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.