Tax Reducers Organizer - Moving Expenses

If you have certain unreimbursed expenses related to moving your residence in connection with a new job location, you may be able to take them as an adjustment to your income. Under certain circumstances, you may have more than one eligible move during the same tax year.

Moving Expenses include:

Transportation/Storage of your belongings

Travel and Lodging expenses during the travel from your old to your new home

You may NOT take any of the following expenses:

Expenses prior to the move to locate a new residence

Temporary living expenses at the new location

Expenses of lease termination or startup

In order to be eligible for a moving expense adjustment, you must have taken a job which is 50 miles further away from your old residence than your prior job. It is NOT necessary for you to move closer to the new job. In fact, you can move even further away if you want to. It is NOT necessary for you to change employers.

Let's look at some examples:

- You get a new job which is 65 miles from your current home.

- Your old job job was 10 miles from your current home.

- You acquire a new residence which is 70 miles from your new job

- You are eligible to take the expenses

But:

- You get a new job which is 50 miles from your current home.

- Your old job was 5 miles from your current home

- You acquire a new residence which is 5 miles from your new job and 50 miles from your old home

- You are NOT eligible to take the expenses

In addition, you must meet certain time requirements to be eligible for moving expenses. If you are an employee, you must work in the general area of the new job for at least 39 weeks of the following 12 months. If you are self-employed, you must also work in the same general location for 78 weeks of the 24 months following the move.

There are exceptions to this rule which we can discuss with you. You do NOT have to wait until you have met the test to take the deduction. You may file for the deduction and amend your return later if you fail to qualify.

NOTE: Certain individuals retiring to the United States from a residence abroad may be eligible to take these expenses even if they are not taking a new job.

Look over the following list and provide us with the pertinent information:

- Location of the new job

- Are you a member of the military?

- Distance from your old home to your old job

- Distance from your old home to your new job

- Date of the move

- Cost of packing and transporting your possessions

- Cost of storing your goods for up to 30 contiguous days after moving from the old residence

- Cost of storing your goods during the duration of your new job if it is outside the United States and its possessions

- Lodging expenses between the old home and the new home

- Mileage or gasoline/oil expenses for the trip

- Parking and toll expenses for the trip

Reimbursement

In general, if your employer has reimbursed you for your moving expenses, it will be shown on your W-2. If not, tell us how much you were reimbursed for your move. If you have paperwork from your employer detailing how they arrived at the reimbursement, send us a COPY of that document.