Moving tips
Moving Expenses Tax Deduction in Canada and Your Moving Budget
By TLC Moving & Storage · Published 15 October 2019
A moving budget is the mover's written quote plus the costs people forget: supplies, time off, utility hook-ups, cleaning, storage and meals in the first days. If you move for a job or full-time post-secondary studies and the new home is at least 40 km closer to it, the CRA may let you deduct eligible moving expenses on line 21900.
How to create a moving budget
Set a moving budget whether you are moving across the country or a few blocks away. It shows what you need to save beforehand and stops the unexpected costs from piling up in the last week. Build it in this order:
1. Get the move itself quoted in writing
It is the one number you cannot estimate yourself. Our moving company in Ottawa gives a free, written, no-obligation quote, with a walk-through of the home first if it helps, so there are no surprises on moving day.
2. Decide which services you want priced
Packing, furniture taken apart and rebuilt, storage, a piano or other special pieces. Ask for all of them in the same quote.
3. Add the costs that are not on any quote
Supplies, time off work, utilities, cleaning and the rest of the list below.
4. Check whether the move is tax-deductible
A move for work or full-time post-secondary studies may qualify for the CRA deduction. It changes which receipts you need to keep.
5. Keep every receipt from the first box you buy
One folder or one envelope, started the day you book.
What a quote for the move should show
The base of a mover's quote covers the crew and the truck, and it rises with how much you own, how long the move takes and the distance to the new home. On top of that, extra services can include:
Packing and unpacking
The whole home, or only the fragile pieces.
Furniture taken apart and put back together
Beds, tables and other large pieces that will not fit through a door or round a landing in one piece.
Stairs and long carries
Some movers add a charge for heavy items carried up or down flights of stairs, or for a long carry from the building entrance to the truck.
Temporary storage
For when the new home is not ready on the day you leave the old one.
Custom crating and delayed delivery
Crates for fragile or valuable pieces, and delivery held to a later date.
Reading the quote and the contract
Read the contract for extra costs, ask for a detailed inventory list, and check the insurance before you sign. That is the advice TLC gives on hiring any mover, and it is the part of the budget that catches people out.
Check what your home or tenant policy covers in transit before you buy more. Our guide to moving insurance goes through the questions to ask. To line two or three quotes up side by side, see comparing moving quotes.
Budget lines for moving yourself
Moving yourself can make sense if you have little to move, but it has costs of its own. Price each of these before you decide:
Truck rental
Set by the size of truck, how long you keep it and how far you drive it. With no furniture, a personal vehicle may do.
Fuel
For the truck and any other vehicles. Rental companies ask you to return the truck with a set amount of fuel in the tank, so budget for that too.
Insurance
The cover a rental company includes is usually minimal, so ask what it pays for and whether you need more.
Equipment
Dollies and moving blankets, unless the truck rental includes them. Compare the rental price with a local hardware store.
The costs a moving budget forgets
These are the lines that never appear on a mover's quote and still come due in the same month. Add each one to the budget:
Utility hook-ups and deposits
Hydro, gas, water, internet and phone at the new address. Call ahead to ask about activation fees or deposits, and set the start date before moving day.
Time off work
Moving day plus the days to pack and unpack, and lost wages if you have no paid leave.
Moving supplies
Boxes, labels, packing paper, bubble wrap and tape. Cheaper than most lines, and easy to underestimate.
Cleaning
The old place for the next people and the new one before you unpack, with supplies or a cleaning company.
Childcare or pet care
A sitter or a day at daycare keeps children and pets safe and out of the carry path on the day.
Storage
If the dates do not line up, ask for moving and storage in the same quote. Storage cost turns on the space you need and how long you keep it.
The first days in the new home
Meals out, a first grocery run, and new curtains, shower curtains and household items. On a long move, add airfare, hotels and meals for the family.
Land transfer tax, if you are buying
Ontario charges land transfer tax when a purchase closes, and first-time buyers may get a refund of all or part of it. Your lawyer will have the amount.
