Edited
Below are the rules:
- Is closely related to the
start of a job, and you meet certain time and distance requirements
(with special circumstances for military
and armed forces).
- Was to seek work and you
obtained a full-time position
(must meet certain time requirements).
Time Test Not Yet Met
You can deduct your moving expenses on your 2017 tax
return even though you haven't met the time test by the
date your 2017 return is due. You can do this if you expect
to meet the 39-week test in 2018 or the 78-week test in
2018 or 2019.
If you don't deduct your moving expenses on your 2017
return, and you later meet the time test, you can file an
amended return for 2017 to take the deduction. See When
To Deduct Expenses, later, for more details.
Failure to meet the time test. If you deduct moving expenses
but don't meet the time test in 2018 or 2019, you
must either:
Report your moving expense deduction as other income
on your Form 1040 for the year you can't meet
the test; or
Use Form 1040X to amend your 2017 return, figuring
your tax without the moving expense deduction.
Example. You arrive in the general area of your new
job location, as an employee, on September 12, 2017.
You deduct your moving expenses on your 2017 return,
the year of the move, even though you haven't yet met the
time test by the date your return is due. If you don't meet
the 39-week test during the 12-month period following
your arrival in the general area of your new job location,
you must either:
Report your moving expense deduction as other income
on your Form 1040 for 2018; or
Use Form 1040X to amend your 2017 return, figuring
your tax without the moving expense deduction.
Exceptions to the Time Test
You don't have to meet the time test if one of the following
applies.
You are in the Armed Forces and you moved because
of a permanent change of station.
Your main job location was outside the United States
and you moved to the United States because you retired.
You are the survivor of a person whose main job location
at the time of death was outside the United
States. See Retirees or Survivors Who Move to the
United States, later.
Your job at the new location ends because of death or
disability.
You are transferred for your employer's benefit or laid
off for a reason other than willful misconduct.
For this
exception, you must have obtained full-time employment
and you must have expected to meet the test at
the time you started the job.
