LET REVENUE CANADA FINANCE YOUR MOVING EXPENSES BY RON KLINF- Ron Klingbyle

LET REVENUE CANADA FINANCE YOUR MOVING EXPENSES

You can deduct moving expenses paid on line 219 of your personal tax return if both of the following apply:

You moved to work or run a business, or to study full-time at an educational institution that offers post-secondary courses.
You moved at least 40 kilometres closer to your new work or school.

Your deduction is limited to the amount of eligible income you earned at the new location, you may carry forward unused amounts to future tax years.

Moving expenses that you can deduct include:

You can deduct reasonable amounts that you paid for moving yourself, your family, and your household effects. Not all members of your household have to travel together or at the same time.

Eligible moving expenses include:

transportation and storage costs (such as packing, hauling, in-transit storage, and insurance) for household effects, including items such as boats and trailers;
travelling expenses, including vehicle expenses, meals, and accommodation, to move you and members of your household to your new residence (you can choose to claim vehicle and meal expenses using the simplified method (see the note below);
costs for up to 15 days for meals and temporary accommodation near either residence for you and the members of your household (you can choose to claim meal expenses using the using the simplified method (see the note below); and
the cost of cancelling a lease for your old residence, except any rental payment for the period during which you occupied the residence.

When your old residence is sold as a result of your move, eligible moving expenses also include:

legal or notarial fees for the purchase of the new residence, as well as any taxes paid (other than GST/HST or property taxes) for the transfer or registration of title to the new residence, if you or your spouse or common-law partner sold the old residence; and
the cost of selling your old residence, including advertising, notarial or legal fees, real estate commission, and mortgage penalty when the mortgage is paid off before maturity.

Incidental costs related to the move

You can claim the cost of changing your address on legal documents, replacing driving licences and non-commercial vehicle permits (not including insurance), and utility hook-ups and disconnections.

Costs to maintain your old residence when vacant

You can claim, to a maximum of $5,000, the cost for interest, property taxes, insurance premiums, and heat and utilities expenses you paid to maintain your old residence when it was vacant after you moved, and during a period when reasonable efforts were made to sell the home.

The costs must have been incurred when your old residence was not ordinarily occupied by you or any other person who ordinarily resided with you at the old residence just before the move. You cannot deduct these costs during a period when the old residence was rented.

Moving expenses that you cannot deduct include:

expenses for work done to make your former residence more saleable;
any loss from the sale of your home;
expenses for house hunting trips before you move;
the value of items movers refused to take, such as plants, frozen food, ammunition, paint, and cleaning products;
expenses for job hunting in another city (such as travelling expenses);
expenses to clean or repair a rented residence to meet the landlord's standards;
expenses to replace personal-use items such as toolsheds, firewood, drapes, and carpets;
mail-forwarding costs (such as with Canada Post);
costs of transformers or adaptors for household appliances; and
costs incurred in the sale of your old home if you delayed selling for investment purposes or until the real estate market improved.