Can you deduct moving expenses? CRA rules explained

Do you qualify?

You can claim moving expenses if all of these are true (CRA):

1. You moved to work or run a business at a new location, or to study full time at a college or university.
2. Your new home is at least 40 km closer to that work or school than your old home, measured by the shortest public route.
3. You earn income at the new location, or receive taxable scholarships or bursaries as a student. You can’t deduct the expenses from other income, such as investments or employment insurance.

The move generally has to be within Canada. Moves to, from or outside Canada have extra residency conditions.

What you can deduct

• Movers, packing, storage and insurance for your belongings
• Travel for you and your household, including vehicle costs and meals
• Meals and temporary lodging near either home, for up to 15 days
• The cost of cancelling your old lease (not the rent you paid before cancelling)
• Changing your address on legal documents, replacing your driver’s licence, and utility hook-ups and disconnections
• Costs of keeping your old home while it sits empty, up to $5,000: interest, property tax, insurance, heat and utilities
• Selling your old home, and buying the new one if you sold the old one because of the move

What you can’t deduct

• Trips to look for a home or a job
• Mail forwarding
• Work to make your old home easier to sell, or a loss on its sale
• Items the movers refused to take, and replacing personal items
• Expenses your employer paid you back for, unless that money is in your income
• Anything you can’t back up with documents

A worked example

Say you move a 2-bedroom home 70 km within Ontario for a new job. Your new home is more than 40 km closer to work. Using MoverDash price data and the CRA’s 2025 simplified rates (CRA):

With the simplified method, you don’t need detailed meal receipts, though the CRA can still ask you to support the claim (CRA). Keep the movers’ invoice.

How to claim

1. Fill in Form T1-M, Moving Expenses Deduction, once for each move.
2. Enter the result on line 21900 of your tax return.
3. Keep your receipts and records. Don’t send them with your return.
4. If your expenses are more than your eligible income this year, carry the rest forward to a future year. You can’t carry it back.