Deducting Moving Expenses

If you are moving to a new house to be closer to a new workplace, you can deduct moving costs from your taxes. These apply whether you are self employed or an employee of another company. In order to take advantage of these tax breaks, it is important to learn about what expenses are eligible.

Requirements to Qualify for Deductions During Your Gainesville Move

In order for your moving expenses related to storage, Gainesville movers and travel to qualify as deductions, your new house must be a certain distance away from your old one and you must continue working at your new job for a set amount of time after your move.

Distance

For the costs of lodging and Gainesville moving companies to be subtracted, your new primary office must be at least 50 miles farther from your new house than your original home was. This will be determined by the distance of the shortest route from your job site to your house. For example, if your current house is 10 miles away from your job, your future workplace must be at least 60 miles away from that same house. If you did not work while you were living in that home, your new job must be 50 miles away from your house.

Time

To prove to the IRS that your move is related to your job site, you must continue to work full time in the area surrounding your new office for at least 39 weeks during the next year after your move. If you are self employed, not only will you need to work 39 weeks in the next year in the area, but you will also be required to work there for 78 weeks during the next two years. In order to understand exactly what costs are deductible, IRS Publication 521 has a thorough record of possible expenses and Form 3903 can help you calculate the total amount that you can subtract.

Deductions for Your Moving Process in Gainesville, FL

When you are selling or buying your house, your deductions are not limited to the cost of movers in Gainesville, FL, and lodging. You can make claims on the actual sale or purchase of the building on your tax return as well.

Selling Your House

When you are putting your house on the market, you will be able to retain up to $250,000 from your tax return. However, in order to qualify for this deduction, you must be the legal owner of the property and be considered your primary residence for a total of two years out of the last five years. If you are married, file separately and both meet the eligibility requirements, you can claim up to $500,000. For more information, review the IRS Publication 523 for details on deductions when selling your house.

Purchasing Your House

Frequently, those who own their homes benefit from itemizing their deductions on their tax returns. Itemized deductions are preferable when the total amount of your deductions is more than the standard deductions. Your itemized list will include costs such as donations to charities, tax payments and casualty losses. As a homeowner, money that you use to pay off your mortgage or property taxes qualify as well. Publication 530 has more information on deductions related to your house while Publication 17 will help you decide whether you should itemize your tax returns or not.

Efficient Gainesville Moving Companies

If you are searching for a moving company Gainesville residents rely on, choose UF Mover Guys. Our team strives to ensure that all of your belongings arrive intact and on time. Contact us today to learn about our moving services.

Tips for Parents Moving Their Children into a Dorm

Tips for parents moving their children into the dorm

CAM00169 — Our truck in this year’s homecoming parade… Go Gators!!

Parents who are sending a child off to college for the first time may understandably be feeling a mix of emotions. Emotions such as pride, stress and even anxiety and sadness are common. However, these emotions are often mixed with practical concerns, such as how your child will manage living away from you for the first time. One of the best steps that you can take to ensure that your child’s first experience living apart from you is a great one is to help him or her settle in a new dorm room. There are a few parent tips that you can follow to make this transition easier for your child.

Start Shopping Early

Most parents and graduating teens have their college plans established months ahead of time, so there is no point waiting until the last minute to purchase items for the dorm. Some new college students and their parents will wait until moving day to head to the store. While it may sound like a sound plan to purchase bedding, towels, storage bins and more closer to campus and after seeing what items you actually need, everyone else may have this plan to. Stores close to campus may easily run out of supplies when there is a mad dash to get these items by dozens of people all on the same day. You can get a fair idea about what may be needed for the dorm by contacting the college and requesting a list.

Coordinate With a Roommate

In addition, before transitioning into a dorm, consider having your child get in touch with his or her new roommate. Many kids like to coordinate what they will be bringing. After all, you don’t really need to have two microwaves, televisions or other items in the dorm room. If a roommate already has these items, you can save yourself the time and energy associated with purchasing them and moving them into the dorm. Many kids also like to coordinate décor, and selecting comforters and other decorative items with an online purchase makes it easy to ensure that the room looks great.

These parenting tips can help make your child’s move into a new dorm room a pleasant experience. Moving can be stressful for you, but it can also be stressful for your child. Consider helping your child pack several days beforehand, and attempt to take stock of any additional items he or she may need as you pack boxes and suitcases. Preparation and planning are key to making this experience a pleasant one.

Students in Gainesville prepare for the annual “Turn”.

Students in Gainesville Florida and across the state are faced with the daunting apartment turn season every year. If you are not familiar with this concept, it is where all student focused communities turn over their apartments, homes, and other rental properties to prepare for the new influx of renters. This may not sound like much, but when you take into account that it happens over a two day period at the end of July every year, the scope is magnified. Gainesville alone has nearly 100,000 college students between the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. The shear number of students at the two schools creates a huge strain on communities desperate to get properties cleaned and ready for the new renters.

Apartment communities in Gainesville are numbered in the hundreds to accommodate the thousands of students that attend school in the area. Over a two day period, at the end of July, students moving in Gainesville have the daunting task of moving while everyone else is. Moving companies, rental truck companies, and apartment communities alike are strained to the max to accommodate all the needs. Often, students are required to find storage in Gainesville for a period of no more than a week or so, while they wait for their apartments to be ready. Unfortunately every year this is a shocker to many students and their parents alike. Knowing about the impending turn season is imperative for a successful, efficient moving experience.

Although many of the local apartment communities put out information about this well in advance, the knowledge still seems to escape many of the residents. We have decided to put out this information to help ensure that this year, less students in Gainesville will face the unfortunate circumstance of no rental trucks, no storage and no where to go. Below you will find a list of moving tips for the apartment turn to help make the transition a lot smoother.

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Make Rental Truck arrangements at least one month in advance.
Make sure to begin packing your items at least one week prior to move, two is recommended.
Get at least three moving quotes from local moving companies in Gainesville at least a month in advance.
Purchase packing materials and supplies at least two weeks prior to your move date. They are scarce!
Verify your move in and move out time with the respective apartment managers well in advance.
Reserve storage in Gainesville at least one to two months in advance and ask about specials.

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Following a seemingly easy list of things to do as mentioned above will save a lot of headaches and frustration come moving day. Be prepared to wait in a line at your apartment on the way in and the way out. Remember that thousands will be doing exactly the same thing as you this weekend. If you can move a week prior, or a week after, this is preferred and may save you some money. Rates are based on availability, and during peak season they are the highest for all things related to moving.