Taxes - Deducting Residency Moving Expenses

[ides]

So, I think this has been covered before, but I can't seem to find it. I've read all the irs publications regarding claiming moving expenses and we qualify, however I had heard that we might not be eligable because residents are paid a 'stipend' not salary. Does anyone know if this is true? I'd love to claim the expenses, but don't want to have the irs knocking on my door claiming residents aren't really being paid a salary. :anyolne:

[SuzySunshine]

Residents are not paid a stipend, it is a salary. If it was a stipend we wouldn't have to pay some taxes, Mayo is currently suing the IRS to change residents to students rather then employees, but currently the IRS sees residents as employees. So yes, moving expenses are deductible in my opinion.

[ides]

Thanks Cheri!!

[samssugarmomma]

You may want to consult an accountant. According to our accountant, moving expenses from going from medical school to residency are not deductable because you aren't going from a "like job" to a "like job". IE - being a medical student is not considered a job and the same as being a resident. But, you can deduct your expenses from going from residency to fellowship/attending/post-residency job.

However, if you were employed during medical school and are employed now, you might be able to deduct your expenses if you are doing a similar job. We were able to do this for us - even though the reason we moved was because of DH's job (residency) and not mine.

We did deduct moving expenses -- moving from residency to residency.

Not that what we did is an endorsement...

[SuzySunshine]

I should clarify that we didn't deduct ours b/c we didn't pay for them. I just wanted to point out that residency is a salary, not a stipend.

[houseelf]

I do think that residency to fellowship is treated different than med student to resident because of the like job to like job requirement.\

Kelly

[alison]

I do think that residency to fellowship is treated different than med student to resident because of the like job to like job requirement.\

Kelly

I agree. Because then, couldn't you also try to deduct your interview expenses as well? I think it's stretching it.

[migirl]

I do think that residency to fellowship is treated different than med student to resident because of the like job to like job requirement.\

Kelly

I agree with this. We were told that we could not deduct our moving expenses when we moved after med school to our residency location.

[Vishenka69]

I do think that residency to fellowship is treated different than med student to resident because of the like job to like job requirement.\

Kelly

I agree. Because then, couldn't you also try to deduct your interview expenses as well? I think it's stretching it.

Residency interviews or post-residency interviews? We're deducting DH's interview expenses last year. Although he didn't have to fly, gas and tolls add up.

[SuzySunshine]

What if I am staying with my company but moving into a different career path? They don't offer relo, but heck, if I'm moving....

I'll check with my brother in law I guess

Lily, I beleive as long as you're moving more then 70 miles away you can deduct the expenses for your job regardless of whether or not its an optional move or the same company.

[ides]

Thanks for all the input. This is precisely why I was confused. Why can't they make these publications easy to interprete. This is what I read on the irs website in pub 521.

"This publication explains the deduction of certain expenses of moving to a new home because you changed job locations or started a new job.

You can deduct your moving expenses if you meet all three of the following requirements.
1. Your move is closely related to the start of work.
2. You meet the distance test.
3. You meet the time test."

We fit the requirments. I couldn't find any language that requires one to be employed before moving or in the same field (although dh has held jobs during med school summers) in order to claim the expenses. So, am I just interpreting this wrong or did I miss something?

Thanks!

[Deebs]

When we went from Med School to Residency, we itemized and listed our moving expenses as a deduction. We did end up getting a mini audit for that tax year. We think, because of having deductions for lifetime learning credits (both his and mine) and then both changing jobs, we had a lot of "red flags". After the mini audit, the IRS ended up owing us money, and there was no wrongdoing on our part. So, I would definitely be comfortable writing off our move if we had to do it again.

[ides]

Thanks Deebs. My worries are gone! We are taking the education credit for d'h's tuition that we paid last January, but other than that & the moving expenses it was pretty straight forward. Thanks!

[spotty_dog]

Thanks for all the input. This is precisely why I was confused. Why can't they make these publications easy to interprete. This is what I read on the irs website in pub 521.

You have to be moving from job to job to deduct interview expenses.

You can move from no job to a job and deduct moving expenses as long as your move fits the requirements.

I thought it was pretty straightforward and I asked around last year and got it confirmed by a random accountant on the Internets.