Line 21900 – Moving expenses: Are you a full-time student?
You can claim eligible moving expenses if you moved to be a student in full-time attendance in a post-secondary program at a university, college or other educational institution. However, you can only deduct these expenses from the parts of your scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, certain prizes, or research grants that are required to be included in your income.
To qualify, your new home must be at least 40 kilometres closer (by the shortest usual public route) to your new work location or school. You must establish your new home as the place where you ordinarily reside. For example, you have established a new home if you have sold or rented (or advertised for sale or rent) your old home. Generally, your move must be from one place in Canada to another place in Canada.
If you moved to work, including summer employment, or to run a business, you can also claim moving expenses. However, you can only deduct these expenses from the employment or self-employment income you earned at the new work location.
You can claim moving expenses you incur at the beginning of each academic period as long as you meet the 40 kilometre requirement and you have earned income at your new work location.
For co-operative students moving back after a summer break or a work semester, you can also claim your moving expenses as long as you meet the previously-stated requirements.
If you received a reimbursement or an allowance from your employer for your eligible moving expenses, you can only claim your moving expenses if you include the amount you received in your income or if you reduce your moving expenses by the amount received.
Note
You must complete a separate Form T1-M for each eligible move. Enter the total from line 29 in Part 4 of each form on line 21900 of your Income Tax and Benefit Return.
Unused moving expenses available to carry forward to a future year
If you are a full-time student and your net moving expenses (line 26 of Form T1-M, Moving Expenses Deduction) paid in the year of the move are more than the scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, certain prizes and research grants required to be included in your income for the year (line 28 of Form T1-M), you can carry forward and deduct the unused part of those expenses from the same type of income you receive and report on your return in a future year.
Expenses you paid in a year after you moved
If your eligible moving expenses were paid in a year after the year of your move, you can claim the expenses against your employment or self-employment income earned at the new work location on your return for the year that you paid them.
This also applies to students reporting a taxable amount of scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, certain prizes or research grants.
Note
You cannot carry back moving expenses to a prior year. If you paid moving expenses in the current year for a move that occurred in a prior year, you cannot claim the expenses paid in the current year on your prior year return. This is the case even if you earned employment income, self-employment income, or received a taxable amount of scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, certain prizes or research grants at the new location in the prior year.
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