Taxes, Residency and the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act

  • Published
  • By Travis Air Force Base Tax Assistance Center
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE,Calif. --  On Nov. 11, 2009, Congress passed the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act amending the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to give certain voting and tax protections to military spouses. Generally, for tax purposes, servicemembers are considered to maintain their existing residence or domicile even when they are sent to a different state. The MSRRA states, for taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2009, spouses have the same privilege of retaining residency when later moved to a new state so long as the spouse shares the same domicile as the servicemember.

While that sounds simple, the application is a bit complicated and comes with many warnings. For most couples, the MSRRA will not apply this year, but may be useful in future tax planning. To figure out if the MSRRA is something that you may wish to talk to any attorney about, apply this simple test:

1) Are you married?
2) Is the nonmilitary spouse employed?
3) Does the nonmilitary spouse think that he/she may be eligible to claim a state other that California for tax purposes?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you may wish to talk to an attorney about whether you qualify for relief under MSRRA.

For couples wishing to use the MSRRA to file taxes for 2009 through their unit VITA representative or the Travis Tax Assistance Center, they are required to show proof they met with an attorney. The Travis Legal Office attorneys can discuss the MSRRA with clients and advise them on whether it could be worth the risk of an audit to file under the MSRRA this year. The Legal Office offers legal assistance appointments (call 424-3251) and walk-in hours (Thursday from 8 to 10 a.m.) for active-duty military members, retirees and family members. The Tax Assistance Center is by appointment only with certain rank restrictions for appointments earlier in the tax filing season. To schedule a tax assistance appointment, active-duty member and families can e-mail vita.taxcenter@travis.af.mil and retired servicemembers may contact the Retiree Activities Office at 424-3904 to schedule an appointment.