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You can either keep a detailed journal of all your travel expenses, excluding food, or you can use the default rate of 23 cents per mile.
#ARE MOVING EXPENSES TAX DEDUCTIBLE PROFESSIONAL#
Basic expenses include things like packing materials, professional transportation and handling of your belongings, and travel costs between your former home and new home.
#ARE MOVING EXPENSES TAX DEDUCTIBLE FULL#
Are you self-employed? If so, the 39-week time test doubles, so you'll need to work full time at least 78 weeks out of the first 24 months after your move.īy and large, all of your moving expenses are tax deductible if you meet those requirements. Those 39 weeks don't have to be continuous, and you don't need to work for the same employer, but you do need to stay in the same general commuting area. Time test -The time test simply requires that you work full time at least 39 weeks out of the first 12 months that you reside at your new address.If you remained in your former home, you'd increase your commute by 55 miles, so you do pass the distance test. In the second example, your former commute was only 5 miles, and your new job is 60 miles away from your former home. Your new job only increases your daily commute by 40 miles, so you don't meet the distance test requirement. Let's look at two examples: Your daily commute between your former home and former job was 30 miles each way, and your new job is located 70 miles away from your former home.
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Your new job location must add at least 50 miles to your commute from your former home.
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For example, your new home actually adds an extra 10 miles to your commute, but because it's in a less populated area of the state, your new home shaves 20 minutes off your daily commute. You are also exempt from this rule if you can prove that your new home shortens your commute. Your new home must be closer to your new job unless your employer requires you to live at your new home. In addition, you can't deduct moving expenses if you will continue working at the same address, but you can continue working for the same company if you're transferred to a new job location. You don't have to have a new job lined up when you move, but you must start work at a new location within one year of moving if you want to deduct those expenses. In other words, you can deduct any qualifying expenses up to one year before and after you start work.
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The first requirement simply limits your deduction to any moving expenses you incur within one year of starting work, and your new home must be closer to your new job than your old home.
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