How to move a home office without losing a workday
Move a home office with your files, data and desk intact, from backups and paperwork to the box you open first so you can work on day one.
The BoxTrack team · · 6 min read
The movers were done by noon Friday. The client call was Monday at nine. On Sunday night the laptop was found, but the charger wasn't, the monitor cable was in a box labeled "kitchen misc," and the folder with the signed contract was somewhere in fourteen identical file boxes.
A home office is the one room where a bad move costs you money. Desk and chair are easy. The hard parts are the data, the paperwork, and getting back to work fast. Here's how to handle each.
Back up before anything gets unplugged
Do this first, a week out, while everything still works. Copy your work files to a cloud account and to an external drive, and check that both copies open. Write down your Wi-Fi details, printer settings and any software license keys you'd need to reinstall.
Then decide which drive goes in the truck and which goes in your car. The backup drive should never travel in the same box as the computer it backs up. If the box goes missing, you want the other copy somewhere else.
Laptops, phones, tablets and external drives ride with you, not with the movers. So do their chargers. Our guide to packing electronics covers monitors, printers and cables in detail.
Sort the paperwork before you pack it
Home offices collect paper. Moving is the moment to decide what's worth carrying.
The IRS says in its recordkeeping guide that you generally keep tax records until the period of limitations for that return runs out. For most returns that's three years from filing, longer in some cases. If you run a business with employees, Publication 583 says employment tax records must be kept for at least four years. Records that support the cost of property you still own should be kept until you sell it and the period for that year runs out.
What you don't need, shred. The FTC's identity theft advice is to shred charge receipts, copies of credit applications and other papers with personal or financial details, and to keep originals like birth certificates and Social Security cards somewhere safe. A move puts a lot of paper on the curb, and the FTC notes thieves go through trash for exactly this.
| Pack it | Carry it yourself | Shred it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passports, birth certificates, Social Security cards | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Current-year tax papers and active contracts | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Older tax records you still need to keep | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Records past their keep-until date | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Old statements and receipts with account numbers | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Packing files so you can find them
Use file boxes with lids, not open crates, and pack folders upright the way they sat in the drawer. Don't overfill: a full file box is heavy, so keep each one liftable. Number the boxes and write down which folders are in which box. "File box 3: clients A to F, 2024 and 2025" saves an afternoon of digging.
Anything confidential, whether client files, medical records or anything with Social Security numbers, should go in a sealed box you load into your own car. If it has to go on the truck, seal it, label it by number only, and keep the list of what's inside with you.
The desk, the chair and the rest
Desk. Empty every drawer. Take off the legs or the top if it comes apart, bag the screws, and tape the bag to the underside. Photograph the back of the desk with everything plugged in before you take it apart.
Office chair. Lower it to its shortest height, and tape or wrap the arms and wheels so they don't snag. Some chairs let you pull the base off, which makes them much easier to fit in a truck.
Monitor. Original box if you have it. If not, wrap it in a moving blanket and stand it upright, screen facing a flat surface, never face down.
Printer. Remove the ink or toner cartridges and bag them. Tape the lid and any trays shut.
Shelves and supplies. Pens, paper, stapler and the rest go in one small box. Books go in small boxes, packed flat or spine down.
The open-first box
Pack one box, clearly marked, that gets you working on day one before anything else is unpacked:
- Laptop, charger and mouse
- Monitor cable and any adapter
- Power strip and a long extension cord
- Phone charger and headphones
- Router or modem, if you own it, with its cables
- Notebook, pens, and the folder for anything due that week
Ride with this box in your car. On move-in day, set up the desk first, plug this box in, and you can work from a half-unpacked house.
Tell people where you've moved
Set up mail forwarding with USPS before the move. If you run a business from home, update your address with clients, your bank and any licensing office. For the IRS, individuals can use Form 8822, and businesses report a new mailing address or location with Form 8822-B. The IRS says processing generally takes four to six weeks, so file it early.
Book internet at the new place two or three weeks ahead. An installation slot a week after move-in means a week of working from your phone.
One thing has changed for taxes. The IRS's page on moving expenses now covers members of the Armed Forces on a permanent change of station and, from 2026, certain intelligence community employees. For most other people, moving costs aren't deductible on a federal return, so ask a tax professional before counting on it.
Moving a home office, in order
- Two to three weeks outBook internet at the new place; sort and shred old papers
- One week outBack up everything twice; note Wi-Fi and printer settings
- A few days outPack files by number, take the desk apart, pack the open-first box
- Moving dayLaptop, backup drive, documents and open-first box ride with you
- Day oneDesk first, open-first box second, then file IRS and client address changes
Know which box has the contract
Fourteen file boxes look the same. What you need is a list of what's in each one, made while you pack.
BoxTrack does that from your phone. Make a box in the app for each carton, snap a photo of what goes in, and AI lists the items. Print a QR label for each box, and scan it at the new place to see what's inside, or search "printer cable" and the app tells you which box it's in. See how BoxTrack works for a move. Your first box is free.
Sources
- IRS, Topic no. 305, Recordkeeping
- IRS, Publication 583, Starting a business and keeping records
- IRS, Topic no. 157, Change your address
- IRS, About Form 8822-B, Change of address or responsible party, business
- IRS, Topic no. 455, Moving expenses for members of the Armed Forces and the intelligence community
- Federal Trade Commission, What to know about identity theft
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Ask a tax professional how long to keep your own records and what you can deduct.
