rom 3903

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Moving Expense Adjustment

> Attach to Form 1040.

1976

Name(s) as shown on Form 1040

Social security number

(a) What is the distance from your former residence to your new

business location? miles

(b) What is the distance from your former residence to your
former business location?

.. miles

(c) If the distance in (a) is 50 or more miles farther than the distance in (b), complete the rest of this form. If the distance is less than
50 miles, you are not entitled to a moving expense deduction. (See instruction A.)

ry

Transportation expenses in moving household goods and personal effects .

2 Travel, meals, and lodging expenses in moving from former to new residence .

w

Pre-move travel, meals, and lodging expenses in searching for a

new residence after obtaining employment . .
4 Temporary living expenses in new location or area during 2 any 30
consecutive days after obtaining employment .

Total (Add lines 3 and4.). . . .

a

Enter the lesser: Line 5 or $1,000 ($500 if married, filing a , separate return, and you

resided with your spouse who also started work during the taxable year). .

7 Expenses incident to: (Check one.)

(a) 1 sale or exchange of your former residence; or,
(b) if nonowner, settlement of your unexpired lease on former residence .

8 Expenses incident to: (Check one.)

(a) O purchase of a new residence; or,
(b) C if renting, acquiring a new lease .

9 Total (Add lines 6, 7, and 8). . .

Note: Amounts on lines 7(a) and 8(a) not deducted because of the $2,500 (or $1,250) limitation may
generally be used either to decrease the gain on the sale of your residence, or to increase the basis

of your new residence.

10 Enter the lesser:

Line 9 or $2,500 ($1,250 if married, filing a separate return, and you resided with your

spouse who also started work during the taxable year). (See instruction C(2).)

11 Total moving expenses (Add lines 1, 2, and 10.) .

12 Reimbursements and allowances received for this move (other than ‘amounts included ¢ on Form W-2) (See

instruction L.). . . «

13 If line 12 is less than line 11, enter the excess here and on Form 1040, line 38 .

14 If line 12 is larger than line 11, enter the excess here and on Form 1040, line 36, as ‘‘Excess moving re-

imbursement” .

A. Who May Deduct Moving Expenses. —
As an employed or a self-employed person,
you may deduct reasonable moving ex-
penses paid or incurred during the taxable
year in connection with a move you make
to a new principal work place.

The deduction is allowable to you only
if (a) your change in job location has added
at least 50 miles to the distance from your
old residence to your work, or (b) if you had
no former principal work place, your new
principal work place is at least 50 miles
from your former residence. (The distance
between two points is considered to be the

Instructions
shortest of the more commonly traveled
routes between those points.)

Also, the deduction is allowable only if
either (a) during the 12 months immedi-
ately following your arrival in the general
location of your new principal work place
you are a full-time employee during at least
39 weeks, or (b) during the 24 months
immediately following such arrival you are
a full-time employee or self-employed on a
full-time basis during at least 78 weeks, of
which not less than 39 weeks are during the
12 months following your arrival.

B. The 39 Week/78 Week Test.—Disre-
gard the 39 week/78 week test referred to
in instruction A if employment is termi-
nated because of death, disability, involun-
tary separation (other than for willful mis-
conduct), or transfer for the employer's
benefit.

If you have not satisfied the 39 week/78
week test before time for filing your return
for the taxable year in which you paid or
incurred the moving expenses, but believe
you will later satisfy it, you may still deduct
those expenses in the year you paid or in-
curred them.

(Continued on back)

218-145~1

Form 3903 1976)


If, however, you have not satisfied the
39 week/78 week test at the close of your
next taxable year, you must include an
amount equal to the deduction for moving
expenses taken in the prior year, in income
you report for that next year, unless you
file an amended return to eliminate the
deduction for the year you claimed it.

C. Deductible Moving Expenses.—

(1) Expenses Not Subject to a Dollar
Limitation, lines 1 and 2.—These are:

(a) Expenses for moving household
goods and personal effects from your for-
mer to your new residence, and

(b) Travel expenses (including meals
and lodging) from your former to your new
residence (not to be confused with other
travel expenses, explained below).

(2) Expenses Subject to a Dollar Limita-
tion, lines 3, 4, 7, and 8.—These are:

(a) Travel expenses (including meals
and lodging), after you obtain employment,
from your former residence to the general
location of your new principal work place
and return, primarily to find a new resi-
dence.

(b) Meals and lodging expenses while
occupying temporary quarters in the gen-
eral location of your new principal work
place during any 30 consecutive days after
you obtain employment, and

(c) Qualified expenses attributable to
the sale, purchase, or lease of your resi-
dence.

These C(2) expenses cannot exceed
$2,500 overall per move, of which the C(2)
(a) and (b) expenses cannot exceed $1,000.

If you and your spouse both begin work
at new principal work places during the
taxable year, consider the two events as
one when assigning the dollar limitations in
C(2) if, at the end of the taxable year, you
have shared the same new residence. If
you file separate returns, these expenses
are limited to $1,250 overall per move for
each of you, and the C(2)(a) and (b) ex-
penses cannot exceed $500 for each of
you.

However, if you and your spouse have
not shared the same new residence nor
made specific plans to do so within a de-
terminable time, consider the events sep-
arately. If you file separate returns, these
expenses are limited to $2,500 overall per
move, and the C(2)(a) and (b) expenses
cannot exceed $1,000. If you file a joint re-
turn, these expenses are limited to $5,000
overall per move, and the C(2)(a) and (b)
expenses cannot exceed $2,000.

