Moving Company Deductions: The Trucks and the Heavy Highway Tax, the Crews on Payroll, the Boxes You Sell, the Claims You Pay, and the Storage Warehouse

A moving company is trucks, crews, and liability for everything in the truck. The deductions are the fleet and its taxes, the labor, the packing materials, the insurance and the claims it does not cover, the licensing that lets the company operate, and the warehouse where goods wait between homes. Florida taxes the boxes sold at the counter but not the moving service, and since October 1, 2025, not the storage of household goods either.

The fleet

Box trucks over 6,000 pounds and tractors are outside the passenger-vehicle depreciation caps and are deducted in full in the year placed in service under Section 179 (within its annual limit) or 100 percent bonus depreciation, or depreciated over five years (three for over-the-road tractor units). Trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more file Form 2290 and pay the heavy highway vehicle use tax for each July-through-June period — by August 31 for trucks in use in July, otherwise by the last day of the month after the month of first use; a 26-foot box truck usually falls under that line and a tractor-trailer combination above it. Liftgates, ramps, dollies, and pads are equipment or supplies. The actual-expense method is the only sensible one for dedicated trucks. Repairs are deducted; an engine rebuild that extends a truck's life is capitalized.

Fuel, tolls, and interstate taxes

Fuel is deducted as bought. A company whose trucks over 26,000 pounds (or with three or more axles) cross state lines registers under the International Fuel Tax Agreement and files quarterly returns apportioning fuel tax by miles in each state; it also needs apportioned registration for the trucks. Tolls and permits are deducted as paid. An intrastate Florida mover needs neither; its trucks carry ordinary Florida registration and pay fuel tax at the pump.

Crews

Movers and drivers who work the company's schedule on the company's trucks are employees — payroll, withholding, unemployment, and workers' compensation at Florida's four-employee threshold for non-construction employers. The injury rate in moving makes the workers' compensation policy the one that matters. Paying crews as day-labor "contractors" is the classification error with the largest downside in this trade. Overtime applies to hourly crews under federal wage law, with the Motor Carrier Act exemption limited to drivers, helpers, loaders, and mechanics whose work affects the safety of trucks over 10,000 pounds in interstate commerce.

Packing materials and the boxes you sell

Pads, tape, shrink wrap, and paper used on jobs are supplies, deducted when bought. Boxes, tape, and packing kits sold to customers — at the counter or delivered before the move — are inventory, deducted as sold, and taxable retail sales in Florida; the company registers for sales tax and collects on those sales. A company that bundles materials into a packing service charge is providing a nontaxable service (with the materials as its own supplies, taxed to the company when it buys them) if the materials are not separately sold.

Insurance, valuation, and claims

Cargo coverage, auto liability on the fleet, general liability, and workers' compensation are deductible. Released-value and full-value protection sold to customers are part of the moving charge. Claims paid to customers for damaged or lost goods — within the valuation chosen, above the insurance deductible, or in settlement — are deductible business expenses when paid. A reserve for expected claims is not deductible until the claims are paid.

Licensing and registration

Florida requires intrastate household goods movers to register with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, carry specified insurance, and follow estimate and contract rules; interstate movers need operating authority from the federal motor carrier agency, a USDOT number, and a published tariff. Registration fees, the surety bond or insurance, the drug and alcohol testing program for commercial drivers, and the compliance consultants are deductible. Fines for operating without authority are not.

The warehouse

A storage warehouse — owned or leased — holds goods between moves and in long-term storage. Lease payments are deductible; an owned warehouse is 39-year property with racking, lighting, security, and the loading dock separable as shorter-lived property by a cost segregation study. Florida repealed its sales tax on commercial rent effective October 1, 2025, so a mover's lease no longer carries that tax. Storage charged to customers for household goods is no longer subject to Florida sales tax for periods beginning on or after October 1, 2025, whether it is billed as warehousing of goods in the mover's custody or as a rental of storage space — the Department of Revenue lists warehouses and self-storage units among the commercial rentals covered by the repeal. Storage space for motor vehicles and boats remains taxable.

Worked example. A Florida intrastate mover with four box trucks (26 feet, under 55,000 pounds) buys a fifth for $84,000, deducted in full under bonus depreciation. Fuel runs $64,000; crews of eleven are on payroll with workers' compensation. Pads, tape, and wrap cost $18,000 as supplies; boxes sold to customers total $22,000 of taxable sales, held as inventory. The company paid $9,400 of damage claims, deductible when paid. Its warehouse lease is $96,000 a year with no commercial rent tax since October 2025. It renews its state mover registration ($600 for the two-year term) and carries the cargo liability insurance Florida requires — with two or more trucks, a bond is not accepted in its place — both deductible, and it has no interstate obligations.

Official sources

The IRS explains: “Figure and pay the tax due on highway motor vehicles used during the period with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more” — Internal Revenue Service, About Form 2290, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return, https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-2290

The Department explains: “Chapter 507, Florida Statutes, requires any person engaged in intrastate moving to register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).” — Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Moving Companies, https://www.fdacs.gov/Business-Services/Moving-Companies

The Department explains: “Effective October 1, 2025, the state sales tax imposed on rent or license fees for the use of real property (commercial rentals) under section 212.031, Florida Statutes (F.S.), is repealed.” — Florida Department of Revenue, Tax Information Publication 25A01-04: Sales Tax on Commercial Rentals Repealed Effective October 1, 2025, https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/tips/Documents/TIP_25A01-04.pdf

Related guides

• Moving Company Entity and Estimated Taxes: The S Election, the Summer and the End of the Month, the Crew Payroll That Never Stops, and the Interstate Line That Changes the Compliance
• Trucking Owner-Operator Deductions: The Tractor, the Per Diem, the Fuel, and the Form 2290 That Comes Every July
• Junk Removal Deductions: The Box Truck and the Dump Trailer, the Tipping Fees, the Items You Resell, the Donation Receipt That Isn't Yours, and the Franchise Fee
• Contractor or Employee? How the IRS Decides
• Section 179 or Bonus Depreciation: Choosing the Write-Off

Next step

Fairlight Accounting handles U.S. domestic, cross-border (U.S.–Canada), and international tax returns, plus bookkeeping, payroll, and CFO advisory. Our U.S. Tax Desk sets up the fleet deductions, the crew payroll, and the split between moving services and taxable box sales. See pricing or book a free fit call.