You land on this page and see two paths side by side: the Cash Route on the left, the Managed Move Route on the right. Not tabs, not a wizard. The calculator refuses to hide one behind the other, because your decision lives in the space between them.

The first numbers you type are the lump sum offered and your own honest moving cost estimate, not a national average. Right next to it, the managed move value defaults to that same lump sum until you know the real figure from HR.

Between those fields sits the Swap button. One click trades the lump sum and managed move values, so you can instantly test “what if the offer were flipped” without retyping anything.

Below the main inputs, an advanced toggle stays closed by default, since most people do not know their gross-up status or exact clawback terms on the first visit. Open it, and the calculator quietly selects “No” for gross-up, the most common case, and shows you the tax rate (defaulted to 22%, the federal supplemental withholding rate) and the clawback fields.

Hit Calculate and both cards fire at once. The Cash Route card starts with the gross amount, subtracts the tax unless gross-up is on, removes your moving costs, and lands on a single bottom line. If that number goes negative, it tells you plainly how much you will need from your own savings. Right below it, a quiet line names the dollar ceiling where the lump sum stops covering the move, and what percentage of your estimated cost the net cash actually covers.

The Managed Move card does not soften the one thing most articles skip: even though you never touch this cash, the IRS treats the value of an employer-paid move as your income. The phantom tax line is what you will owe on money you never held, deducted from your other paychecks unless your employer grosses it up too.

Between the two cards, a bar appears once the difference is meaningful, filling in green or amber and naming both bottom-line numbers so you do not have to compare columns yourself.

If you entered clawback terms and your planned stay falls short of the required months, a separate amber block surfaces the exact dollar exposure on each path. It stays apart from the main numbers because a clawback is a risk, not a certainty.

A short checklist follows: whether gross-up is missing, whether a clawback is active, and the reminder that both paths are taxable. No scores, just flags grounded in the numbers you actually entered.

Then the calculator hands you five questions to take to HR, drawn from exactly what this kind of package tends to leave unclear. Not generic advice, a script for your next conversation.

The final line compares the two bottom numbers in plain language, without declaring a winner. One path usually offers more cash and control; the other removes logistics but comes with less flexibility and its own tax bill.

Copy summary packs every number and alert into a clean text block, ready to send to a partner, HR, or your future self.

Tax treatment of relocation benefits changed under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; most employer-paid or reimbursed moving expenses are now taxable income for civilian employees. This tool is educational, not tax advice; confirm your specific situation with your employer’s HR team or a tax professional.