OMB No. 1545-0074

Form 3903 Moving Expenses

© Attach to Form 1040 or Form 1040NR. Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Attachment

Sequence No. 62

Name(s) shown on return Your social security number

1 1

Travel (including lodging) from your old home to your new home (see instructions). Do not include 

the cost of meals

2

3 Add lines 1 and 2

Enter the total amount your employer paid you for the expenses listed on lines 1 and 2 that is

not included in box 1 of your Form W-2 (wages). This amount should be shown in

box 12 of your Form W-2 with code P 

4

Subtract line 4 from line 3. Enter the result here and on Form 1040, line 26, or

Form 1040NR, line 26. This is your moving expense deduction

5

Transportation and storage of household goods and personal effects (see instructions)

Before you begin:

2

3

5

4

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see back of form. Cat. No. 12490K Form 3903 (2008)

Is line 3 more than line 4?

No. You cannot deduct your moving expenses. If line 3 is less than line 4, subtract line 3

from line 4 and include the result on Form 1040, line 7, or Form 1040NR, line 8.

General Instructions

Purpose of Form

Use Form 3903 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 alien to deduct your expenses.

For more details, see Pub. 521, Moving

Expenses.

Moving Expenses You Can

Deduct

You can deduct the reasonable expenses

of moving your household goods and

personal effects and of traveling from your

old home to your new home. Reasonable

expenses can include the cost of lodging

(but not meals) while traveling to your new

home. You cannot deduct the cost of

sightseeing trips.

Distance Test

Your new principal workplace must be at

least 50 miles farther from your old home

than your old workplace was. For example,

if your old workplace was 3 miles from

your old home, your new workplace must

be at least 53 miles from that home. If you

did not have an old workplace, your new

workplace must be at least 50 miles from

your old home. The distance between the

two points is the shortest of the more

commonly traveled routes between them.

What’s New

For 2008, the standard mileage rate for

using your vehicle to move to a new home

is 19 cents a mile (27 cents a mile after

June 30, 2008).

To see if you meet the

distance test, you can

use the worksheet

below.

Distance Test Worksheet

1. miles

2. miles

3. miles

Is line 3 at least 50 miles?

Yes. You meet this test.

No. You do not meet this test. You cannot deduct your moving expenses. Do not complete Form 3903.

If you qualify to deduct expenses for

more than one move, use a separate Form

3903 for each move.

Number of miles from your old home to your new workplace

Number of miles from your old home to your old workplace

Subtract line 2 from line 1. If zero or less, enter -0-

1.

2.

3.

Yes.

Keep a Copy for Your Records

u See Members of the Armed Forces on the back, if applicable.

u See the Distance Test and Time Test in the instructions to find out if you can deduct your moving

expenses.

TIP

Who Can Deduct Moving

Expenses

If you move to a new home because of a

new principal workplace, you may be able

to deduct your moving expenses whether

you are self-employed or an employee. But

you must meet both the distance test and

time test that follow.

Members of the Armed Forces

may not have to meet the

distance and time tests. See

instructions on the back.

TIP

(99)

2008
Form 3903 (2008) Page 2

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We

ask for the information on this form to

carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the

United States. You are required to give us

the information. We need it to ensure that

you are complying with these laws and to

allow us to figure and collect the right

amount of tax.

The average time and expenses required

to complete and file this form will vary

depending on individual circumstances. For

the estimated averages, see the

instructions for your income tax return.

If you have suggestions for making this

form simpler, we would be happy to hear

from you. See the instructions for your

income tax return.

Members of the Armed

Forces

If you are in the Armed Forces, you do not

have to meet the distance and time tests if

the move is due to a permanent change of

station. A permanent change of station

includes a move in connection with and

within 1 year of retirement or other

termination of active duty.

How To Complete This Form If

You Are In the Armed Forces

On line 4, enter the total reimbursements

and allowances you received from the

government in connection with the

expenses you claimed on lines 1 and 2. Do

not include the value of moving or storage

services provided by the government.

Complete line 5 if applicable.

Retirees or Survivors Living

Outside the United States

If you are a retiree or survivor who moved

to a home in the United States or its

possessions and you meet the following

requirements, you are treated as if you

moved to a new principal workplace

located in the United States. You are

subject only to the distance test.

Retirees

Survivors

You can deduct the following expenses

you paid to move your family and

dependent household members. Do not

deduct expenses for employees such as a

maid, nanny, or nurse.

