Relocating?  Deducting Moving Expenses on your taxes may make your relocation a little less stressful.  Here are the IRS rules to see if you qualify:

If you are moving due to a change in your job or business location, or because you started a new job or business, you may be able to deduct your moving expenses.  To qualify for the moving expense deduction, you must satisfy two tests.

Under the first test, the “distance test”, your new job must be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job location was from your old home. If you had no previous workplace, your new job must be at least 50 miles from your old home.

The second test is the “time test”. If you are an employee, you must work full-time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months right after you arrive in the general area of your new job. If you are self-employed, you must work full time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months and for a total of at least 78 weeks during the first 24 months after you arrive in the general area of your new work location. There are exceptions to the time test in case of death, disability and involuntary separation, among other things.

If you are a member of the armed forces and your move was due to a permanent change of station, you do not have to satisfy the “distance or time tests”.

Moving expenses are figured on Form 3903 (PDF) and deducted as an adjustment to income on Form 1040 (PDF). You cannot deduct any moving expenses that were reimbursed by your employer.

For more information on deductible moving expenses, please refer to Publication 521, Moving Expenses.

See also: Tampa Bay Relocation Guide

Need help relocating to the Tampa Bay Area? Contact me to find your perfect home!  Rae Catanese, PA-Licensed Realtor-Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater.  813 784 7744 or email

Thinking of Living for Free?  New Law to Expedite Foreclosures….

By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune

A controversial bill in the legislature would speed up foreclosures in Florida and remove the process from the court system. “This would have a profound and dramatic change on the foreclosure landscape,” said John Byrne, a Tampa lawyer with Byrne Law Group. “This bill was filed very late and slid under the radar. I see zero benefits to homeowners.”

House bill 1523 would change that by allowing lenders to skip legal proceedings unless the borrower requests the foreclosure goes through the courts. The process could take as little as 90 days.

There are 30 other states that have a non-judicial foreclosure process, allowing some lenders to foreclose on properties in as little as a month.  The bill is sponsored in by Tom Grady, R-Naples. The Naples area is one of Florida’s hardest-hit by foreclosure.

Grady has said in published reports that the bill would “expedite the resolution” in foreclosure cases, providing needed protections for lenders and property owners. It would also require mortgage holders to prove that an owner is in default, he has said.

Part of the bill says that borrowers will not be liable for the unpaid portion of the loan if they act in good faith during the foreclosure process. But Byrne and other lawyers who represent homeowners in foreclosure actions say this bill takes away a homeowner’s rights to due process. “I think this is intended to keep these cases out of court because it’s easier for lenders,” Byrne said.

While a homeowner can request their case go to court, Byrne said they have only 20 days to do that and would have to file a lawsuit. That, he said, could cost $1,700. While it’s true the bill would streamline the process for banks, Alex Sanchez, president of the Florida Bankers Association, said it would also make it easier on the court system.

“The judges are overwhelmed with foreclosures,” Sanchez said. “We actually have homeowners writing to us, asking us to speed up the process so abandoned homes can be sold to someone who can afford it and can fix it up.”
Florida has always been a judicial foreclosure state, Byrne said. Unless a state passes a law making foreclosure a non-judicial process, a lender must go through the court system to take possession.

Homeowners in states with non-judicial foreclosure systems don’t have as long to try to work something out with their lender. In Georgia, for example, lenders can foreclose in as little as 30 days. Critics of the bill in Florida fear that could happen in the Sunshine State too.

But just as Georgia has a reputation for being strict on delinquent homeowners, Florida is known for being lenient, said Kevin Caiaccio, of The Caiaccio Law Firm in Atlanta.

“Maybe our system is too much in favor of the lender and your system is too much too much the other way,” said Caiaccio, a real estate attorney. “You need to strike a balance because you are taking people’s property away. But it’s not fair to homeowners who do pay to allow other owners to live for free.”

Georgia’s law wasn’t looked at that closely, Caiaccio said, until the economic downturn. Now, there are proposals in the Georgia legislature, he said, that would soften the law. One would give the borrower more time get caught up on their loan before a foreclosure. Another would allow the borrower to buy back the property after the lender takes it back.

“The law is becoming more controversial,” he said. “In this environment, there are some people wanting reform.”

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — – Homeowners stuck with tainted Chinese drywall could be eligible for big tax breaks.
The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday it would  consider granting a tax deduction for homeowners who can prove they have suffered “sudden, unusual and unexpected” damage because of the building material.

In a market where many houses are already depreciating in value or even facing foreclosure, houses that have defective drywall are being rendered valueless, exacerbating the current housing crisis. Houses with defective drywall may even depress the property value of adjacent homes. One estimate is that the cost of remediation might be around $100,000 per home.

Toxic drywall

1. There is presence of sulfur-like or other unusual odors
2. Confirmed presence of Chinese manufactured drywall in the home
3. Observed copper corrosion, indicated by black, sooty coating of un-insulated copper pipe leading to the air handling unit present in the garage or mechanical closet of home
4. Documented failure of air conditioner evaporator coil (located inside the air handling unit)
5. Confirmation by an outside expert or professional for the presence of premature copper corrosion on un-insulated copper wires and/or air conditioner evaporator coils (inside the air handling unit)

Florida Department of Health

The Florida Department of Health has set up a website specifically for people who are wondering if they may have the hazardous imported drywall in their house.  It has a section for frequently asked questions and a list of local, state, and federal agencies where you can file a consumer complaint. 

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has put up a website with information about the status of their investigation of hazardous drywall, including a section to answer many of the questions you may have.  To report a complaint of toxic drywall to the CPSC, you can fill out a form on their website.

“If the facts and circumstances show that a taxpayer’s home has had a sudden, unusual and unexpected damage, and that this damage was caused by Chinese drywall, and that all of the other requirements of the deduction are met, the taxpayer is entitled to a casualty loss deduction,” IRS spokesman Bruce Friedland told Scripps Howard News Service.

See Also: Signs of Chinese Drywall

Consumer Product Safety Commission