Write it off! Deduct moving expenses on your income tax.

I'm sure you forgot to add the caveat to first check with your tax accountant.

You can also write off transportation and moving expenses for your pets.....per my accountant, whom I worship....

I take great pride this year in deducting the cost of chartering a private plane off STX for my dogs since there was no airline large enough to hold their crates that landed at the airport at that time and the weather was wrong anyway - there is a God, and he loves me very much......

If you were to check with a tax accountant I believe you would find that you can only write-off your moving expenses if the new job location is a transfer required by your employer.

Well, duh on me, dntw8tup........yes, of course we were transferred there, and then transferred back.....no pleasure moving here.....I am so sorry to have left the wrong impression. I thought we were talking about work-related moves....thanks for catching. Ya'll that are moving for fun - well, I guess you're on your own....

Hey S!

I should've noted that my remark was directed at SuchaLeo.

D sounds incredibly busy, which is great. I hope is medical treatments aren't painful. I'm sure he's looking forward to your visit in May. Too bad R has to stay behind and work (or is it?) 🙂

R has to stay behind - he is dog sitting. Hate that for him. Oh yeah, he's doing that pharmacy thing too...someone must pay while I play. His name came out of the hat. Oh well. Yes, perhaps we can meet under cover of darkness while I am staying on island with D - I know you like your anonimity, and I think it's just plain better that I remain anonymous.......

Hey dntw8up!

Thanks for the feedback, but your move DOES NOT have to be a transfer required by your employer in order for you to deduct moving expenses.

Page 2, same pub

"Move Related to Start of Work

Your move must be closely related, both in time and in place, to the start of work at your new job location.

Closely related in time. 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 GO TO WORK IN THAT LOCATION."

Typically, if you were transferred because your employer required you to be transferred, deducting moving expenses would be an almost moot point, since your employer, most likely, paid for the move. The only three requirements listed in Pub 521 are (we're on page 2):

1. Your move is closely related to the start of work.
2. You meet the distance test.
3. You meet the time test.

Self-employed persons may also deduct moving expenses. So saying that the move is required is like me saying I ordered myself to move because I'm my own employer and I'm so special that my services are required elsewhere. That sounds a bit schizophrenic...then again, that sounds like something I'd say. But I digress... 🙂

Again, I'm giving page numbers so y'all can read this also. Check out page 9, Reimbursements. That's where it talks about your employer paying for your move.

S,

I would meet up with you (and D) but you forget that I don't live on STX!

Along this same line....I HEARD that some employers aren't too bright and they will get you to throw them a figure into the wind to have enough funds to move on.....but don't forget that if they give that to you from a salary account, the funds are taxable, which takes your $20K estimate of funds needed down to $12K, which doesn't cover your expenses - so you ask for it out of an expense account, which is too confusing - so they just give you $35K and withhold the taxes.......never caring you will get that tax money back at the end of the year because it was a tax deductible move.....well, that's what I HEARD.....

The moral of the story, regardless........if you get your moving expenses from your employer in a lump sum and the company is not actually receiving and paying for the billing, make sure it is not added to your personal income for the year unless you have been compensated enough in your lump sum distribution to also cover the taxes. I can see where that could be quite ugly. Otherwise, see above and make out like a bandit.

Does anyone know if I can download these forms online? I tried to call from a fax machine like the first poster said, but it didn't work. Thanks.

Go to the bottom of www.irs.gov There is a thing called FedForms.gov - check that box and on the next page click "Leave IRS site" In the search box, type 521 or whatever form you are looking for.....click on the Adobe icon on the left and you should be able to download and then print. Hope that helps!

OK, SuchaLeo, I'm very unfamiliar with anything that has to do with tax deductions. So Can you help?
My husband and I are moving to St. Thomas from Nashville, TN on Sept. 1st and we will be finding FT jobs immediately, unrelated to our current jobs. Is this something we would file in 08? And what steps should I take to insure that we can get money back? Please help! thanks

I am not a tax accountant but I am pretty clear that you cannot just move and start a new job elsewhere and take advantage of a deduction.

Talk to a tax accountant not a forum post.

Megan, you're off base here - you HAVE to move as a result of a job transfer or business start up venture that you have considerable assets already invested in to take the tax break, such as if you owned a bar in the islands and were moving to manage it. That's per my accountant, who still swears we will probably get audited because our moving expenses were so very high and we did a turnaround in 14 months. Our saving grace is probably that we were transferred by a large national chain, which can easily be tracked.

You need professional tax advice from a CPA, but just because you want to move isn't a good enough reason for the IRS to cut you any slack.

And Becky is correct, this kind of deduction is likely to get you audited. Talk to an accountant.

Moving Expenses

"If you moved because of a change in work location, you may be able to deduct your costs associated with your move. You generally must meet three tests in order to qualify to take a moving expense deduction:

- You must have a new job location that is at least 50 miles further away from your old home than your old workplace was from your old home. For example, you lived 5 miles from your old job. Your new job must be at least 55 miles away from your old home in order to qualify for this deduction.

- Time: As a general rule, you must work or expect to work at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months after you arrive in the area of your new job location.

- Closely related: generally this requirement is satisfied only when moving expenses are paid within one year from the date you first reported to work. Exceptions to this rule can include such events as your spouse fulfilling a job commitment or your children finishing a segment of schooling." --Turbo Tax

I wrote off my moving expeses in 2005 as per my accountant.

I do encourage speaking to a tax professional, but I also implore you to get something in writing to back up whatever that professional tells you. If your accountant says that you must be transferred or self-employed to write off moving expenses, then I suggest he or she show it to you in an IRS publication. If said accountant says you can deduct them if you move without a job, ask for the reference. If an IRS employee tells you can or can't, ask for the reference. That's not distrust, that's C.Y.A.

I give page numbers and direct quotes. I want you all to see where I am getting this information. I will not make a objective argument without evidence.

According to the IRS auditor that sits in the cubicle next to me, you do not have to be transferred or self-employed to do this. If you get audited, I hope you get someone as nice as she is. 🙂

And, yes, if your expenses are unusually high ("unusual" being relative), or there is something on your tax return that sends up red flags, then your chances of an audit are high. That goes for claiming thousands of dollars of medical expenses for an ingrown toenail, claiming hundreds of dollars for the Telephone Excise Tax Refund, or driving a Jag & owning 5 homes but you claim your only source of income is selling cherry tomatoes off the interstate in the Poconos. Common sense and evidence are crucial with taxes, and, from what I've seen, everyone on this forum has plenty of common sense.

If deducting moving expenses makes you uncomfortable, then don't do it!! You can amend your tax return later.

So, order the publication, download it, call 1-800-829-1040 and ask the IRS, ask your accountant, ask yo' daddy, ask Jackson Hewitt, dance with the devil under the pale moonlight....but whatever you do, educate yourself, save receipts, and check that if it's said, it's written.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p521.pdf

Take care all and God bless.