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I moved this year for work. I qualify for a moving expenses deduction but I'm not sure how much of the expense is deductible.

I flew to my new location with my parents on a Tuesday. We rented a car for 2 days to get around and stayed in a hotel while I looked for an apartment. I signed a lease on Friday but stayed at the hotel until Monday since I didn't have a bed at the apartment until Monday. My parents flew back home on Friday.

I'm assuming I can deduct the following: The cost of my flight (not including my parents), the cost of the rental car and the cost of the hotel from Tuesday to Friday. Is this correct? Or am I deducting too much/too little?

IRS publication 521 says: The day of arrival is the day you secure lodging at the new place of residence, even if the lodging is on a temporary basis. I don't know if the hotel counts as 'temporary lodging' or not, so I don't know if anything beyond the plane ticket is deductible.

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    A hotel is a perfect example of temporary lodging. You are, quite literally, lodged there temporarily.
    – ChrisInEdmonton
    Mar 13, 2016 at 22:42

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The hotel is what they mean by "temporary basis". Only the flight is deductible, and only for you, not the parents.

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