D. Reasonable Moving Expenses.—The
term “moving expenses” includes only
those expenses that are reasonable under
the particular move’s circumstances. Ex-
penses related to your household members
include only those for members who had
and have both your former and new resi-
dences, respectively, as their principal
abodes. (A servant, governess, chauffeur,

nurse, or valet is not generally considered
to be a member of your household.)

E, Household Goods and Personal Ef-
fects.—In your expenses of moving house-
hold goods and personal effects from your
former to your new residence, include the
actual cost of transportation or hauling,
packing and crating, in-transit storage, and
insurance.

F. Travel Expenses from Former Resi-
dence to New Residence.—These include
the cost of transportation, meals, and lodg-
ing (including costs for your arrival date).
The deduction for travel expenses from
your former to your new residence is allow-
able for only one trip. However, it is not
necessary that you and all members of your
household travel together and at the same
time. (To compute the cost of transporta-
tion if you use your own car, see instruction
G, below.)

G. Travel Expenses (after obtaining em-
ployment) From Former Residence to Gen-
eral Location of New Principal Work Place
and Return, for Purpose of Searching for a
New Residence.—Travel expenses are de-
ductible only if (1) you begin the trip to
the general location of your new principal
work place after you have obtained employ-
ment; (2) you return to your former resi-
dence after searching for a new residence
in the general location of your new principal
work place; and (3) your principal purpose
in traveling to the general location of the
new principal work place is to search for a
new residence.

Your deduction for travel expenses for
the principal purpose of looking for a new
residence is not limited to any number of
trips by you and your household members.
Moreover, to be deductible, a trip need not
result in a lease or purchase of property.

If you use your own automobile for this
transportation, you may compute the trans-
portation expenses in either of two ways:
(1) actual out-of-pocket expenses (for ex-
ample, gasoline, oil, repairs); or (2) at a
rate of seven cents a mile. If you claim out-
of-pocket expenses, keep an adequate rec-
ord to verify amounts; if you use the seven-
cents-a-mile method, attach a schedule to
verify the mileage.

H. Meals and Lodging Expenses While
Occupying Temporary Quarters.—These
are deductible for any 30 consecutive days
after you have obtained employment in the
general location of your new principal work
place.

1. Qualified Expenses Attributable to the
Sale, Purchase, or Lease of a Residence.—
This term means only those reasonable ex-
penses (such as sales commissions, adver-
tising expenses, attorney’s and legal fees,
title fees, escrow fees, and State transfer
taxes) incident to (a) the sale or exchange
of your former residence (not including ex-
penses for work performed on the residence
to assist in its sale) which would be taken
into account in determining the amount re-
alized on the sale or exchange; (b) your
purchase of a new residence which other-

3 US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 197—O-218-145

wise would be included in (i) the adjusted
basis of your new residence, or (ii) the cost
of the loan (but not including payments or
prepayments of interest); (c) the settle-
ment of an unexpired lease on your former
residence; or (d) your acquisition of a
lease on your new residence (excluding pay-
ments or prepayments of rent).

J. Nondeductible Expenses.—Moving
expenses do not include, for example, any
loss incurred on the sale, exchange, or
other disposition of property; mortgage
penalties; cost of refitting rugs or draper-
ies; losses due to the disposal of member-
ships in clubs; tuition; or similar items.

K. Self-employed Individuals.—A self-
employed individual is one who performs
personal services as (a) the owner of the
entire interest in an unincorporated trade
or business, or (b) a partner in a partner-
ship operating a trade or business.

To deduct expenses on lines 3 and 4 as
a self-employed person, you have met the
condition of having obtained employment
if you have made substantial arrangements
to commence work.

L. Reimbursements and Allowances.—
Include all reimbursements and allowances
for moving expenses in income. In general,
you will find such reimbursements and
lowances included on your Form W-2. How-
ever, if there is doubt, check with your
employer. Use line 12 for reporting reim-
bursements and allowances if they are not
included elsewhere on Form 1040 or re-
lated schedules.

M. No Double Benefits Allowable.—You
cannot reduce the amount realized on the
sale of your old residence by any expenses
which become part of your moving expense
deduction on line 7. You cannot increase
the basis of your new residence by the
amount of any expenses which become part
‘of your moving expense deduction on line
8. If you included in income reimburse
ments exceeding the amount of expenses
you are allowed to deduct, make an appro-
priate adjustment to the selling price or
basis.

N. Special Rules for Members of the
Armed Forces.—Members of the armed
forces are exempt from the 50 mile dis-
tance limitation and the 39 week/78 week
test for moves pursuant to military orders
incident to a permanent change of station.

Deductible moving expenses paid or in-
curred in excess of the excludible author-
ized in-kind military assistance and reim-
bursements are deductible subject to the
applicable dollar limitations without reduc-
ing the dollar limitations by the amount
of any in-kind assistance provided by the
military.

Required moves by a member of the
military, his or her spouse, or dependents
to or from separate locations are treated
as one move.

O. Publication 521.—For additional in-
formation, you may obtain Publication 521,
Tax Information on Moving Expenses, free
at Internal Revenue Service offices.

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