How to Claim Moving Expenses on Your Canadian Tax Return After Moving for Work or School

Who can claim moving expenses in Canada?

The Canada Revenue Agency allows a moving-expense deduction when a move is sufficiently connected to work, self-employment or full-time post-secondary studies and the distance requirement is met.

For most claims, two conditions are central:

• you moved to a new home to work, carry on a business at a new location, or attend a post-secondary program full time;
• your new home is at least 40 kilometres closer to the new work location or school by the shortest usual public route.

You must also establish the new residence as the place where you ordinarily live. For example, the CRA may consider whether you sold, rented or advertised your former residence for sale or rent.

How does the 40-kilometre moving rule work?

The rule does not mean that your move itself must be at least 40 kilometres.

Instead, your new home must be at least 40 kilometres closer to the new place of work, business or study than your old home was.

The CRA measures the distances using the shortest usual public route.

Example of the 40-kilometre test

If your old home was 60 kilometres from the new workplace and your new home is 15 kilometres from it, the new residence is 45 kilometres closer. The distance condition is met, subject to the other eligibility requirements.

If the old home was 45 kilometres from the workplace and the new home is 10 kilometres away, the difference is only 35 kilometres and the 40-kilometre condition is not met.

Can you claim moving expenses for a new job?

Yes, if the CRA conditions are met. Employees who establish a new home so they can work at a new location may deduct qualifying moving expenses from employment income earned at that new work location.

The deduction cannot generally be used against unrelated sources of income such as investment income or Employment Insurance benefits.

Can self-employed people claim moving expenses?

Yes. A self-employed person can qualify when moving to establish a new home to carry on a business from a new location and the 40-kilometre test is met.

The deduction is generally limited to net self-employment income earned at the new work location, calculated according to the CRA rules on Form T1-M.

Can you claim moving expenses for school?

Yes, but the student rules are more restrictive. You can qualify for eligible moving expenses if you moved to attend a post-secondary program at a university, college or other educational institution as a full-time student and your new home is at least 40 kilometres closer to the school.

For a move made to attend school, the deduction is generally limited to the taxable portion of:

• scholarships;
• fellowships;
• bursaries;
• certain prizes;
• research grants.

If these amounts are fully exempt from tax, there may be little or no eligible student income against which the moving expenses can actually be deducted.

Can students claim moving expenses for a summer job?

Yes, potentially. A student who moves to work, including for summer employment, can use the employment rules rather than the school-related deduction rules if the move otherwise qualifies.

Eligible expenses for that move can be deducted only from employment or self-employment income earned at the new work location.

Can co-op students claim moving expenses?

The CRA states that co-operative students may claim qualifying moving expenses when moving back after a summer break or work semester if the applicable requirements, including the 40-kilometre test and eligible-income rules, are satisfied.

What moving expenses can you claim?

If you qualify, the CRA allows many reasonable costs paid to move yourself, members of your household and your household belongings.

Movers, packing and storage

Eligible transportation and storage expenses can include:

• packing;
• hauling;
• professional movers;
• in-transit storage;
• insurance relating to household goods while moving;
• transportation and storage of household items including boats and trailers.

Travel to your new home

You may claim qualifying travel expenses for yourself and members of your household, including:

• vehicle expenses;
• meals;
• accommodation while travelling to the new home.

Household members do not have to travel together or at exactly the same time for the expenses to potentially qualify.

Detailed versus simplified method for meals and vehicle expenses

The CRA permits a detailed method or a simplified method for eligible meals and vehicle expenses.

Detailed method

Under the detailed method, claim the actual eligible amount spent. For meals and vehicle expenses, keep detailed receipts and records supporting the amounts claimed.

Simplified method

Under the simplified method, meals are calculated using the applicable CRA flat rate per person and vehicle expenses are calculated by multiplying eligible kilometres travelled by the CRA per-kilometre rate for the province or territory where the travel began.

You do not need detailed meal or fuel receipts to calculate these simplified amounts, but the CRA may still request documentation supporting the move, the travel and the number of kilometres driven.

Can temporary accommodation be claimed?

Yes. You can claim eligible temporary living expenses for meals and lodging near your old home or new home for up to 15 days.

The expenses can relate to you and members of your household. The simplified meal method may be used where applicable, but you should retain records showing how long you stayed in temporary accommodation.

Can you claim the cost of breaking a lease?

Yes. The cost of cancelling the lease on your former home can qualify as a moving expense.

Regular rental payments owed before the lease cancellation do not become eligible simply because you moved.

Can you claim address-change and utility costs?

Certain incidental expenses directly related to the move can qualify, including:

• changing your address on legal documents;
• replacing a driver's licence;
• replacing non-commercial vehicle permits;
• utility connection and disconnection charges.

Vehicle insurance itself is not included in the CRA's listed incidental costs for replacing vehicle documentation.

Can you claim costs for an old home that has not sold?

You may claim up to $5,000 in qualifying costs to maintain a former home after you move when it is vacant and you are making reasonable efforts to sell it.

Potentially eligible costs include:

• interest;
• property taxes;
• insurance premiums;
• heating;
• utilities.

You cannot claim these maintenance costs for a period when the former home was rented or occupied by you or someone who lived with you immediately before the move.

Can you deduct the cost of selling your old home?

Yes, when the sale is connected to an eligible move. Eligible selling costs can include:

• advertising;
• legal or notary fees;
• real estate commissions;
• a mortgage penalty when the mortgage is paid off before maturity.

Costs may not qualify where the sale was delayed for investment purposes or while waiting for the real estate market to improve.

Can you claim costs of buying the new home?

Some acquisition costs for the new residence may qualify if you or your spouse or common-law partner sold the former residence because of the move.

