Move or Not Move

RENT

There is not a rent deduction or credit on your Federal return.  If your state has anything for renters you will be prompted to enter your rent info when you complete your state return.  As far as I know, the states that have anything for rent are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.

First, your permanent home is wherever your overall facts and circumstances dictate.  You can't change it on paper if your facts and circumstances don't change.

Second, in your situation, you will need to file a VA non-resident return to report your VA income, and an NC resident return to report and pay income tax on all your world-wide income. However, NC will give you a credit for the tax you pay to VA so you won't be double-taxed on the same money.

Third, if you are a W-2 employee, expenses for temporarily working out of state are not deductible.  But if you are a schedule C independent contractor, you can deduct food and lodging expenses when working away from your home area on your schedule C, as long as the assignment is temporary, meaning that it is expected to last, and actually does last, less than 1 year.  Expenses for long term work away from home, or assignments that are indefinite, are not deductible.