Confusing IRS rules regarding moving expenses. According to the rules I read, you have to stay in new residence for 39 weeks. However, they also talk about taking the deduction in the same year as the move, which contradicts the 39 week rule.

You have to be in the new JOB for 39 weeks, not the residence! So you move in December and start work in January, you can still claim the move on your 2009 tax return, assuming you will be employed for the 39 weeks. If you end up getting pregnant and have to quit work after 20 weeks, technically you should go back and amend your moving expenses to disallow.

Yeah, if you read that stuff, you'll either start doing drugs or kill yourself.

Remember that taxes are filed the following year for the prior year (i.e. in 2009, you'll file for 2008, etc.). So, what that essentially means is that if you moved in 2009, you'll claim them for that year but by April 15, 2010 (confusing I know but consider the source). By that time, you should have met that requirement, if you moved towards the end of the year (Dec.) you'll know by then if you'll meet the requirement. Now, does this make any more sense or make it worse?

Go to work just enough to barely afford a living. Get a "McJob". Turn one room of your/a house into an indoor marijuana garden and sell your quarterly crop yeilds that are worth thousands. Bypass their bullshit by earning a covert non-taxable comfortable middle class income. Watch how you spend it though. Big purchases such as cars and houses should all fit on the books according to your income and checking accounts. FOR EVERYTHING ELSE, USE CASH! But don't make cash purchases that are more than a couple thousand bucks, because big brother IS indeed watching. Do things like buy the $1000 TV instead of the $4000 one. Or finance it like you don't have the $$ just yet. It's all about matching your monitorable annual income with your monitorable annual expenditure, which is much easier than trying to figure out the rediculously complex tax code. For all the things that cant be monitored like clothes, electronics, recreation, groceries, and just generally desirable stuff...happy spending!!!

Crap that is pretty confusing....