Writing off moving expenses on a federal tax return is no longer an option for most people. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the civilian moving expense deduction beginning in 2018, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) made that elimination permanent in 2025.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 217 – Moving Expenses Two groups can still claim the federal deduction: active-duty military members moving under orders, and, starting with the 2026 tax year, certain intelligence community employees. A handful of states continue to allow civilian moving deductions on state returns even though the federal one is gone.
Who Can Still Claim the Federal Deduction
Active-Duty Military
If you are on active duty and move because of a permanent change of station, you can deduct unreimbursed moving costs. A permanent change of station covers a move from your home to your first post of duty, a move between permanent posts, and a move from your last post back home or to a nearer point in the United States. The move from your last post must begin within one year of ending active duty or within the time allowed under the Joint Travel Regulations.2Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 455, Moving Expenses for Members of the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community
Military filers are exempt from the distance and time tests that once applied to civilians. You do not have to show that the new duty station is 50 miles farther from your old home or that you worked full-time for 39 weeks after the move.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 217 – Moving Expenses
Intelligence Community Employees, Starting in 2026
Beginning with the 2026 tax year, employees or new appointees of the intelligence community who move because of a required change in assignment can claim the deduction on the same terms as military members. The intelligence community is defined by reference to the National Security Act of 1947 and includes agencies such as the CIA and NSA. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act added this provision because civilian intelligence workers often face mandatory relocations similar to military personnel.2Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 455, Moving Expenses for Members of the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community
Everyone Else
Every other civilian filer, whether salaried or self-employed, cannot deduct moving costs on a federal return. It does not matter how far you moved, how much it cost, or whether your employer required the relocation.
What Counts as a Deductible Moving Expense
For those who qualify, the deduction covers reasonable unreimbursed costs in two categories: moving your belongings and traveling to your new home.
Household goods and personal effects include packing, crating, hauling, shipping, and insuring your possessions. Temporary storage and insurance are deductible for up to 30 consecutive days after your items leave your old home and before they arrive at the new one.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 3903
Travel expenses cover transportation and lodging for you and your household on the trip from the old home to the new one. If you drive, you can either deduct actual out-of-pocket vehicle costs or use the IRS standard mileage rate, which is 20.5 cents per mile for 2026.4Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate Either way, parking fees and tolls are deductible. Hotel costs during the trip qualify. Meals do not.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 3903 – Moving Expenses
What You Cannot Deduct
Many of the biggest costs people associate with a move fall outside the deduction. Even for eligible military and intelligence filers, the following are not deductible:
- Meals at any point during the move, including multi-day road trips.
- House-hunting trips before the move.
- Temporary living expenses while you wait for permanent housing.
- Real estate commissions, closing costs, mortgage points, losses on the sale of your old home, and down payments on a new one.
- Fees for breaking an old lease or entering a new one.
- Forfeited or paid security deposits.
- Repairs or upgrades made to help sell the old home.
- Return trips to your former city after the move.
- Furniture or other items bought during the move for the new home.
The deduction is narrow by design. It covers the physical act of transporting people and belongings from one home to another, and little else.
How Employer Relocation Payments Are Taxed
If your employer pays for your relocation or reimburses your moving costs, the tax treatment depends on who you are. For civilian employees, employer-paid moving assistance is fully taxable income. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently eliminated the exclusion that once let employers reimburse moving costs tax-free, so those payments appear as wages on your W-2 and are subject to income tax and payroll taxes.6Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 15-B, Employers Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits
That catches people off guard. A relocation package is smaller than it looks after federal and state income taxes and FICA come out. Some employers gross up the payment to cover the tax hit; many do not. Read your offer letter or relocation policy before you count on the full number.
Active-duty military and qualifying intelligence community employees are the exception. Their employer-provided moving reimbursements remain excludable from gross income, as long as the reimbursement covers expenses that would have been deductible if the employee had paid out of pocket.6Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 15-B, Employers Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits
States That Still Let Civilians Deduct
Several states have refused to follow the federal elimination. They generally apply the pre-2018 federal rules, so civilian employees and self-employed individuals can still deduct qualified moving costs on their state returns. States that preserve some form of the deduction include California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Hawaii.
The details vary. Massachusetts explicitly provides the moving expense deduction to all qualifying taxpayers for tax years 2026 and after, not just military members. Employees and self-employed individuals can deduct the cost of moving themselves and their families if the move relates to employment or business income subject to Massachusetts tax.7Mass.gov. Massachusetts Moving Expense Tax Deduction
New York decoupled from the TCJA changes and allowed taxpayers to subtract both qualified moving expenses and employer reimbursements from New York adjusted gross income for tax years 2018 through 2025.8New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. TSB-M-18(6)I – New York State Decouples from Certain Federal Changes Whether that treatment continues for 2026 depends on legislative action, so check updated guidance before filing.
California maintains its own moving expense deduction form, FTB 3913, for full-year and part-year residents. Non-military taxpayers who move to or within California for work can generally deduct qualifying expenses if they meet distance and time requirements similar to the old federal rules.9Franchise Tax Board. Instructions for Form FTB 3913 – Moving Expense Deduction
In states that follow the pre-2018 framework, civilians typically need to pass two tests. The distance test requires your new workplace to be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your previous workplace was. The time test requires full-time work for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months after the move, or 78 weeks during the first 24 months if you are self-employed.
How to File Form 3903
Eligible filers report moving expenses on IRS Form 3903 and attach it to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.10Internal Revenue Service. About Form 3903, Moving Expenses
Line 1 captures the cost of transporting and storing household goods and personal effects. Line 2 covers travel and lodging from the old home to the new one, excluding meals. The two lines are added, and employer reimbursements are subtracted. If unreimbursed expenses exceed the reimbursement, the difference goes on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 14. If the reimbursement exceeds expenses, the excess is reported as income on Form 1040.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 3903
The form includes a checkbox to certify that you meet the eligibility requirements. Most tax software handles this automatically once you indicate you are an active-duty military member or intelligence community employee filing for a move related to a permanent change of station.
Keep Your Records
Whether you claim the deduction on a federal or state return, keep every receipt, contract, and mileage log tied to the move. The IRS expects you to retain supporting documents for at least three years from the date you file the return claiming the deduction.12Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records? That includes moving company invoices, fuel receipts, hotel bills, tolls, and any documentation of employer reimbursements. A simple spreadsheet listing each expense by date, amount, and category is often the difference between a smooth audit and a denied deduction.