The compensation you receives for your services is your wage income or self-employment income depending on the type of your relations with the payer.

Wages subject to federal employment taxes generally include all pay that you give to an employee for services performed. The pay may be in cash or in other forms. It includes salaries, vacation allowances, bonuses, commissions, and fringe benefits. It does not matter how you measure or make the payments. Amounts an employer pays as a bonus for signing or ratifying a contract in connection with the establishment of an employer-employee relationship and an amount paid to an employee for cancellation of an employment contract and relinquishment of contract rights are wages subject to social security, Medicare, and federal unemployment taxes and income tax withholding. Also, compensation paid to a former employee for services performed while still employed is wages subject to employment taxes.

Your employer is required to include the housing allowance into you wages and report on the W2 form. You may try to negotiate your additional benefits with consideration of your tax liability - federal and state.

You may deduct your travel expenses - only if that is your temporary job assignment - means it is expected to last and actually last less than a year.

You may deduct moving expenses - if your you are moving because of your job.

If you rent the property and have rental losses - you may not deduct them because of your income - but you will be able to deduct disallowed losses at the time you eventually sell the property.

Let me know if you need any help or clarification.

I do not know if that possible, but if you negotiate with your employer to compensate you additional rental expenses - you need to consider your net income because such compensation will be included into your wages.

If you are paid additional $1000 in wages - your estimated tax liability would be

-- federal income tax %250-350 - assuming you are in 25%-35% tax bracket

-- FICA taxes $14.50 - assuming your wages are above $106,800 (for 2009)

-- NJ state income tax $55.25 - assuming you are in 5.525% tax bracket (taxable income between $80,001 and $150,000)

Total taxes between $316.75 and $416.75

that leaves you with net between $683.25 and $583.25

It would be nice if your employer agrees to compensate additional tax expenses.

Let me know if you need any help or clarification.

Unfortunately - payments directly to the rental office will not change anything...

Your employer is required to include the amount paid for you into your wages - which may be not only in cash but in other forms.

If your employer provides you rent-free housing - a fair market value of the housing should be included into your wages and as such is subject to social security, Medicare, and income taxes.

Let me know if you need any help or clarification.