Methodology.

1.Primary sources

• WHR Global 2025 Mobility Benchmark: Verified-primary. Domestic homeowner avg $63,685; renter avg $21,792; lump-sum avg $14,608. The single most-reliable source in the dataset.
• Atlas Van Lines 59th Annual Survey 2026: Verified-primary. 549 respondents, fieldwork Dec 2025 - Jan 2026.
• IRS / 41 CFR Part 302-17 (RITA): Verified-primary. Federal employee gross-up methodology used as reference for private-sector.
• Foster Garvey OBBBA analysis (2025): Verified-primary for OBBBA tax-treatment permanence.
• Mercer COLA methodology: Verified-primary methodology. Specific dollar adjustment ranges are industry-reported (Mercer's full COLA index is paywalled).
• Alamo Corporate Housing 2026 cost data: Verified-primary for temporary-housing component ($3,300/mo national 1BR average).

2.Industry-reported sources

• CapRelo 2026 benchmarks: Industry-reported. Tier dollar bands converge with WHR and ARC.
• ARC Relocation 2026: Industry-reported. Cross-validates CapRelo.
• moveBuddha 2026: Industry-reported. Tier bands extend slightly higher than CapRelo/ARC.
• NRI Relocation 2025: Industry-reported for international ($77K avg).

3.Verification gaps

Worldwide ERC / WERC: The talenteverywhere.org primary site returned HTTP 403 to direct fetch on 2026-06-03. Survey-specific figures sometimes attributed to WERC (e.g. $97,166 current-employee homeowner) circulate in industry coverage but could not be verified at the publisher. We flag these as industry-reported and lead with WHR / Atlas where coverage overlaps.

4.Tax gross-up calculation

The 1.42x multiplier is derived from the verified 22% federal supplemental + 7.65% FICA = 29.65% combined rate, using the formula Gross = Net ÷ (1 − rate). State-tax variations adjust this:

• Zero-state-tax: 1.42x
• Texas / Florida / Nevada: 1.42x (no change)
• California top marginal: ~1.65x
• New York: ~1.58x

We don't publish a state-by-state gross-up table because effective marginal rates depend on employee's personal income tax bracket and filing status. For per-employee calculations, use a tax-services provider or the federal RITA methodology (41 CFR Part 302-17).

5.Re-verification cadence

WHR / Atlas annual surveys re-fetched at publication (typically Jan-Feb of each year). Tax rates (federal supplemental, FICA) re-verified annually or upon notable legislative change. Component-level cost data (corporate housing, household goods, pet relocation) re-verified every 90 days.

6.Editorial position

Independent. No relocation management company (RMC) referral fees. No vendor sponsorships. The Core/Flex / lump-sum / full-service framing is editorial, not affiliate-driven.