I moved from New Mexico to Calif for employment. I had to fly out for the interview and pay for it myself. Then was accepted for hire. I then had a hitch put on my car, rented a trailer and drove to Calif. I stayed in a motel for 3 weeks until I found a place to rent. Then after 3 months I was layed off. This was a small town and there were no job opportunities there for my field of work. So I moved to Sacramento to seek employment. I stayed in a motel for a few days until I found a rental. This has taken all the money I have. What am I allowed to deduct?
Thank You,
Sheila
The Shadow
March 3, 2010 at 8:49 pm
That’s a lot more complicated than I can explain here. In general, you can deduct some moving expenses if:
a. The number of miles from your old home to your new workplace minus the number of miles from your old home to your old workplace is at least 50 miles
b. You work in your new location at least 39 weeks in the 12 months right after you move. There are exceptions to this if you are laid off.
For more information, go to http://www.irs.gov and download Form 3903 and Publication 521. These will explain all of the rules.
Interview expenses may be deductible if you found a job in the same profession. Expenses are not deductible if you look for a job in a new profession. However, these are miscellaneous deductions that are taken on Schedule A. You must itemize your deductions and your total miscellaneous deductions must be more than 2% of your adjusted gross income.
For more information on this, download Publication 17 from http://www.irs.gov. The information is on page 192.