what moving expenses are deductible for new job?

Question

And or which expenses can be included in a new employers agreement to pay for moving expenses....other than the obvious moving company truck mileadge gas. Im talking baout a person who is moving from a rentalhouse/apt to another rental home/apt.

great answers! The employer is not giving the check first, but asking for receipts so Im trying to see what would be acceptable-perhaps more lenient than the tax code?

Answer 1

Here's a link to Form 3903: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3903.pdf and IRS Pub 521: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p521.pdf

Basically you can deduct the costs of moving your household goods, storage for up to 30 days, and the cost of travel to the new location. You can deduct lodging en-route along with the day prior to departure and the day of arrival. You cannot deduct meals.

Costs for breaking a lease or acquiring a new one are not deductible.

Any expenses that are reimbursed by your employer are not deductible UNLESS your employer includes that reimbursement on your Form W-2 for the year of the move.
Carefully read the rules on reimbursements on pages 9 and 10 of IRS Pub 521.

Answer 2

You can deduct all the "reasonable" expenses incurred from moving because of a new job so long as your new new job is at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job location was.

Apart from the actual costs of moving, you can also deduct the time you spend in a hotel, if any, before you move into your new home. You cant, for whatever reason, deduct your meals though.

Most emplyers would probably give you a "flat fee" for moving. I.e., give you $10,000 and say, "This is for moving expenses." That's usually the easiest way to do things.

Remember though, that you can only deduct "unreimbursed" moving expenses. If your employer pays for your move, you cant deduct the costs from your income taxes.