Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
You can deduct moving costs in Canada if you moved to work, run a business or study full-time, and your new home is at least 40 kilometres closer (by the shortest public route) to the new work location or school. You claim the total on line 21900 with Form T1-M. The deduction only reduces income earned at the new location. This guide follows the CRA page for the 2025 tax year.
Who can claim moving expenses?
Two things have to be true. You moved to a new home to work or run a business from a new location, or to attend a post-secondary program full-time. And the new home is at least 40 km closer to the new work location or school than the old one was. Generally the move has to be from one place in Canada to another.
Full-time students have a narrower route. They can deduct moving costs only from scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, certain prizes and research grants that they must include in income. A student who moves to take a job, including a summer job, or to run a business can deduct against the income from that new work. Co-op students moving back after a work semester may also claim.
The CRA page lists who cannot claim: anyone whose new home is not at least 40 km closer, students who are not full-time, and students with no taxable scholarship income who did not also move to work. You also cannot deduct moving costs against investment income or EI benefits, even if you received them at the new location.
Which moving costs count?
The list is longer than most people expect. Here is what the CRA page includes.
| Cost | What the CRA page says |
|---|---|
| Transportation and storage | Packing, hauling, movers, in-transit storage and insurance, including boats and trailers |
| Travel | Vehicle costs, meals and lodging for you and your household, by the detailed or the simplified method |
| Temporary living | Meals and lodging near the old or new home for a maximum of 15 days |
| Cancelling the old lease | The cancellation cost only, not rent paid before cancelling |
| Incidentals | Address changes on legal documents, new driver’s licence and non-commercial vehicle permits (not insurance), utility hook-ups and disconnections |
| Keeping a vacant old home | Interest, property taxes, insurance, heat and utilities, up to $5,000, and not while the home was rented out |
| Selling the old home | Advertising, legal or notary fees, real estate commission, mortgage penalties |
| Buying the new home | Legal or notary fees and non-GST/HST title transfer or registration taxes, if you or your partner sold the old home because of the move |
The CRA says you cannot claim house-hunting or job-hunting trips, work done to make the old home easier to sell, a loss on the sale, mail-forwarding, mortgage default insurance, or replacing personal items such as drapes and carpets. Items movers refuse to carry, such as plants, frozen food and paint, are out too.
How do the detailed and simplified methods differ?
With the detailed method you keep every receipt and claim actual vehicle and meal costs. With the simplified method meals are a flat rate per person and driving is a cents-per-kilometre rate for the province or territory where the trip began. You still have to track your kilometres and keep documents. The rates sit on the linked CRA pages, so look them up for the year you move.
How much can you deduct, and what happens to the rest?
You can deduct moving costs only up to the income you earned at the new location in the same year. For an employee that means the T4 and T4A amounts from the new job, less certain deductions. If your costs are higher, the unused part carries forward and comes off income from that location in a later year. Students carry forward against scholarship-type income.
If you paid some costs after the year of the move, say because the old house sold later, you claim them on the return for the year you paid them. You cannot carry expenses back to an earlier year. The CRA may ask for Form T1-M, receipts and an explanation of the delay. The page does not describe a separate 12-month rule or part-year rule, so the income cap and carry forward above are what it spells out.
Fill in a separate Form T1-M for each eligible move and enter the amount from line 29 of that form on line 21900.
What if your employer paid for part of the move?
If your employer reimbursed you or gave an allowance, you can claim those costs only if you include the amount received in income, or you reduce your claim by what you received. The CRA may ask for a letter from your employer confirming what was not reimbursed. Do not send receipts with the return. Keep them in case the CRA asks, and show them to your EFILE provider if you use one.
What does a worked example look like?
Say an employee moves 600 km for a new job in Ontario in January and earns $68,000 there during the year. The costs are movers and in-transit insurance of $3,100, travel of $780, cancelling the old lease for $1,100, and utility hook-ups and address changes of $420. That adds up to $5,400, well below the income earned at the new job, so the whole amount is deductible.
Using the 2026 federal and Ontario rates from the site engine (2027 federal rates are not published yet), a $5,400 deduction at that income saves about $1,601.10 in tax. This is our calculation, not an official figure. The same amount would save less for someone in a lower bracket. Try your own numbers in the moving expenses deduction calculator.
What could change or catch people out?
Check the CRA page for the year you move, since the simplified rates and any limits are updated there. The $5,000 vacant-home limit and the 15-day limit for temporary living are the figures on the page for the 2025 tax year. People often lose the deduction by moving less than 40 km closer, or by trying to deduct against a pension or EI payment. The moving expenses deduction guide on this site explains the line in plainer steps, and the documents for your tax return page covers what to gather. Official sources: Canada Revenue Agency: line 21900 moving expenses and Canada Revenue Agency: Form T1-M. The dates for the 2026 return are in the 2027 tax calendar.
Where does this information come from?
Rules and figures come from the Canada Revenue Agency page for line 21900, Moving expenses (tax year 2025, page dated 20 January 2026), and the Form T1-M page. The tax saving in the example is our own calculation with the site’s 2026 federal and Ontario rates. Checked on 31 October 2026. This is an independent information site: we provide no services, we do not represent the CRA or any organization, we collect information from open sources, and we do not guarantee that anything here is accurate or current. We accept no liability for decisions based on it. Check the official source before you rely on it. See the full disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
How far do I have to move to claim moving expenses in Canada?
Your new home must be at least 40 kilometres closer, by the shortest public route, to your new work location or school than your old home was. You also need to have moved to work, run a business or study full-time at a post-secondary program.
Can I deduct moving expenses if I am retired or only receive EI?
No. The CRA says moving costs cannot be deducted against investment income or employment insurance benefits, even if you received them at the new location. The deduction applies to income from the new job or business, or to taxable scholarships for a full-time student.
What is the limit for keeping my old home while it sits empty?
The CRA page allows up to $5,000 for the cost of keeping the old home when vacant. It covers interest, property taxes, insurance, heating and utilities, and it cannot be claimed for any period when the home was rented out.
Can I claim moving expenses in a later year?
Yes, in two cases. Costs you paid after the year of the move can be claimed in the year you paid them, and unused costs can be carried forward against income from the new location. You cannot carry expenses back to an earlier year.
Which form do I use to claim moving expenses?
Use Form T1-M, a separate one for each eligible move, then enter the amount from line 29 on line 21900 of your return. Do not mail receipts with the return, but keep them in case the CRA asks.
- How Canadian income tax works: brackets and credits
How federal and provincial Canadian income tax stack up, what marginal and average rates mean, and how credits and deductions change your bill