Do I have to report expenses for my temporary workplace relocation on my taxes?

This is a great question about temporary work assignments! Prior to 2018, you could have potentially deducted these as unreimbursed employee expenses, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated that deduction for most employees through at least 2025. Unfortunately, since this was a voluntary relocation that you chose (rather than your employer requiring you to go to Oregon), these expenses wouldn't qualify for tax deductions even under the old rules. The IRS considers this a personal choice you made rather than a business necessity. Your employer gave you options including working at a closer location or taking leave, so the Oregon assignment was effectively your personal preference. The good news is you don't need to "report" the relocation itself on your taxes - there's no special form for that. Your income earned in Oregon will just be reported on your regular W-2 from your employer.

After reading your situation, I had something really similar happen last year when my store closed for renovations. I was super stressed about the tax implications since I worked in another state temporarily. I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me understand my tax situation. I uploaded my employment documents and it analyzed everything - told me exactly what was deductible and what wasn't for my temporary work assignment. The best part was it explained WHY certain expenses didn't qualify as deductions anymore after the tax law changes in 2018. Saved me from making some mistakes that probably would've caught up with me later.

I have to follow up about that taxr.ai recommendation. I was pretty skeptical at first (as you can see from my earlier comment), but I decided to try it since my tax situation with temporary work locations was confusing me. I'm actually really impressed. I uploaded my employment contract and some receipts from when I worked in Colorado for 3 months, and it clearly showed me what was and wasn't deductible. Even better, it explained exactly which part of the tax code applied to my situation and why the 2018 tax changes affected everything. Ended up saving me from claiming about $3,200 in expenses that apparently aren't deductible anymore. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a weird work situation like this.

Reading your situation reminded me of my own nightmare trying to get answers from the IRS about a similar temporary work relocation. I spent HOURS on hold trying to get through to someone who could actually answer my questions. It was infuriating! I eventually found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with confirmed exactly what others have said - those voluntary relocation expenses aren't deductible anymore since 2018, even for temporary work situations. At least I got a definitive answer straight from the IRS instead of guessing. Thought it might help you get clarity too.

I have to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I had some questions about a home office deduction I've been trying to get answered for weeks. Got connected to an IRS agent in 22 minutes. TWENTY-TWO MINUTES. After my last call where I waited over 3 hours and then got disconnected. The agent was actually super helpful and cleared up my questions right away. For the original question about temporary workplace relocation - I also asked about this since I had a similar situation. The agent confirmed that voluntary relocation expenses aren't deductible as unreimbursed employee expenses anymore, especially when there were other options that wouldn't have required travel. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news on that front.

Something no one's mentioned yet - did your employer provide any kind of stipend or reimbursement for ANY of your expenses while you were in Oregon? Even partial reimbursements need to be handled correctly on your taxes. Also, check your W-2 carefully when you get it - make sure they didn't include any reimbursements as taxable income. Some companies mess this up.

One thing I don't see anyone talking about - did you WFH at all during those 2 weeks? Or maybe do any side gigs while you were there? Oregon has no state income tax, but if you were doing any independent contractor work, there might be other tax implications.

Have you asked your HR department? They might have specific guidance on this situation since they're the ones who set up the temporary assignment. Sometimes companies have tax professionals who can give you the correct answers for your specific situation.

Great advice from everyone here! Just wanted to add that even though your expenses aren't deductible, you should definitely keep all your receipts and documentation from this temporary assignment. If the IRS ever questions anything about your income or work situation from that period, having those records will help establish that this was a legitimate work assignment (even if voluntary) and not just a vacation. Plus, tax laws can change - while these expenses aren't deductible now under current rules, it's always good to have the documentation just in case. Also, since you mentioned this was partly to explore a potential future move to Washington, if you do end up relocating there permanently for work in the future, some of those costs might become relevant for calculating moving expense deductions (though those are also very limited now). Better to have the records and not need them than the other way around!