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Our customers have taken us to many different regions throughout the United States. In 2020, we moved people to 25 different states. The 3 most common destination states were Florida, Texas, and Colorado. Thank you to all of our customers for letting us take the stress out of moving.
Signing off for now, Joshua McKee I just wanted to write a quick overview of the different things that separate us from our competition.
1) We are not a broker. I get to talk to a lot of customers and many customers cannot tell the difference between a broker and an actual moving company. If a "moving" company is sending you quotes and you notice addresses from states that are 1,000 miles away, chances are you are talking to a broker. 2) We handle our jobs from beginning to end. No middle man. Period. I am aware of several moving companies that subcontract out to other moving companies during the moving process. For example, the moving company that you have decided to use may decide to hire a subcontractor to drive and unload. We do not do that. If you let THE MOVERS move you, we will handle your household items from beginning to end. Guaranteed. 3) We are family owned and operated. I think that many times the bigger companies assign numbers to customers and forget that people are not robots. THE MOVERS offers a personal side to our service. We will not treat you like a number. Friendliness is our specialty. I will probably add to this post as I go on, but for now, I think these are the 3 top things that separates our company from the competition. Just wanted to get this out there. Thanks for reading. Signing off for now, Joshua McKee Do you ever wonder how the pros do it? Well, moving is not easy but here are three tips that can make your move more efficient. Whether you decide to hire professionals like us or decide to move yourself, these tips can make your move go more smoothly.
1. USE COLOR CODED TAPE For example, if you have a lot of boxes it will go easier at the unloading site if your movers know exactly where to place the boxes. Of course, do not use the color coded tape for securing the boxes. I recommend using good old fashioned packing tape for box security. But anyways, you can tear off a piece of colored masking tape and place it on the corner of the box. You could come up with your own color code. For example, Yellow means Kitchen, Red means Living room, Blue means Upstairs, Black means downstairs. It could get a little confusing if you forget the meaning behind the color code, but if you write down the color code you should not forget it. Also, as a side note, I do not recommend placing tape of any type on furniture, especially wooden furniture. 2. USE STRETCH WRAP Stretch wrap, besides blankets and dollies, are a movers best friend. Shrink wrap can help secure weak furniture and maybe even protect some furniture from scratches. However, I do not recommend sole reliance on shrink wrap for furniture protection. Blankets should always be used to protect furniture. My favorite use of shrink wrap is its ability to hold drawers in. Moving dressers can be difficult especially if the drawers are not secured from sliding out. A couple of wraps around your dressers with shrink wrap will prevent scuffs on your dressers and holes in your walls. We use shrink wrap all the time when we move our customers. 3. HAVE A TIMELINE FOR YOUR MOVE It is important to have a timeline for your move. Have all your closing dates together and pinpointed. Know when you must move out of your old residence and know when you will be able to move into your new one. Failure to know your closing dates can result in a cancellation of service from your selected mover... or if you have decided to move yourself, it can mess up your schedule on your truck rental. If you know your closing dates, but are unsure of when you can move into your new residence, you can find yourself in a position where you might need to place all of your belongings in storage. Our company offers storage in transit. We can hold your possessions on our trucks for a week or two, or if you need more time, recommend you to a storage unit company. Customized quotes can be given for storage in transit moves where we hold your possessions on our trucks, and we may be able to give you a good deal. So even if you do find yourself in an awkward position with your closing and your moving in dates, we can work around this. However, always know your dates. Knowing your dates will make your move more efficient because you will be able to plan according to your schedule instead of having to act in desperation to make things work. Did you know that you can deduct for moving expenses? Well now you do! In order for a move to be tax deductible, your move must meet certain conditions. According to the IRS Website:
"If you moved due to a change in your job or business location, or because you started a new job or business, you may be able to deduct your reasonable moving expenses but not any expenses for meals. You can deduct your moving expenses if you meet all three of the following requirements:
Your move must closely relate both in time and in place to the start of work at your new location. You can consider moving expenses incurred within one year from the date you first reported to work at the new location as closely related in time to the start of work. A move generally relates closely in place if the distance from your new home to the new job location is not more than the distance from your former home to the new job location. For exceptions to these requirements, see Publication 521, Moving Expenses. The distance test: Your new workplace must be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job location was from your old home. If you had no previous workplace, your new job location must be at least 50 miles from your old home. The time test: If you are an employee, you must work full-time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months immediately following your arrival in the general area of your new job location. If you are self-employed, you must work full time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months and for a total of at least 78 weeks during the first 24 months immediately following your arrival in the general area of your new work location. There are exceptions to the time test in case of death, disability and involuntary separation, among other things. If you are a member of the Armed Forces and your move was due to a military order and permanent change of station, you do not have to satisfy the distance or time tests. Figure moving expenses on Form 3903 (PDF), Moving Expenses, and deduct as an adjustment to income on Form 1040 (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. You cannot deduct any moving expenses covered by reimbursements from your employer that are excluded from your income. For more information on deductible and nondeductible moving expenses, refer to Publication 521, Moving Expenses. Also, refer to Publication 521 for information on moves between locations in and outside the United States. From: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc455.html The IRS details the types of moving expenses that you can deduct for in Publication 521: Household goods and personal effects. You can deduct the cost of packing, crating, and transporting your household goods and personal effects and those of the members of your household from your former home to your new home. For purposes of moving expenses, the term “personal effects” includes, but is not limited to, movable personal property that the taxpayer owns and frequently uses. If you use your own car to move your things, see Travel by car, earlier. You can deduct any costs of connecting or disconnecting utilities required because you are moving your household goods, appliances, or personal effects. You can deduct the cost of shipping your car and your household pets to your new home. You can deduct the cost of moving your household goods and personal effects from a place other than your former home. Your deduction is limited to the amount it would have cost to move them from your former home. Example. Paul Brown has been living and working in North Carolina for the last 4 years. Because he has been renting a small apartment, he stored some furniture at his parents' home in Georgia. Paul got a job in Washington, DC. It cost him $900 to move the furniture from his North Carolina apartment to Washington and $3,000 to move the stored furniture from Georgia to Washington. It would have cost $1,800 to ship the stored furniture from North Carolina to Washington. He can deduct only $1,800 of the $3,000 he paid. The amount he can deduct for moving his furniture is $2,700 ($900 + $1,800). You cannot deduct the cost of moving furniture you buy on the way to your new home. Storage expenses. You can include the cost of storing and insuring household goods and personal effects within any period of 30 consecutive days after the day your things are moved from your former home and before they are delivered to your new home. Travel expenses. You can deduct the cost of transportation and lodging for yourself and members of your household while traveling from your former home to your new home. This includes expenses for the day you arrive. 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. You can include any lodging expenses you had in the area of your former home within one day after you could no longer live in your former home because your furniture had been moved. The members of your household do not have to travel together or at the same time. However, you can only deduct expenses for one trip per person. If you use your own car, see Travel by car, earlier. Example. In February 2015, Josh and Robyn Black moved from Minneapolis to Washington, DC, where Josh was starting a new job. Josh drove the family car to Washington, DC, a trip of 1,100 miles. His expenses were $253 for mileage (1,100 miles x 23 cents per mile) plus $40 for tolls and $150 for lodging, for a total of $443. One week later, Robyn flew from Minneapolis to Washington, DC. Her only expense was her $400 plane ticket. The Blacks' deduction is $843 (Josh's $443 + Robyn's $400). From: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p521/ar02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000203497 Well, there you go. I hope this information helps you as you consider hiring professional movers. Look forward to hearing from you soon! Regards, Joshua McKee |
AuthorJoshua McKee- Owner of The Movers. Archives
March 2021
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