What is the difference between moving expenses and travel expenses?

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scorpionman
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What is the difference between moving expenses and travel expenses?

Post by scorpionman »

From what I understand both are related to earning income. I.e. a retired person cannot claim moving expenses if they have no job or business.
But what is the difference between the two?
If you are say an employee of a single person CCPC, and you personally are managing the business from a new location (even if the corporation stays in the same province) is that a moving expense as you receive salary or a travel expense to the company - for say office space, etc...?
Are the two made for different situations?
Also what is the definition of moving for work or business? If you are just doing business from another location but the home office doesn't change does this mean you can't claim either moving or travel expenses or home office expenses, even if you plan to manage the business from this new location for many years (e.g. from another country), even though your residency stays in Canada?
scorpionman
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Re: What is the difference between moving expenses and travel expenses?

Post by scorpionman »

Interesting, thank you.
What I get from this are the move must be for business purposes in most cases (students being an exception). Otherwise going to a meeting or something is just a travel expense. What about moving abroad to solicit business as a self-employed person? Does there have to be a result? What's the line between carrying on business and "trying" to carry on business?

I also found it interesting that if you maintain a Canadian residence when you move out of the country it's not deductible but if you afterward move from one non-Canadian location to another non-Canadian location and are a factual resident (as in the previous case) you can deduct the expenses, this is a really weird one if I understand correctly.
OhGreatGuru
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Re: What is the difference between moving expenses and travel expenses?

Post by OhGreatGuru »

Part of your confusion may be that "travel expense" is a generic term used in at least two different contexts (that I can think of) in the Income Tax Act.

First, you have "Moving Expenses", which is really relocation expenses associated with moving to a new job. As part of this moving expense, you have "travel expenses" for the cost of actually travelling from the old location to the new.

But travel expenses is also used in the context of business expenses, where your work requires you to travel, and you are not reimbursed by an employer for this.
scorpionman
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Re: What is the difference between moving expenses and travel expenses?

Post by scorpionman »

All makes sense. But how does it apply for the self employed who control their own job or where they might want to be to do business for moving deduction?
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