Understand what qualifies as a moving expense

Relocating can be expensive—from packing supplies and movers to hotels, meals, and real estate fees. But if your move meets certain criteria, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) may allow you to deduct many of these costs to reduce your taxable income.

This matters when you're starting a new job, launching a business, or attending school far from home. Moving expenses are often overlooked during tax season, but when properly tracked and claimed, they can lead to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in tax relief.

Here’s what counts, who qualifies, and how to make your claim count.

Who Can Claim Moving Expenses?

You can deduct moving expenses if your relocation meets both of the following conditions:

• You moved to start a new job, a business, or a full-time post-secondary program, and

• Your new home is at least 40 kilometres closer (measured by the shortest public route) to your new place of work or study than your previous home was

The deduction is available whether you’re an employee, self-employed, or a student. However, the way you apply the deduction will vary depending on your situation.

Employees claim expenses against employment income earned at the new location.
Students may only claim expenses against taxable scholarship or bursary income.

What Expenses Are Eligible?

The CRA provides a detailed list of costs you can deduct if your move qualifies. These must be reasonable in amountand directly related to the move.

You can claim:

• Transportation and storage of household goods: This includes moving trucks, professional movers, in-transit storage, packing materials, and insurance coverage during the move.

• Travel expenses for you and your household members: You can deduct the cost of getting to your new home, including gas, mileage (using CRA's per-kilometre rate), airfare, meals on the road, and lodging during the trip. These costs apply for all individuals who moved with you.

• Temporary living expenses: If you had to live in a hotel or short-term rental while waiting to move into your new home, you may claim up to 15 days of meals and accommodation costs, either at your old location or the new one.

• Cost of cancelling your lease: This includes fees or penalties paid to your landlord to break your rental agreement early. Unpaid rent itself does not qualify.

• Incidental expenses related to the move: This includes costs for changing your address on documents, disconnecting or connecting utilities, replacing a driver's license, or updating vehicle registration.

• Real estate fees for selling your old home: You may claim legal fees, advertising costs, and real estate commission paid to sell your former residence. If you paid a penalty to discharge your mortgage early, that may also be deductible.

• Legal fees and land transfer taxes for your new home: These are only deductible if you sold your old home because of the move and bought a new one in the new location.

What’s Eligible and What’s Not

What Expenses Are Not Eligible?

Even if your move meets CRA distance and purpose requirements, some expenses are never deductible:

• Renovations, upgrades, or staging costs to help sell your old home

• Mortgage interest, utility bills, or property taxes at your old or new residence

• Losses from selling your home for less than its purchase price

• Meals, hotels, or gas for early house-hunting trips

• Storage fees beyond a reasonable moving period

• Costs reimbursed by your employer or another party (you can only claim what you actually paid)

Moving for School: Special Rules for Students

If you're a full-time student moving to attend a college, university, or other post-secondary institution, you may claim moving expenses—but only to offset taxable scholarship, fellowship, bursary, or grant income.

You cannot apply moving expenses against part-time employment or student loans. Additionally, you cannot carry forward unused moving expenses to apply in a future year.