Moving expenses and the CRA: what you can deduct, and every government benefit for moving in Quebec (2026)

Who can deduct moving expenses?

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec use the same three tests. All three must be true. If one is missing, the deduction is gone, no matter how large the mover’s invoice was ^{[1] [5]}.

1. The reason for the move: to work at a job, run a business, or study full time in a post-secondary program at a new location. A transfer to another office with the same employer counts too.
2. The distance: your new home is at least 40 km closer to the new work or school location than the old one was. The distance is measured along the shortest normal public route, not in a straight line ^[3].
3. The income: you earn employment or business income at the new location. The deduction cannot be larger than that income. For a student, it is limited to the taxable part of scholarships, bursaries, and research grants.

An example that works: you live in Montreal and accept a job in Quebec City. The drive is about 250 km and your new apartment is 10 minutes from the office. You are far more than 40 km closer, so the eligible costs are deductible. An example that does not work: you leave the Plateau for Laval because the family is growing, with no change of job. There is no new work location, so there is no deduction, even if the move is expensive.

Both levels follow the same logic, but you fill in two forms: T1-M for the federal return and TP-348 for the Quebec return. The amounts are usually the same on both.

Which moving expenses are eligible?

The CRA list is wider than the truck invoice alone. It also covers the trip, a few days of transition, ending the lease, and the notary fees for selling and buying ^{[1] [2] [18]}.

The mover’s invoice is often the biggest line on the list. Keep the written quote and the final invoice: they prove the date, the addresses, and the price paid. To estimate this line before you sign a lease, the cost calculator gives a range, and the free quote sets the price.

What you cannot deduct

These costs are refused even when the move itself qualifies. They come up often in CRA reviews ^{[1] [2]}.

• Work done to make the old home easier to sell
• Any loss on the sale of the home
• Trips to look for a job or a home before you move
• The value of items movers refuse to carry: plants, frozen food, paint, cleaning products
• Cleaning or repairing a rented home to meet the landlord’s standards
• Replacing personal items such as drapes, carpets, or a tool shed
• Mail forwarding with Canada Post
• Any part your employer paid or reimbursed that you did not include in income

Simplified or detailed method: meals and vehicle

For meals and the vehicle, you get a choice. The detailed method needs every receipt and the real costs. The simplified method uses flat rates published by the CRA, with no detailed receipts, although the CRA can still ask for documents that prove the trip ^[4].

• Meals: $23 per meal, up to $69 per day per person (sales tax included), for the 2025 tax year.
• Vehicle: kilometres × the cents-per-km rate for the province where the trip starts. For Quebec, the rate has been around 60¢/km in recent years; use the CRA table for the year of your move.

Example: two adults drive one car from Montreal to Quebec City, about 255 km, in one day. Meals: 2 × $69 = $138. Vehicle: 255 km × about $0.60 = about $153. Add two hotel nights near the new home while you wait for the keys, and that temporary stay counts too, up to 15 days.

Worked example: a new job in Quebec City

Take a renting couple who leave a two-bedroom in Montreal for a job in Quebec City in March. The amounts below are examples to show the math, not guaranteed prices. For the real truck price on this trip, see the Montreal to Quebec City moving cost page.

A deduction lowers taxable income; it does not refund dollar for dollar. The real saving is roughly the deduction times your combined marginal rate. At a 37% rate, $4,481 of costs is worth about $1,650 less tax. If the new salary earned in Quebec City that year is not enough, the unused part carries forward to later years, against income earned at the same place ^[1].

If your employer pays for the move

When an employer reimburses eligible costs, the reimbursement is generally not a taxable benefit. In return, you cannot deduct those same costs. You deduct only what you paid yourself, or everything, if you include the reimbursement in your income ^{[1] [7]}.

A flat allowance with no receipts, on the other hand, is taxable. And if the employer covers a loss on the sale of your home, only half of the amount above $15,000 is taxable ^[7]. Ask for a letter or statement that lists what was paid: it is the first document the CRA asks for.