Reimbursements

You can choose to deduct moving

expenses in the year you are reimbursed

by your employer, even though you paid

the expenses in a different year. However,

special rules apply. See When To Deduct

Expenses in Pub. 521.

Specific Instructions

Line 1

Line 2

If you use your own vehicle(s), you can

figure the expenses by using either:

● Actual out-of-pocket expenses for gas

and oil, or

● Mileage at the rate of 19 cents a mile (27

cents a mile after June 30, 2008).

You can add parking fees and tolls to

the amount claimed under either method.

You are not required to provide the

information requested on a form that is

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

unless the form displays a valid OMB

control number. Books or records relating

to a form or its instructions must be

retained as long as their contents may

become material in the administration of

any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax

returns and return information are

confidential, as required by Internal

Revenue Code section 6103.

● You are transferred for your employer’s

benefit.

● You are laid off or discharged for a

reason other than willful misconduct.

● You meet the requirements (explained

later) for retirees or survivors living outside

the United States.

● You are filing this form for a decedent.

Do not include on lines 1 and 2 any

expenses for moving or storage services

that were provided by the government. If

you and your spouse and dependents are

moved to or from different locations, treat

the moves as a single move.

You can deduct moving expenses for a

move to a new home in the United States

when you permanently retire if both your

old principal workplace and your old home

were outside the United States.

You can deduct moving expenses for a

move to a home in the United States if you

are the spouse or dependent of a person

whose principal workplace at the time of

death was outside the United States. The

expenses must be for a move (a) that

begins within 6 months after the

decedent’s death, and (b) from a former

home outside the United States that you

lived in with the decedent at the time of his

or her death.

Moves within or to the United States or

its possessions. Enter the amount you

paid to pack, crate, and move your

household goods and personal effects.

You can also include the amount you paid

to store and insure household goods and

personal effects within any period of 30

days in a row after the items were moved

from your old home and before they were

delivered to your new home.

Enter the amount you paid to travel from

your old home to your new home. This

includes transportation and lodging on the

way. Include costs for the day you arrive.

The members of your household do not

have to travel together or at the same time.

But you can only include expenses for one

trip per person. Do not include any

househunting expenses.

Filers of Form 2555

If you file Form 2555, Foreign Earned

Income, to exclude any of your income or

housing costs, report the full amount of

your deductible moving expenses on Form

3903 and on Form 1040. Report the part of

your moving expenses that is not allowed

because it is allocable to the excluded

income on the appropriate line of Form

2555. For details on how to figure the part

allocable to the excluded income, see Pub.

54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and

Resident Aliens Abroad.

Moves outside the United States or its

possessions. Enter the amount you paid

to pack, crate, move, store, and insure

your household goods and personal

effects. Also, include the amount you paid

to move your personal effects to and from

storage and to store them for all or part of

the time the new workplace continues to

be your principal workplace.

Exceptions to the time test. You do not

have to meet the time test if any of the

following apply.

● Your job ends because of disability.

If you did not deduct your moving

expenses in the year you moved and you

later meet the time test, you can take the

deduction by filing an amended return for

the year you moved. To do this, use Form

1040X.

Time Test

What if you do not meet the time test

before your return is due? If you expect

to meet the time test, you can deduct your

moving expenses in the year you move.

Later, if you do not meet the time test, you

must either:

● For the year you cannot meet the time

test, report as income the amount of your

moving expense deduction that reduced

your income tax for the year you moved.

● Amend your tax return for the year you

claimed the deduction by filing Form

1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income

Tax Return, or

If you are an employee, you must work full

time in the general area of your new

workplace for at least 39 weeks during the

12 months right after you move. If you are

self-employed, you must work full time in

the general area of your new workplace for

at least 39 weeks during the first 12

months and a total of at least 78 weeks

during the 24 months right after you move.

● You are in the Armed Forces and the

move is due to a permanent change of

station (see below).

Storage fees. Do not file Form 3903 if all

of the following apply:

● You moved in an earlier year,

● You are claiming only storage fees

during your absence from the United

States, and

● Any amount your employer paid for the

storage fees is included in box 1 of your

Form W-2 (wages).

Instead, enter the storage fees on Form

1040, line 26, or Form 1040NR, line 26,

and write “Storage” on the dotted line next

to line 26.