This chapter does not discuss moves outside the United States. If you are a United States citizen or resident alien who moved outside the United States or its possessions because of your job or business, see Publication 521, Moving Expenses, for special rules that apply to your move.

You can generally consider moving expenses incurred within 1 year from the date you first reported to work at the new location as closely related in time to the start of work. It is not necessary that you arrange to work before moving to a new location, as long as you actually do go to work.

If you do not move within 1 year of the date you begin work, you ordinarily cannot deduct the expenses unless you can show that circumstances existed that prevented the move within that time.

You can generally consider your move closely related in place to the start of work if the distance from your new home to the new job location is not more than the distance from your former home to the new job location. If your move does not meet this requirement, you may still be able to deduct moving expenses if you can show that:

Your home means your main home (residence). It can be a house, apartment, condominium, houseboat, house trailer, or similar dwelling. It does not include other homes owned or kept up by you or members of your family. It also does not include a seasonal home, such as a summer beach cottage. Your former home means your home before you left for your new job location. Your new home means your home within the area of your new job location.

You may be able to deduct the expenses of moving to the United States or its possessions even if the move is not related to the start of work at a new job location. You must have worked outside the United States or be a survivor of someone who did. See Retirees or Survivors Who Move to the United States, later.

If you go to work full time for the first time, your place of work must be at least 50 miles from your former home to meet the distance test.

If you go back to full-time work after a substantial period of part-time work or unemployment, your place of work must also be at least 50 miles from your former home.

If you are in the Armed Forces and you moved because of a permanent change of station, you do not have to meet the distance test. See Members of the Armed Forces, later.

Your main job location is usually the place where you spend most of your working time. If there is no one place where you spend most of your working time, your main job location is the place where your work is centered, such as where you report for work or are otherwise required to “base” your work.

If you work for several employers on a short-term basis and you get work under a union hall system (such as a construction or building trades worker), your main job location is the union hall.

If you have more than one job at any time, your main job location depends on the facts in each case. The more important factors to be considered are:

You are considered to have worked full time during any week you are temporarily absent from work because of illness, strikes, lockouts, layoffs, natural disasters, or similar causes. You are also considered to have worked full time during any week you are absent from work for leave or vacation provided for in your work contract or agreement.

If your work is seasonal, you are considered to be working full time during the off-season only if your work contract or agreement covers an off-season period of less than 6 months. For example, a school teacher on a 12-month contract who teaches on a full-time basis for more than 6 months is considered to have worked full time for the entire 12 months.

You are self-employed if you work as the sole owner of an unincorporated business or as a partner in a partnership carrying on a business. You are not considered self-employed if you are semiretired, are a part-time student, or work only a few hours each week.

You can count only those weeks during which you work full time as a week of work. Whether you work full time during any week depends on what is usual for your type of work in your area.

You can deduct your moving expenses on your 2003 tax return even if you have not yet met the time test by the date your 2003 return is due. You can do this if you expect to meet the 39-week test in 2004, or the 78-week test in 2004 or 2005. If you deduct moving expenses but do not meet the time test in 2004, or 2005, you must either:

If a member of the Armed Forces dies, is imprisoned, or deserts, a permanent change of station for the spouse or dependent includes a move to:

If the military moves you and your spouse and dependents to or from separate locations, the moves are treated as a single move to your new main job location.

For more information on moving expenses for members of the Armed Forces, and instructions for completing Form 3903, see Members of the Armed Forces in Publication 521.

For this section of this chapter, the term “United States” includes the possessions of the United States.

You can deduct moving expenses for a move to a new home in the United States when you permanently retire. However, both your former main job location and your former home must have been outside the United States.

You are considered permanently retired when you cease gainful full-time employment or self-employment. If, at the time you retire, you intend your retirement to be permanent, you will be considered retired though you later return to work. Your intention to retire permanently may be determined by:

If you are the spouse or the dependent of a person whose main job location at the time of death was outside the United States, you can deduct moving expenses if the following five requirements are met.

A move begins when one of the following events occurs.

You can deduct only those expenses that are reasonable for the circumstances of your move. For example, the cost of traveling from your former home to your new one should be by the shortest, most direct route available by conventional transportation. If, during your trip to your new home, you stop over, or make side trips for sightseeing, the additional expenses for your stopover or side trips are not deductible as moving expenses.

If you use your car to take yourself, members of your household, or your personal effects to your new home, you can figure your expenses by deducting either:

Whether you use actual expenses or the standard mileage rate to figure your expenses, you can deduct parking fees and tolls you paid in moving. You cannot deduct any part of general repairs, general maintenance, insurance, or depreciation for your car.

You can deduct moving expenses you pay for yourself and members of your household. A member of your household is anyone who has both your former and new home as his or her home. It does not include a tenant or employee, unless that person is your dependent.

There are different rules for moving within or to the United States than for moving outside the United States. This chapter only discusses moves within or to the United States. The rules for moves outside the United States can be found in Publication 521.

You can include the cost of storing and insuring household goods and personal effects within any period of 30 consecutive days after the day your things are moved from your former home and before they are delivered to your new home.

You cannot take a moving expense deduction and a business expense deduction for the same expenses. You must decide if your expenses are deductible as moving expenses or as business expenses. For example, expenses you have for travel, meals, and lodging while temporarily working at a place away from your regular place of work may be deductible as business expenses if you are considered away from home on business. Generally, your work at a single location is considered temporary if it is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less. See Temporary Assignment or Job in chapter 28 for information on deducting your expenses.

Use Form 3903 to figure your moving expense deduction.

Deduct your moving expenses on line 27 of Form 1040. The amount of moving expenses you can deduct is shown on line 5 of Form 3903.

You cannot deduct moving expenses on Form 1040EZ or Form 1040A.

If you receive a reimbursement for your moving expenses, how you report this amount and your expenses depends on whether the reimbursement is paid to you under an accountable plan or a nonaccountable plan.

For more information on reimbursements, see Publication 521.

If you were not reimbursed, deduct your allowable moving expenses either in the year you incurred them or in the year you paid them.

If you are reimbursed for your expenses, you may be able to deduct your expenses either in the year you incurred them or in the year you paid them. If you use the cash method of accounting, you can choose to deduct the expenses in the year you are reimbursed even though you paid the expenses in a different year.

If you are reimbursed for your expenses in a year after you paid the expenses, you may want to delay taking the deduction until the year you receive the reimbursement. If you do not choose to delay your deduction until the year you are reimbursed and you deduct moving expenses that will be reimbursed, you must include the reimbursement in your income.

If you use the cash method of accounting, which is used by most individuals, you can choose to deduct moving expenses in the year your employer reimburses you if:

You choose to deduct moving expenses in the year you received reimbursement by taking the deduction on your return, or amended return, for that year.

You cannot deduct any moving expenses for which you received a reimbursement that was not included in your income. (Reimbursements are discussed in Publication 521.)