Canada Moving Expenses Guide
the moving expense deduction in Canada. The taxpayer can deduct the eligible moving expenses from the income if the move is at least 40 km closer to the new work location (or the new study location). The move must be to start the new job or the new business (or to attend the post-secondary education as the full-time student). The eligible moving expenses include the travel costs (the transportation, the accommodation, the meals), the transportation of the household effects, the storage (up to 15 days), the temporary accommodation (up to 15 days), the legal fees (the deed transfer, the mortgage prepayment penalties, the property taxes on the old home), the real estate commissions (the "cost of selling the old home"), and the costs of the utilities disconnection and the connection at the new home. The employer-paid moving allowances are taxable (the employer must include the moving allowance in the employee's T4 income). The deduction limit is the net income earned at the new location in the year of the move (the unused moving expenses can be carried forward to the next year). The deduction is claimed on the Form T1-M (the "Moving Expenses Deduction").
Eligibility Criteria
- 40 km distance test: The new home must be at least 40 km closer to the new work location (or the new study location) than the old home. The distance is measured by the shortest public route (the "road distance").
- New job or business: The move must be to start the new employment, the new business, or the new full-time post-secondary education (the "eligible relocation"). The self-employed individuals and the employees who change the job locations qualify.
- Student moves: The students moving to attend the full-time post-secondary education (including the summer jobs, the co-op placements, and the apprenticeship programs) can deduct the moving expenses from the scholarship/bursary income or the employment income earned at the new location.
- Time limit: The deduction is available for the moving expenses incurred within the year of the move (or the following year, if the move is early in the year). The taxpayer must claim the deduction within the "moving year" (the year of the relocation).
Eligible Expenses
- Travel costs: The transportation costs (the fuel, the airfare, the train fare, the bus fare), the accommodation costs (the hotel, the motel, the Airbnb), and the meals (up to $69 per day for the 2025-26 year). The taxpayer can claim the costs for the moving family members (the spouse and the dependent children).
- Transportation of household effects: The moving company fees, the truck rental, the packing materials, the insurance for the goods in transit, and the storage of the household effects (up to 15 days).
- Temporary accommodation: The living expenses (the accommodation and the meals) for up to 15 days in the new location while looking for the permanent home.
- Legal and real estate costs: The legal fees for the purchase of the new home (if the taxpayer sells the old home), the real estate commissions for the sale of the old home, the mortgage prepayment penalties (the "mortgage discharge fees"), the deed transfer taxes (the "land transfer tax" on the new home), and the property taxes on the old home (up to the date of the sale).
- Utility connection costs: The costs of the disconnection of the utilities at the old home and the connection at the new home (the electricity, the gas, the water, the internet, the cable).
For the home office expenses and the work-from-home deductions, see our Home Office Expenses Guide →. For the rental property and the real estate expenses, see our Rental Property Expenses Guide →.