Form 3903 is used to deduct moving expenses, but since 2018 only members of the Armed Forces on active duty can claim them, and only when a military order moves them because of a permanent change of station. You can deduct the reasonable unreimbursed cost of moving household goods and of travel to the new home, including 21 cents a mile for driving in 2025. Everyone else can't deduct a move at all.
Everything below comes from the IRS's 2025 Form 3903 and its instructions dated August 18, 2025, as of October 2026.
Who can still use Form 3903
For tax years beginning after 2017, the moving expense deduction is gone unless you're a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and you move because of a military order for a permanent change of station. The 2025 form adds a checkbox where you certify you meet those requirements. A permanent change of station includes:
- a move from home to your first post of duty when appointed, reappointed, reinstated or inducted
- a move from one permanent post of duty to another
- a move from your last post of duty to your home or a nearer point in the United States, within 1 year of ending active duty or the period the Joint Travel Regulations allow
If the service member deserts, is imprisoned or dies, a spouse or dependent can treat a move to the member's place of enlistment, either person's home of record, or a nearer point in the US as a permanent change of station. Use a separate Form 3903 for each qualifying move.
What you can deduct, as of October 2026
| Expense | Rule |
|---|---|
| Moving household goods and personal effects | Packing, crating, hauling a trailer, in-transit storage and insurance |
| Storage and insurance | Only within any 30 consecutive days after the goods leave your old home and before delivery |
| Travel to the new home | Including lodging and airfare, but not meals |
| Driving | Actual gas and oil costs with records, or 21 cents a mile for 2025, plus parking and tolls |
The deduction covers you and members of your household, meaning anyone whose main home was both the old and new home. A tenant or employee only counts if you can claim them as a dependent.
What you can't deduct
- meals during the move, and unnecessary side trips or lavish lodging
- car repairs, maintenance, insurance or depreciation
- any part of the price of your new home, or the costs of buying or selling a home, including closing costs, mortgage fees and points
- costs of entering or breaking a lease, and home improvements made to help sell
- a loss on selling your home, mortgage penalties and real estate taxes
- car tags, a driver's license, club membership losses, refitting carpets and drapes, and return trips to your former home
- moving services the government provided, or costs covered by an allowance you didn't include in income
Allowances and reimbursements
Government-provided moving and storage services aren't income. Neither are a dislocation allowance, temporary lodging expense, temporary lodging allowance or move-in housing allowance. If the government's reimbursements are more than your actual costs, the excess generally goes into your wages on your Form W-2; if it isn't there, other than those four allowances, you still include it as income on Form 1040, line 1h.
If reimbursements are less than your costs, you don't include them in income and you can deduct the costs above them. The form uses the reimbursement shown on Form W-2, box 12, code P.
Filling it in
- Tick the checkbox certifying you're an active-duty Armed Forces member moving under a permanent change of station order.
- Add up transportation and storage of household goods and personal effects.
- Add travel and lodging costs, using actual car costs or 21 cents a mile.
- Line 4: enter the government reimbursements and allowances for those costs, leaving out moving services and the dislocation, lodging and move-in housing allowances; the instructions say this excluded amount is shown on Form W-2, box 12, with code P.
- Enter the result on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 14.
If the military moves you and your family to or from separate locations, the moves are treated as one move to your new main job location. Once you've moved, the IRS change of address form is Form 8822.
Moves abroad, storage and Form 2555
For moves within or to the US and its territories, storage counts only inside the 30-day window. For moves outside the US, you can include the cost of moving your goods to and from storage and storing them for all or part of the time the new workplace stays your main one. Travel on line 2 covers one trip per person, including the day you arrive, though your household doesn't have to travel together; house-hunting trips don't count.
If you only paid storage fees during an absence abroad, moved in an earlier year, and the government's payment for storage is already in box 1 of your W-2, you don't file Form 3903 at all. Enter the storage fees on Schedule 1, line 14, and tick the storage fees box. If you also file Form 2555 to exclude foreign income, report the full deduction here and the part allocable to excluded income on Form 2555.
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Estimated tax
If you make estimated tax payments, the instructions say to take taxable reimbursements and deductible moving expenses into account when you work them out.
The verdict
Form 3903 is a narrow form now: if you're not active-duty military moving under orders, it doesn't apply to you. If you are, it's worth the ten minutes, because unreimbursed storage, travel and mileage add up across a cross-country move. Keep receipts for the 30-day storage window and the mileage, and don't count meals.
Frequently asked questions
Who can use Form 3903?
Only members of the Armed Forces on active duty who move because of a military order for a permanent change of station.
Can civilians deduct moving expenses?
No. For tax years beginning after 2017, the deduction is limited to active-duty Armed Forces members moving under a permanent change of station.
What is the mileage rate on Form 3903 for 2025?
The standard mileage rate for moving is 21 cents a mile for 2025, plus parking fees and tolls.
Can I deduct meals on Form 3903?
No. You can't deduct any expenses for meals.
Is a dislocation allowance taxable?
No. Dislocation allowances, temporary lodging expense and allowance, and move-in housing allowances aren't included in income.
Where does the Form 3903 deduction go?
On Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 14.
