(a) Yes. If your agency makes the WTA optional to you, you may choose to not receive the WTA.

(b) When deciding whether or not to receive the WTA, you should consider the following:

(1) If you expect that your marginal Federal tax rate will be equal to or higher than the supplemental wage rate for the calendar year in which you received the majority of your relocation reimbursements, you may want to elect to receive the WTA.

(2) If you expect that your marginal Federal tax rate will be less than the supplemental wage rate for the calendar year in which you received the majority of your relocation reimbursements, you may want to decline receiving the WTA to avoid or limit possible overpayment of the WTA, the so-called “negative RITA” situation. In a “negative RITA” situation, you must repay some of the WTA in Year 2. However, even if your marginal Federal tax rate will be less than the supplemental wage rate, you may want to accept the WTA so that your initial reimbursement is larger.

(3) Examples showing relocation allowances paid by accepting or declining the WTA are published in an FTR bulletin available at https://gsa.gov/ftrbulletins.

[FTR Amdt. 2014-01, 79 FR 49645, Aug. 21, 2014, as amended by FTR Amdt. 2020-02; 84 FR 64783, Nov. 25, 2019]