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Peter K. Scott
Peter Scott Associates
Worldwide ERC® Tax Counsel
Current as of January, 2010

Here are several items deductible as moving expenses that are sometimes overlooked:

• Tips to the moving van driver or helpers.
• Mileage for driving second or third cars to the new location (in addition to the first car). The deduction for 2009 is 24 cents per mile.  (The deduction will decrease to 16.5 cents per mile for 2010).
• Lodging expenses in the departure location for one night after the household goods are packed, and one night in the new location on the day of arrival.
• Moving household goods from a location other than your main home, up to what it would have cost to move them from the main home
• Storage of household goods for up to 30 days, including the cost of moving the goods into and out of storage.
• Expenses not reimbursed by your employer, such as extra crating, shipment of unusual items, tips to van line staff, etc.

And remember: You don’t have to itemize to deduct moving expenses.
Other filing season tips:

• If the seller of your new house agreed to pay part of your mortgage points instead of reducing the sales price, IRS says you can deduct those points, even though the seller paid them.
• If you ever refinanced your mortgage, don’t forget to deduct the entire remaining balance of points paid on the refinancing in the year you sell your home.
• If your new job is for a different employer, and you earned more than $106,800 in 2009, you may have had too much deducted as contributions to Social Security. You can take a credit for the excess over $6,621.60 on line 69 of your Form 1040 tax return.
• If you moved to one of the states with state and local sales taxes but no general income tax (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming) you may benefit from an itemized deduction for state sales taxes. The deduction was reauthorized by Congress for 2008 and 2009 at the end of 2008. 
• There is a special deduction for local sales and excise taxes for new cars, light trucks, motorcycles, and motor homes purchased after February 17, 2009 and before January 1, 2010.  The deduction may be taken in addition to the standard deduction, or taken as an additional itemized deduction if you are not taking the optional sales tax deduction described above. 
• If you paid a premium for mortgage insurance, you may be entitled to an itemized deduction as mortgage interest for the portion of the premium allocable to 2009. No deduction is available, however, if your adjusted gross income is more than $110,000.
• If you bought a home in 2009, you may be entitled to a first time home buyer credit of up to $8,000 if you had not owned a home during the preceding three years. For purchases after November 6, 2009, a credit up to $6,500 may be available for purchasers who already owned a principal residence and who lived in it for at least five consecutive years of the eight years preceding the new purchase.  See IRS Form 5405 and its Instructions for details.