I was a student and moved down to D.C. But I found my job after arriving, would I qualify for a moving expense

Question

I recently graduated from college in MA and had only worked as a work-study student in 2006. After graduation, I moved down to D.C. for a summer camp counselor position. After a month in D.C., I finally found a permanent position. Would I qualify for a moving expense deduction for a new job? Also in college, my permanent address was in CA, would I have to file in CA too? Or just report my work-study earnings in MA?

Answer 1

No because you did not relocate for employment purposes and a temporary position. If you had moved due to a job offer of a permanent position then you might have been eligible to claim the expenses on the Schedule A as an itemized deduction subject to the 2% AGI reduction

Answer 2

You qualify for the moving expenses deduction. Use Form 3903 and take the adjustment to income. You qualify because

1. Your move is closely related to the start of work, since you took the permanent position within one month of your arrival. It is not necessary that you have a job offer before the move.

2. Your job is 50 miles from your home (college in MA).

3. You expect to hold this position for 39 weeks during the 12 months following your move.

The summer camp counselor position is irrelevant, it was not permanent employment.

File both CA and MA state tax returns.

Answer 3

I'm fairly certain you wouldn't qualify. I believe the deduction is worded such that you can take it only if you moved specifically for that specific job, not just in order to find any job in general. Additionally, you had a job in D.C. Your new job must be at least 50 miled from your old job. In your case the "old job" is the camp counselor position. As far as filing in CA, technically yes you must file in both states. You should be able to credit the taxes you paid to MA on your CA return, so you shouldn't end up owing anything. Most students don't do this however and its such a small amount, I don't know of anyone who has been audited for this.