How to claim: T1-M, TP-348, lines 21900 and 228

1. Gather the papers: the mover’s quote and invoice, the lease and proof of cancellation, hotel bills, the sale and purchase deeds, the employer letter.
2. Fill in federal Form T1-M, one per eligible move, and carry the total to line 21900 ^[2].
3. Fill in Revenu Québec Form TP-348 and carry the total to line 228 of the Quebec return ^[6].
4. Claim the costs in the year you paid them. The part that goes beyond income earned at the new location carries forward to later years.
5. Keep everything for six years. The form is not sent with an electronic return, but the CRA and Revenu Québec can ask for it.

Out-of-province moves follow the same rules. For a move from Montreal to Toronto, Ottawa, or out west, see moving costs across Canada and our long-distance moving service.

Students: what changes

A student enrolled full time in a post-secondary program can deduct moving costs if they move at least 40 km closer to the school. But the deduction only applies against the taxable part of scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, and research grants. Since most scholarships for full-time students are not taxable, many students end up with nothing to deduct ^[1].

A useful exception: a summer job or internship in another city, more than 40 km away, is a move for work. The costs are then deducted from the pay earned there, like any employee.

No new job? The other government benefits

Most people move for family, rent, or a house to buy, not for a job 40 km away. Those moves are not deductible. But if you are buying, or if a person with reduced mobility is moving, several programs can be worth more than the deduction itself.

Welcome tax refund: up to $5,875

Since 2026, Quebec refunds first-time buyers the transfer duties paid to the municipality, up to $5,875. The refund comes through a new refundable tax credit for access to homeownership, retroactive to January 1, 2026 ^{[8] [19]}.

• You acquired a qualifying home in 2026 or later and you live in Quebec at the end of the year.
• You have not owned a home you lived in since the start of the fourth preceding calendar year. For a 2026 purchase, that means since January 1, 2022.
• You paid the transfer duties in full. You can ask Revenu Québec for an advance payment instead of waiting for your return.
• Co-owners split the credit according to each person’s share. It also covers buying a more accessible home for a person with a disability.

The credit replaces equivalent municipal programs. Montreal ended its home purchase assistance program and stopped taking new applications on July 7, 2026 ^[17]. If you sold a home to move for a new job, remember too that the welcome tax on the new home can count as a deductible moving expense; you cannot claim the same amount twice.

First home: FHSA, HBP, and tax credits

The FHSA lets you contribute $8,000 a year, up to $40,000 for life. Contributions are deductible like an RRSP, and a qualifying withdrawal to buy a first home is not taxed ^[16]. The HBP also lets you withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSPs, repaid over 15 years ^[11]. A couple can combine both.

At tax time, two non-refundable credits are added: the federal home buyers’ amount, $10,000 worth up to $1,500 (line 31270) ^[10], and the Quebec home buyers’ tax credit, up to $1,400 (line 396, Form TP-752.HA) ^[9]. For a new home bought from a builder, the first-time home buyers’ GST rebate returns up to 100% of the GST, to a maximum of $50,000, on a home of $1 million or less, then a reduced amount up to $1.5 million ^[12].

Seniors and reduced mobility: the medical expense credit

A retiree moving into a residence is not moving for a job, so line 21900 does not apply. But if the person has a severe and prolonged mobility impairment, or lacks normal physical development, up to $2,000 of reasonable costs to move to a more accessible home count as medical expenses ^[13]. The same amount cannot be claimed twice.

Once settled, the home accessibility tax credit covers up to $20,000 a year of eligible renovations (ramp, grab bars, walk-in shower), worth up to $3,000 ^[14]. For a low-income household aged 50 or older that spends at least 30% of its income on rent, the Shelter Allowance Program pays up to $170 a month ^[15]. If you are helping a parent, our senior moving page and the guide to moving into a retirement residence explain how the day works.

Checklist before and after the move

• Measure the distance by road before you sign: the new home must be at least 40 km closer to work.
• Get a written quote from the mover and keep the final invoice.
• Write down the kilometres and dates of the trip if you use the simplified method.
• Keep the lease, the notice of cancellation, and any penalty paid.
• Change your address with the CRA, Revenu Québec, and the SAAQ so your benefits reach the right door.
• First home: ask for the advance payment of the welcome tax refund as soon as the duties are paid.
• Fill in T1-M and TP-348 in the year you pay, and keep everything for six years.

Moving on July 1? The July 1 guide helps you book early, because trucks go fast.