Updated September 29, 2026. Quick answer: code P in Box 12 reports moving expense reimbursements your employer paid directly to you that are excludable from income. Since 2018 that exclusion covers only military members on a permanent change of station and certain intelligence community employees.
What the IRS tells the employer
The instructions define code P as “Excludable moving expense reimbursements paid directly to a member of the U.S. Armed Forces or intelligence community.”
Who qualifies
“The exclusion for qualified moving expense reimbursements applies only to members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty who move pursuant to a military order and incident to a permanent change of station, or an employee or new appointee of the intelligence community.”
What goes in Box 12 and what does not
“Qualified moving expense reimbursements paid directly to an employee by an employer are reported only in box 12 of Form W-2 with code P.” Payments to third parties are treated differently: “Qualified moving expenses that an employer paid to a third party on behalf of the employee (for example, to a moving company), and services that an employer furnished in kind to an employee, are not reported on Form W-2.”
If your move does not qualify
“Nonqualified moving expenses and expense reimbursements are reported in boxes 1, 3, and 5”, so an ordinary job-related move reimbursement shows up in your wages, not in code P.
Common mistakes
- Expecting code P after an ordinary job relocation. The IRS instruction limits the exclusion to military members and certain intelligence community employees.
- Looking for payments your employer made straight to a moving company. Those are not reported on Form W-2.
Related: code C.
Every code in one place: the Box 12 codes table. If a withdrawal from one of these accounts is your question, see the Form 1099-R Box 7 codes.
Figures verified against the IRS 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 on September 30, 2026.
Sources
- IRS, 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw2w3.pdf
- IRS, About Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-2
Code meanings are read from the IRS 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (Box 12) at irs.gov on September 29, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a payroll professional, a preparer or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.