The CRA includes legal or notary fees to purchase the new home and qualifying taxes paid to transfer or register title, other than GST/HST.

Which moving expenses cannot be deducted?

The CRA specifically excludes several common costs, including:

• renovations intended to make the old home more saleable;
• a financial loss on the sale of your home;
• house-hunting trips before moving;
• job-hunting trips to another city;
• the value of items that moving companies refuse to transport;
• cleaning or repairing a rented home to satisfy the landlord's standards;
• replacement of personal-use items such as drapes, carpets, tool sheds or firewood;
• mail-forwarding charges;
• transformers or adaptors for household appliances;
• mortgage default insurance.

A mobile home's moving cost is generally not deductible, although a limited amount may qualify when personal belongings are transported inside the mobile home and the cost does not exceed the estimated cost of moving those belongings separately.

What if your employer reimbursed your moving expenses?

If an employer paid or reimbursed eligible moving costs, you cannot simply claim the same expenses again.

The CRA allows a claim only if you:

• include the reimbursement or allowance in your income; or
• reduce the moving expenses claimed by the amount reimbursed.

The CRA may ask for a letter from your employer confirming that the claimed expenses were not reimbursed.

How much moving expense can an employee deduct?

The deduction for an employment-related move is limited by the net eligible employment income earned at the new work location.

Form T1-M calculates this eligible income using income associated with the new location and applicable deductions.

If your eligible moving expenses exceed the eligible income available in the year, the excess is not necessarily lost.

Can unused moving expenses be carried forward?

Yes. If your net moving expenses exceed the net eligible income from the new work location in the year of the move, you can carry forward the unused amount and deduct it from the same type of eligible income earned at the new work location in a later year.

Full-time students can similarly carry forward unused qualifying expenses against the same type of taxable scholarship, fellowship, bursary, prize or research-grant income received and reported in a later year.

Moving expenses cannot be carried back to an earlier tax year.

What if you pay a moving expense in a later year?

An eligible moving expense paid after the year in which you moved may be claimed on the return for the year in which you actually paid it, against qualifying income from the new location.

This can occur, for example, when the old home is not sold until a later year and eligible selling expenses are paid then.

The CRA may ask you to provide Form T1-M, receipts and an explanation for the delay.

Can you claim a move to or from Canada?

Special rules apply to international moves.

Where all other moving-expense conditions are satisfied, certain moves to Canada, from Canada or between two places outside Canada may qualify if the taxpayer is a factual or deemed resident of Canada and the move is from one place where the person normally lived to another place where the person normally lives.

For students moving outside Canada to attend a post-secondary institution, the CRA also applies residence-status requirements.

A temporary work arrangement outside Canada does not automatically create an eligible relocation if your normal home and significant residential ties remain in Canada.

What form do you use to claim moving expenses?

Complete Form T1-M, Moving Expenses Deduction.

The form calculates:

• your eligible moving costs;
• reimbursements and other adjustments;
• the income against which the deduction can be used;
• the deduction available for the year;
• any amount potentially available to carry forward.

You must complete a separate Form T1-M for each eligible move.

Where do moving expenses go on the tax return?

Enter the amount from line 29 of Form T1-M on line 21900, Moving expenses, of your income tax and benefit return.

The deduction reduces taxable income rather than operating as a separate refundable tax credit.

Do you send Form T1-M and receipts with your return?

The CRA instructs taxpayers to complete Form T1-M but not to send supporting documents with the initial tax return.

Keep the documentation in case the CRA asks to see it. If an EFILE service provider prepares your return, show the supporting documents to that provider.

What records should you keep for a moving-expense claim?

Depending on the expenses claimed, retain records such as:

• moving-company invoices;
• packing and storage receipts;
• travel and accommodation receipts;
• meal receipts when using the detailed method;
• vehicle receipts and records when using the detailed method;
• records of kilometres driven when using the simplified vehicle method;
• temporary accommodation records;
• lease-cancellation documentation;
• legal and real estate invoices;
• proof of payment;
• documentation showing the old and new addresses;
• information supporting the distances used for the 40-kilometre test;
• employment, business or school records supporting the reason for the move;
• employer reimbursement information.

Can you claim moving expenses online?

Yes. Moving expenses are claimed as part of your T1 income tax return. Certified tax software can ask about your move, calculate the Form T1-M deduction and transfer the amount to line 21900.

If eligible, you can file the return electronically through a CRA-supported method such as NETFILE or through an authorized EFILE provider.

How long does a moving-expense claim take to process?

There is no separate CRA processing period for Form T1-M or line 21900 because the deduction is reviewed as part of the tax return.

For 2026-2027, the CRA's service standard for an on-time digital T1 return is to issue the notice of assessment within 2 weeks.

For an on-time paper T1 return, the service standard is 12 weeks.

A return may take longer where the CRA contacts you for supporting documents or conducts an additional review.

Moving expenses deduction checklist

• Confirm that the move was for work, business or full-time post-secondary studies.
• Confirm that the new home is at least 40 kilometres closer to the new work location or school.
• Confirm that the new residence became your ordinary home.
• Identify the employment, self-employment or taxable student income against which the deduction can be used.
• Separate eligible and ineligible moving costs.
• Subtract employer reimbursements that were not included in income.
• Choose the detailed or simplified method for qualifying meal and vehicle expenses.
• Keep receipts, invoices, mileage records and proof of payment.
• Complete a separate Form T1-M for every eligible move.
• Enter line 29 of Form T1-M on line 21900 of your return.
• Keep track of unused eligible expenses that may be carried forward.
• Do not send supporting documents unless the CRA asks for them.