Publication 521 - Moving Expenses - 2011 (Page 8 of 19) in pdf

Household goods and personal effects. You can de-

You cannot deduct any expenses for meals.

duct the cost of packing, crating, and transporting your

household goods and personal effects and those of the

CAUTION

members of your household from your former home to your

Reasonable expenses. You can deduct only those ex-

new home. For purposes of moving expenses, the term

penses that are reasonable for the circumstances of your

“personal effects” includes, but is not limited to, movable

move. For example, the cost of traveling from your former

personal property that the taxpayer owns and frequently

home to your new one should be by the shortest, most

uses.

direct route available by conventional transportation. If

If you use your own car to move your things, see

Travel

during your trip to your new home, you stop over, or make

car, earlier.

side trips for sightseeing, the additional expenses for your

You can deduct any costs of connecting or discon-

stopover or side trips are not deductible as moving ex-

necting utilities required because you are moving your

penses.

household goods, appliances, or personal effects.

You can deduct the cost of shipping your car and your

Example. Beth’s employer transferred her from Bos-

household pets to your new home.

ton, Massachusetts, to Buffalo, New York. On her way to

You can deduct the cost of moving your household

Buffalo, Beth drove into Canada to visit the Toronto Zoo.

goods and personal effects from a place other than your

Since Beth’s excursion into Canada was away from the

former home. Your deduction is limited to the amount it

usual Boston-Buffalo route, the expenses paid or incurred

would have cost to move them from your former home.

for the excursion are not deductible. Beth can only deduct

what it would have cost to drive directly from Boston to

Example. Paul Brown has been living and working in

Buffalo. Likewise, Beth cannot deduct any expenses, such

North Carolina for the last 4 years. Because he has been

as the cost of a hotel room, caused by the delay for

renting a small apartment, he stored some furniture at his

sightseeing.

parents’ home in Georgia. Paul got a job in Washington,

DC. It cost him $900 to move the furniture from his North

Travel by car. If you use your car to take yourself, mem-

Carolina apartment to Washington and $3,000 to move the

bers of your household, or your personal effects to your

stored furniture from Georgia to Washington. It would have

new home, you can figure your expenses by deducting

cost $1,800 to ship the stored furniture from North Carolina

either:

to Washington. He can deduct only $1,800 of the $3,000

he paid. The amount he can deduct for moving his furniture

•

Your actual expenses, such as the amount you pay

is $2,700 ($900 + $1,800).

for gas and oil for your car, if you keep an accurate

record of each expense, or

You cannot deduct the cost of moving furniture

you buy on the way to your new home.

•

The standard mileage rate of 19 cents per mile for

CAUTION

miles driven during the period from January 1 to

Storage expenses. You can include the cost of storing

June 30, 2011, and 23.5 cents per mile for miles

and insuring household goods and personal effects within

driven during the period from July 1 to December 31,

any period of 30 consecutive days after the day your things

2011.

are moved from your former home and before they are

Whether you use actual expenses or the standard mileage

delivered to your new home.

rate to figure your expenses, you can deduct the parking

fees and tolls you pay to move. You cannot deduct any part

Travel expenses. You can deduct the cost of transporta-

of general repairs, general maintenance, insurance, or

tion and lodging for yourself and members of your house-

depreciation for your car.

hold while traveling from your former home to your new

home. This includes expenses for the day you arrive.

Member of your household. You can deduct moving

You can include any lodging expenses you had in the

expenses you pay for yourself and members of your

area of your former home within one day after you could no

household. A member of your household is anyone who

longer live in your former home because your furniture had

has both your former and new home as his or her home. It

been moved.

does not include a tenant or employee, unless that person

The members of your household do not have to travel

is your dependent.

together or at the same time. However, you can only

deduct expenses for one trip per person. If you use your

Moves to Locations in the United

own car, see

Travel by

car, earlier.

States

Example. In February 2011, Josh and Robyn Black

moved from Minneapolis to Washington, DC, where Josh

If you meet the requirements under Who Can Deduct

was starting a new job. Josh drove the family car to Wash-

Moving Expenses, earlier, you can deduct expenses for a

ington, DC, a trip of 1,100 miles. His expenses were

move to the area of a new main job location within the

$209.00 for mileage (1,100 miles x 19 cents per mile) plus

United States or its possessions. Your move may be from

$40 for tolls and $150 for lodging, for a total of $399.00.

one U.S. location to another or from a foreign country to the

One week later, Robyn flew from Minneapolis to Washing-

United States.

ton, DC. Her only expense was her $400 plane ticket. The

Page 8

Publication 521 (2011)

Publication 521 - Moving Expenses - 2011 Page 8

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