Keeping track: Cost of moving

Moving season has arrived.

Allied Van Lines has declared May National Moving Month. The company calculates that more than 21 million Americans will relocate over the next four months.

Some 43 million will move this year, according to the US Census Bureau. (Latest regional trend: More movers are heading from the West to the Midwest and South.)

Many are moved by employers. And companies are spending more than ever to relocate employees.

Those who move on their own dime should remember to deduct qualified moving expenses from their taxes, experts say. Relocators can often deduct driving costs, lodging (but not meals), and even the cost of packing.

On average, people move about 11 times in their lifetime, about once every seven years.

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