Thank you. I don't know. He really just wanted to be done with California.
The link below is something all active duty military members factor into their legal state of residence planning.
Looks like AD stationed outside of CA do not pay state income tax. CO, looks like no matter where they serve on AD, they pay it, unless OCONUS. Most military people eventually end up establishing a legal residence for tax and voting purposes in either states with no state income tax at all or states which exempt their AD residents who are serving out of state. DH was from PA, which didn’t tax his Navy pay while on AD, and he never served in the state, so never paid income tax. I was from GA, they wanted my income tax no matter where I was, so the minute I had orders to FL, I registered to vote and sent a letter the JAG helped me draft to GA, where I informed them my legal residence was now FL. No state income tax. I voted absentee based on my rented condo there my entire AD Navy career. These are all strategies well-known to AD military.
AD military members are always considered to be transient military residents, unless serving in the state they are legal residents of. I would say the majority of USAFA cadets are transient military, except for those who are legal residents.
Many people confuse their Home of Record with legal residence. HOR is the place from which you entered the military. It typically will not change. Legal residence states can. My HOR was GA, and for the first few years of my Navy career, GA was also my legal residence state. As noted above, when I was able to establish residence elsewhere, I took steps to do that. My HOR remained GA.
And - AD military members quite often have cars with license plates from one state, a driver’s license from another, and be residing in yet another state where they are considered a transient military resident. As long as all are current and valid, no sweat for AD military. In fact, if stopped by police for whatever reason, if these mismatches are in play, present the military CAC along with driver’s license and registration, so the LE person recognizes the situation immediately. This is not true for civilian residents of a state. After I retired from AD in MD and lived there as a civilian for 6 months, MD law determined I was a legal MD resident after that, would be required to pay state income tax, register my car, have a driver’s license and would also be where I was eligible to register to vote.
Second the advice to visit the JAG. Your son needs to think this through.
WRT street address, at USNA, when midshipmen get car insurance from USAA, same situation, they need a street address not a PO. There is a certain street at USNA that is their designated street address that establishes physical residence. In addition to their PO Box and dedicated Midn-only zip, they can use this address for “residence” purposes:
MIDN First Name Last Name
1 Wilson Rd
Annapolis, MD 21412
USAFA may have a similar set up.
Lastly, given what I said about AD driver’s license above, if his CA license is current, he should be fine to use it as an AD member. And, even if he keeps CO as his legal residence, he may find himself in another state for duty, such as TX, and he can take steps to establish legal residence there and cut loose from CO. A few years down the road, he may not like the idea of ponying up taxes out of a much larger salary to a state he doesn’t live in.
What tax benefits does your state offer to military members and retirees? Find out which benefits are available to you.
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