What this line means
The cost of packing, crating, hauling, and storing your household goods and personal effects when you move to a new duty station. This line is exclusively for active-duty military members moving under a permanent change of station (PCS) order. Since 2018, civilians cannot deduct moving expenses — only members of the Armed Forces on active duty qualify.
Does this apply to you?
- You are an active-duty member of the Armed Forces who moved under a military PCS order
- You paid out of pocket for a personally procured move (PPM/DITY) to ship your belongings
- You rented a moving truck, hired movers, or bought packing materials for a PCS move
- You paid for temporary storage of household goods for up to 30 consecutive days after items left your old home
Easy to overlook
Storage costs within 30 consecutive days count Temporary storage of household goods qualifies as a deductible expense — but only for 30 consecutive days after your belongings are moved out of your old home. Service members who need short-term storage between leaving one duty station and moving into housing at the next station often forget to include these costs. Storage beyond 30 days does not qualify. 1 IRS Form 3903 Instructions — Moving Expenses
Personally procured move costs you paid above the military reimbursement If you did a PPM/DITY move and your actual expenses exceeded the reimbursement the military gave you, the excess is deductible here. Many service members assume the military reimbursement covers everything and never check whether they spent more than they received. Keep receipts for fuel, truck rental, packing supplies, and tolls. 2 IRS Publication 3 — Armed Forces’ Tax Guide
Watch out for this
Do not include the cost of any move the military arranged and paid for directly. If the government shipped your household goods through a Transportation Service Provider, that cost never touched your wallet and does not go on this form. Only expenses you personally paid belong on line 1. Mixing government-paid shipping with your out-of-pocket costs inflates the deduction and creates a mismatch the IRS can spot.
Footnotes
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IRS Form 3903 Instructions, Moving Expenses. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i3903 ↩
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IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide, Chapter 12. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3.pdf ↩