Am I eligible to claim moving expenses?
You can claim moving expenses if you moved at least 40 kilometres closer to your work (owned by you or someone else) or school (university, college, or other post-secondary institution).
The CRA allows couples to split moving expenses, but it’s usually beneficial for the higher-earning spouse to claim them all.
Eligible expenses include:
Transportation and storage costs
Travel expenses
Temporary living expenses (for up to 15 days) near your old and new homes
The cost of cancelling the lease for your old home
Incidental costs, such as changing your address on legal documents, replacing driving licences, and utility hookups and disconnections
The cost to maintain your vacant old home while trying to sell it (up to $5,000)
The cost of selling your old home, including advertising, real estate commission, and mortgage penalty
The cost of buying the new home
For a detailed list, visit the CRA page on deductible moving expenses.
You can't claim:
Moving expenses reimbursed by your employer
Expenses for work done to improve your old home for selling
Any loss from the sale of your home
Travel expenses for house-hunting or job-hunting before your move
The value of items movers refused to take
Expenses to clean or repair a rented home
Mail-forwarding costs
Costs of transformers or adaptors for household appliances
Costs incurred in the sale of your old home if you delayed selling until the real estate market improved
Mortgage default insurance
For a detailed list, visit the CRA page on nondeductible moving expenses.
Follow these steps to claim these expenses in TurboTax.
