My company gave me a relocation bonus and used a third party service to handle it. I got all of the money upfront, and had to sign a document saying I'd pay back a prorated amount if I left the company within a year. I was asked to submit reimbursements directly to the third party, so I didn't have to give the receipts for my fictional BDSM dungeon to the company directly. The taxable portion was the total bonus minus any moving expenses. I liked this model.