It’s tax time and for many military spouses that means not paying state tax! Too bad it’s not that simple. The Military Spouse Residency Relief Act of 2009 allowed military spouses to file taxes in their state of residency, rather than the state they live in due to military orders. Military members have had this benefit for decades. Before you re-configure your tax documents, check the requirements. Military spouses must meet these three qualifications to be exempt from state taxation:
- Currently lives in a different state than their place of residency.
- Lives in their current state in order to live with service member spouse.
- Service member must live in state due to military orders
Those are the first set of requirements. Depending on what state you consider your state of residency, there may be another set of requirements to determine whether you are in fact eligible to be a resident of that state. Often these laws deal with home/land ownership. Check your state’s rules at http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/Where-do-I-/State-Tax-Web-Sites/GE... site lists all 50 states and links to each state’s department of revenue website.