Filing Your Return   ->   Students ->  Moving Expenses

Line 21900 Students' Moving Expenses

Note: Before tax year 2019, line 21900 was line 219.

Income Tax Act s. 62(2)

If you have moved at least 40km to attend a post-secondary educational institution full time, then moving expenses may be deducted, but only from taxable scholarship or award income received in the year (most is now not taxable), as well as from employment income earned in the new location while at school.  Moving expenses are a deduction from income, not a tax credit, so they save taxes at your marginal tax rate.

Moving expenses can be claimed for the move to the educational institution at the beginning of each academic period, and for the move back after a summer break.

Normally, moving expenses are only an eligible deduction for a student if the move was either to or from a location within Canada.  However, a move between two locations outside of Canada can also be an "eligible relocation" if:

Moving Back Home

Normally, moving back home from school is not an eligible relocation.  However, if the student is moving back home or to some other location for employment, or to obtain summer employment, the move may qualify as regular moving expenses.  In this case, the individual would be able to deduct qualifying moving expenses from income earned at the new work location, provided all other conditions are met.  One of these conditions is that the new work location is at least 40 km closer to the new residence than to the old residence.  For more information on this see Technical Interpretation 2012-044-251E5 - Moving Expenses - Students.

TaxTips.ca Resources

Tax Information for Students

Moving Expenses - information on qualifying expenses and conditions required to be met

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Resources

  Line 21900 - Moving expenses

  Form T1-M moving expenses deduction (to be filed with the tax return)

  Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C4 Moving expenses

Revised: October 26, 2023