Moving expenses to and from the United States

 

Moving expense deduction eliminated, except for certain armed forces members

For tax years beginning after 2017, you can no longer deduct moving expenses unless you are a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and, due to a military order, you move because of a permanent change of station.

Use Form 3903, Moving Expenses, to figure your moving expense deduction for a move related to the start of work at a new principal place of work (workplace). If the new workplace is outside the United States or its possessions, you must be a U.S. citizen or resident to deduct your expenses.

Moving expense reimbursements

For tax years 2018-2025, reimbursements for certain moving expenses are no longer excluded from the gross income of non-military taxpayers. If you move from the United States to a foreign country, your moving expense reimbursement is generally considered pay for future services to be performed at the new location. If you move to the United States, the moving expense reimbursement that you must include in income is generally considered to be U.S. source income.

However, if under either an agreement between you and your employer or a statement of company policy that is reduced to writing before your move to the foreign country, your employer will reimburse you for your move back to the United States regardless of whether you continue to work for the employer, the includible reimbursement is considered compensation for past services performed in the foreign country.

Moving expenses allocable to excluded foreign income

In most cases, reimbursement of moving expenses is earned income. If you live and work outside the United States, you may be able to exclude from income all or part of the income you earn in the foreign country. You may also be able to claim a foreign housing exclusion or deduction. See Chapter 4 of Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad, for more information.

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