Closely Related to Start of Work

For any moving expenses to be deductible, your move must have been closely related to the start of work in your new location, in both time and in space.

Being closely related in time means that the expenses occurred within one year before, or one year after, you go to work or start a business in the new location.

You may qualify for an exemption from this rule, if you have a good reason for incurring the expense of moving outside the one-year period.

Example You were transferred to a new job on the West Coast and began working there, but the rest of your family did not move from the Midwest until 18 months later so that your son could finish high school. The costs of moving your family would be deductible even though they were incurred more than one year after your new job began.

Being closely related in space generally means that the distance from the new job to the new home is not more than the distance from the new job to the old home.

Again, there may be an exception to this rule if you can show that either your employer requires you to live at the new home as a condition of employment, or you will actually spend less time or money commuting to the new job from your new home.

For purposes of measuring distances, the "new job" is considered to be located at your principal place of work, which is the place where you spend most of your working time. If there is no one location where you spend most of your time, consider your principal place of work to be the main office, station, check-in point, or place where you receive instructions. If you have more than one job, you'll have to decide which is your main job, based on the time spent at each job, the amount of work you do at each place, and the amount of money you earn at each place.

Also, your "home" for these purposes means your main home, not a summer home, second home, or a home kept up by other family members.