Did you know that if you moved more than 40km for work, you may be able to claim the expenses associated with that move on your personal tax return?
How do you know if you qualify? There are three simple questions to ask:
- Did you move in 2017?
- How far did you move?
- Why did you move?
If you answered yes, more than 40km, and because of work; then you can claim your moving expenses.
What kind of expenses are covered?
- If you have to sell your house, you can claim the cost of the realtor, lawyer fees, disbursement fees, and fees associated with paying out your mortgage early.
- Moving expenses – did you have to hire movers? Did you rent a U-Haul? Did you do it yourself? If so, you can claim your gas (or mileage). All of these are eligible expenses that you can claim.
- Accommodations – if you moved provinces or cities, or had to sell and weren’t able to find a new home before possession date, you can also claim your hotel and meals for up to 15 days.
- Vacancy expenses – If your old house sat vacant because it wouldn’t sell before you bought something new, you can potentially claim any costs associated with making sure it is secure; whether it’s quick trips to your old house, hiring a house sitter, installing an alarm system with monitored service, etc.
All that being said, if you moved without a job offer, then your expenses cannot be claimed. You must be moving for a job, not a potential job. So make sure you have an offer in hand before making the move. I should also note, CRA tends to audit or ask for more information from anyone claiming moving expenses because these tend to be high priced deductions. If you do not have a receipt or proof of an expense, you cannot claim it.
If you are ever in doubt on an expense, drop us an email and we would be more than happy to determine if you can claim it or not!