The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 permanently eliminated the moving expense tax deduction for non-military taxpayers, adding $1,500-$3,000 in effective cost to every long-distance move

Before 2018, any taxpayer who moved more than 50 miles for a new job could deduct moving expenses from their federal income taxes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended this deduction for tax years 2018-2025, and the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' signed in July 2025 made the elimination permanent for all non-military taxpayers. Only active-duty military personnel on permanent change of station orders and, starting 2026, certain intelligence community members retain the deduction. Why it matters: a typical long-distance move costs $4,000-$12,000, so the lost deduction adds $1,000-$3,000+ in effective cost depending on tax bracket, so workers considering a job-related move across state lines face a higher financial hurdle, so fewer workers relocate for better opportunities (interstate migration rates have been declining for decades), so employers in talent-scarce regions struggle to recruit, and workers in economically depressed areas remain stuck. The structural root cause is that the deduction was eliminated as part of a broad tax simplification effort that traded itemized deductions for a larger standard deduction, but moving expenses are a one-time, unavoidable, non-recurring cost tied to economic mobility -- fundamentally different from the recurring deductions that benefited from simplification -- and no targeted replacement mechanism was created.