Moving expenses tax deduction in Canada: who qualifies
The Canada Revenue Agency lets you claim moving expenses on line 21900 if you moved to a new home to work or run a business at a new location, or to study full time in a post-secondary program at a university, college or other educational institution.
The new home must be at least 40 kilometres closer, by the shortest public route, to the new work location or school. Compare two trips: the old home to the new work location or school, and the new home to the same place. The second has to be at least 40 km shorter.
You must also make the new home the place where you normally live, for example by selling or renting the old one or advertising it. Generally the move has to be from one place in Canada to another. The claim comes off the employment or self-employment income earned at the new location, using Form T1-M.
If your employer reimbursed the move or paid an allowance, the CRA says you can only claim the expenses if you include that amount in your income or reduce your claim by it. Full-time students deduct only from the taxable part of scholarships, bursaries, fellowships, certain prizes and research grants.
Which moving expenses you can claim
If you qualify, the CRA lets you claim most of what you paid to move yourself, your family and your household items. Its list of eligible expenses includes:
Transportation and storage
Packing, hauling, movers, in-transit storage and insurance for household items.
Travel
Vehicle expenses, meals and accommodation to get the household to the new home.
Temporary living expenses
Meals and temporary lodging near the old or new home, for up to 15 days.
Lease cancellation and incidentals
Cancelling the old lease, changing your address on legal documents, replacing driving licences, and utility hook-ups and disconnections.
Selling the old home and buying the new one
Advertising, legal or notary fees, real estate commission and a mortgage penalty; and, if you sold the old home because of the move, legal fees and taxes other than GST/HST paid to transfer title on the new one.
Keeping the old home while it sits empty
Interest, property taxes, insurance and utilities while you try to sell it, up to a limit the CRA sets, and not while it is rented.
What the CRA will not let you claim
House-hunting and job-hunting trips are out. So are Canada Post mail forwarding, cleaning or repairs to meet a landlord's standards, work done to make the old home easier to sell, and any loss on the sale.
The CRA may ask for documents to support the claim, so keep every receipt. If you use its simplified method for vehicle costs, keep a log of the kilometres driven for the move. Expenses paid in a later year are claimed in the year you paid them, and an unused part can be carried forward.
This is a summary of the CRA's line 21900 page as read on 10 November 2026. Your own situation is for the CRA or your tax preparer to confirm.
Ways to keep the budget down
The fewer things you move, the less the move costs. Declutter before the estimate, then donate or sell what you no longer use. Ask grocery stores for free boxes, and pad fragile pieces with linens, towels and clothing.
Look at the floor plan of the new home before buying furniture, so you know what fits, what goes into storage and what you should not buy. Our eight-week moving plan puts that step in order, and our tips on how to save money on moving cover the rest. For a quote, call TLC at (613) 830-7402.
Questions about moving with TLC
Can I claim moving expenses on my taxes in Canada?
Yes, if you moved to a new home to work or run a business at a new location, or to study full time at a post-secondary school, and the new home is at least 40 km closer to it. You claim on line 21900 with Form T1-M, against the income earned at the new location.
What is the 40 km rule for moving expenses?
The CRA requires your new home to be at least 40 kilometres closer, by the shortest public route, to your new work location or school than the old home was. If it is not, you cannot deduct the move.
Can I deduct the cost of movers and storage?
If you qualify, yes. The CRA's eligible expenses include transportation and storage costs such as packing, hauling, movers, in-transit storage and insurance for household items. Keep the mover's invoice and the storage receipts.
What should I include in a moving budget?
The mover's written quote, then supplies, time off work, utility hook-ups and deposits, cleaning, childcare or pet care, storage, meals and household items for the first days, and land transfer tax if you are buying in Ontario.
Free estimate
Get your free estimate
Tell us about your move and we will come back with a free, obligation-free estimate. You can also call (613) 830-7402.