Submitted by Friendly-Growth1903 t3_11c1rj7 in washingtondc
So I’ll be marrying a active duty military member with a different state residency (with a far lower tax rate) and I’m a current DC resident. We are trying to navigate the tax code of how we file when married. It may make a material difference in our income, but we’d like to discuss with a pro.
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Military does this all the time.
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It's perfectly legal and encouraged for the military to retain residency in their home state, regardless of where they actually live. It's one of the perks of being in the military.
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Actually, I don’t want to live in DC anymore. We are planning to move to VA late this year or early next and that’s wrapped up in some of tax planning questions we have prepared.
Edited to add: I’ve owned and lived here eight years, it’s a fine place to live, just not for me anymore.
The military allows it because the member can be moved as many as four times a calendar year. Is it fair to penalize them with a ridiculous number of tax returns when it was an involuntary part of their job? Or their spouse?
DC doesn't have a "married" tax rate. So I'm not sure being married really matters. You should pay DC taxes as a resident. Other should file with wherever their military residency is. As a civilian, your tax obligation is based on your physical location when you made the money, not your residency. Don't know about military.
We were thinking that, then if we move to VA say in Oct to be closer to his base, I’d file two returns (DC and VA) and then try to start the following year declaring with his home state residency for the next year. We will have at least another two moves ahead of us so it’d be great to get on the same page and just file jointly.
Life is about to be different for me, but thanks for your judgement, internet warrior!
If you use tax filing software or a filing service they can account for this kind of situation (where you got married this year and one of you moved).
I know that bases have some kind of support service for military families (the name escapes me right now) that your fiancé can ask for help with this kind of thing.
He doesn’t owe DC taxes unless he has changed his permanent residence to DC.
The military is allowed, by law, to maintain permanent residency in their home state and pay taxes to their home state because 1, they can be moved multiple times a year and 2, because they often have little choice in the matter.
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Thank you!
This year you file your taxes as always with DC because you didn't marry in 2022 the tax year that is currently being filed for. Assuming your Marrying in the upcoming year, the 2023 tax season will be more complicated. You can change your residency to match your spouse's once married, you will want to make sure your employer chages your state withholdings. The next year you would file in DC for the months up until you changed your residency and then the remainder of the year would be filed with the state you changed to. So in 2023 you would have 2 state returns. The year after that would be the first full tax year with your new state and you would only need to file with your new state no longer working about DC.
Thanks, for 2022 I’m set and agreed - I filed as I normally have. I just don’t want to run afoul switching over in 2023 post marriage and want to make sure I’m totally correct in how I do it.
If you got married this year you can file all of your income with his state (married filing jointly). It does not matter if you married in January or December of '23. If you already paid/pay DC taxes as part of your paycheck, you will file with DC to get those taxes back. All of the local bases have free tax help or access to a free financial advisor if you're concerned.
So once you get married you’ll be able to claim (if you want to) your spouses home state of residence. My husband is active duty USCG and he claims FL (no state taxes) as his “home state” of residence. I claim it as well under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. We live in DC where I also work and DC taxes come out of my check. Because I’m a FL “resident” when we file (married jointly) I get those DC taxes back. It’s actually pretty easy. He’s been active duty for 19 years and we’ve always filed ourselves with no issues on TurboTax. I’ve worked in every place we’ve been stationed - North Carolina, Guam, DC, Virginia, etc….and I’ve had no issues filing as a FL “resident” military spouse and getting those state taxes back.
Many bases have legal services your military members and dependents can access. You may want to look at setting up an appointment with your future spouse and their base legal services to get additional information.
Thanks. This is probably the best solution and I appreciate everyone who has suggested it. I don’t know why I didn’t go to that first. Thank you all again!
My husband and I have had different state residencies due to military for 8 years. We file state taxes separately and federal jointly.
This may not work. The husband may have a state residency that the OP hasn’t over in.
This is the answer. The MSRRA allows you as a spouse to claim the military member’s residency state starting in the tax year that you’re married.
That said, the complication is that you are exempt from state income taxes if you moved to that state to comply with military orders. So if you move to Virginia to be closer to your spouse where they are stationed, after you’re married, this might apply: source
You will still get taxes withheld based on where you physically live from your pay check and need your employer to have your true home address (look into if the state where you live has a method for your employer to exempt you from those taxes ahead of time).
Like the poster prior said, online tax companies should be well aware of this and useable even in this situation - it’s the law and it’s common. Don’t let some of these posters have you second guess or feel guilty that you’re taking advantage of this law, they presumably don’t have to move every few years or deal with any of the other aspects of being a military spouse.
And finally— some of the info you’ll read will say that you can only claim the same state of residence as your spouse if you also had established residency there prior to being married. That changed in 2018 in the Veterans Benefits and Transitions Act, see Title III: Source
Signed, 3 military moves & one marriage in 3 years
OP is asking about what to do after they get married.
HanaBothWays t1_ja15dwm wrote
Off the top of my head I would say you do “married, filing separately” if you maintain different residences.
A lot of tax filing software/services can probably help you with this as they ask you questions like whether you and your spouse live separately.