I am an outdoor guide and I work in a different state each season. This year I worked in VA, OR, and AZ, how do I claim all my moving expenses?

[hazardme]

This year I worked in VA, OR, and AZ and therefore incurred moving expenses related to work 3 times in 2016. Can I claim moving expenses for all 3 times that I moved?

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

You can't deduct moving expenses for those jobs.

To be deductible, your new job must be at least 50 miles away from your previous home, you move for work, and you work at the new location at least 39 weeks.  So you can't deduct moving expenses at all.

You may be able to deduct travel and lodging expenses.  If you have a "tax home" where you perform the majority of your work and earn most of your money, then travel away from your tax home to work in a temporary location is deductible -- you can deduct travel expenses, lodging expenses, and part of your food expenses.  But if you have no "tax home" then you are a transient and can't deduct your travel expenses.

Whether you have a tax home depends on the nature of your work -- if you live in one state for 6 months and work as a guide in that state, then that may be your tax home, and travel to the other two states would be deductible travel.  The tests to determine where your tax home is, and the rules for deducting travel expenses, are covered in chapter 1 of publication 463. https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-publication-463