assignments greater than six months may include company support for family accompaniment. Some companies will offer to pay for visits home after a certain amount of time has passed for employees who are not accompanied. This could be anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks after the start of the assignment but depends on the company’s unique policies.

How Can Companies Assist Employees?

Companies should have well-defined relocation policies in place before sending employees out on temporary assignments. The policy should include details on the relocation services and benefits which will be provided to employees and who will be assisting them with these services. It is important to note for international cases that proper immigration documentation is required before the start of the assignment. Letters of assignment (LOA)s should also be created for employee and company signature and should include specifics on the location and duration of the assignment and specific benefits. Companies should have a dedicated budget in place to assist with short-term assignment relocation expenditures; a comprehensive cost estimate including tax costs can be prepared in advance to ensure appropriate approvals can be obtained. A survey of HR professionals conducted in partnership with CapRelo found that 33% of participants stated their relocation policies have been updated to accommodate employees’ mental health and well-being, which is another factor that should be taken into consideration to help employees cope better with their new surroundings.

Do You Need a Relocation Program?

So, you’re ready to send your employees out on short-term assignments, but don’t know where to start? Whether you need help transferring one employee intra-country, or flying a whole team across the globe for specialized training, we can help.

At CapRelo , we provide relocation solutions for companies that need them, covering a host of services including cost estimate preparation, corporate housing, auto shipment, property management, travel services, immigration coordination, and much more.

Our team specializes in seamless transfer operations and sorts out all of the logistical steps before your employee’s short-term assignment so you can have peace of mind knowing that they are in the best of hands. Allow us to take one more thing off your plate and contact our highly qualified team at CapRelo today to get started.

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Insights + Resources

Caprelo insider 25 october 2023, 9 proven strategies to recruit top talent, navigating relocation in a changing real estate market, caprelo insider 27 september 2023.