Are Moving Expenses Tax Deductible? What IRS Topic 455 and Pub 3 Say
IRS Topic 455 and Publication 3 describe the moving expense deduction for members of the Armed Forces on active duty who move on military orders, and extend it to intelligence community employees moving in 2026 or later. Anyone else should check with the IRS or a tax professional.
On this page
The short answer
The IRS describes the moving expense deduction for a specific group of people: members of the Armed Forces on active duty who move because of a military order. IRS Topic no. 455 is titled "Moving expenses for members of the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community," and Publication 3, the Armed Forces' Tax Guide, covers the same ground in more detail. Neither page, as of November 8, 2026, describes a deduction for an ordinary job move by someone outside those groups, and this guide does not guess at rules for anyone else. If you are not in the military, check the current IRS instructions or ask a tax professional before you assume anything about your move.
This is general information, not tax advice. Tax rules change and your facts matter.
Who the IRS pages name
Topic 455 says a member of the Armed Forces on active duty may be eligible to deduct unreimbursed moving expenses, or exclude reimbursed ones, for the member, a spouse and dependents, if the move was due to a military order and incident to a permanent change of station or a change of assignment that requires relocation.
The same page adds a second group, with a date attached. In its words, employees or new appointees of the intelligence community who are moving in 2026 or later may also be treated as if they are members of the Armed Forces for purposes of moving expenses. The tax-year wording matters, so read the page itself for the current text.
Publication 3 is more direct about the first group: to deduct moving expenses, you must be a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and your move must be due to a military order and the result of a permanent change of station. The edition this guide draws on is Publication 3 (2025).
What counts as a permanent change of station
Both pages give the same list. A permanent change of station includes a move from your home to your first post of active duty, a move from one permanent post of duty to another, and a move from your last post of duty to your home or to a nearer point in the United States. For the last of these, the move must occur within 1 year of ending your active duty or within the period allowed under the Joint Travel Regulations. Publication 3 also describes special cases for a spouse or dependent when the member deserts, is imprisoned or dies while on active duty.
Which costs the pages list
| Item | What the IRS pages say |
|---|---|
| Household goods and personal effects | Deductible: moving them, including hauling a trailer, packing, crating, in-transit storage and insurance (Pub 3) |
| Goods bought on the way | Not deductible: furniture or other goods bought on the way from the old home to the new one (Pub 3) |
| Storage and insurance | Only the cost within any period of 30 consecutive days after the goods are moved from the former home and before delivery to the new home (Pub 3) |
| Travel | Deductible: travel from the old home to the new one, including lodging within certain limits, car expenses and airfare (Pub 3) |
| Meals | Not deductible (Topic 455 and Pub 3) |
| Side trips and lavish lodging | Not deductible: unnecessary side trips or lavish and extravagant lodging (Pub 3) |
| Anything the government provided or reimbursed | Not deductible if covered by government reimbursement, direct payment or services that are excluded from income (Topic 455 and Pub 3) |
Topic 455 describes the test for qualified expenses: you can deduct unreimbursed amounts and exclude reimbursed ones if the amounts are reasonable for the circumstances of your move. Publication 3 adds that for a foreign move, the deductible expenses expand to include moving goods to and from storage and storing them for part or all of the time the new job location, outside the United States, remains your main job location.
How the pages say to report it
Topic 455 says to figure moving expenses on Form 3903 and deduct them as an adjustment to income on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, attaching Schedule 1. Publication 3 says to carry the deduction from line 5 of Form 3903 to Schedule 1, line 14, and to use a separate Form 3903 for each move if you qualify for more than one. Form 3903 has its own instructions, so use them for the arithmetic.
Worked example: reading your own situation
Suppose a friend tells you that she deducted her move last year, and you are about to move for a new job. Do not copy her return. Ask three questions in order. First, are you a member of the Armed Forces on active duty, or in the other group Topic 455 names? Second, if so, is the move because of a military order and a permanent change of station? Third, were any costs paid by the government or reimbursed? If the answer to the first question is no, neither IRS page describes a deduction for you, and the right next step is the IRS website or a tax professional rather than a guess. If the answers are yes, gather your receipts for the household goods move and the travel, separate out anything reimbursed, and open Form 3903.
When to ask for help
Call a tax professional or the IRS when your facts are mixed: a partial reimbursement, a move abroad, a spouse who moves to a different place, or a move that straddles two tax years. If you are in the military, your installation's legal or tax assistance office may also help. Neither the IRS pages nor this guide replaces that advice.
If you are still planning the move itself, see the moving timeline checklist and the change of address checklist.