I'm helping my son out with his taxes. Our state is requiring that his orders be submitted along with his return, proving that he was stationed in MD and not our state. He doesn't have any 'orders' at this point (or does he?). The alternative is for his CO to write a letter. I can't imagine COs can be bothered with this. Is there something standard he can submit? Curious how others have handled this. Thanks.
Tax question - State is asking for orders to be sent
- Thread starter brewmeist
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A1Janitor
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States are broke and want to get their meat hooks into any revenue source they can. NYS does this with retirees that flee the state (not military ... just meat hooks).
It’s an interesting twist ... the state wants to make sure they aren’t still residents. I am very interested in seeing how this turns out.
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brewmeist - your son is at an SA, right, forgive me, can’t immediately recall which one.
Some thoughts:
Has he ever logged into DFAS My Pay? One of the many options is verification of military employment. There may be something there that helps. His SSN will be the verifier.
The “orders” could be construed as the Permit To Report (USNA) or other SA equivalent. Was there a cover letter welcoming him and directing him to report?
The USNA Midshipman Personnel/Pay Office, or the equivalent at other SAs, should be able to do a letterhead statement of verification of military status and assignment in MD. That’s a routine task. Military folks need those for various reasons. I recognize there is a challenge with the being away from the school right now. If he can contact his chain of command, the officer or senior enlisted, and ask if they could get a verification of military status and current duty assignment statement.
Is your state one of the ones that doesn’t assess state income tax for AD military serving out of state?
Some thoughts:
Has he ever logged into DFAS My Pay? One of the many options is verification of military employment. There may be something there that helps. His SSN will be the verifier.
The “orders” could be construed as the Permit To Report (USNA) or other SA equivalent. Was there a cover letter welcoming him and directing him to report?
The USNA Midshipman Personnel/Pay Office, or the equivalent at other SAs, should be able to do a letterhead statement of verification of military status and assignment in MD. That’s a routine task. Military folks need those for various reasons. I recognize there is a challenge with the being away from the school right now. If he can contact his chain of command, the officer or senior enlisted, and ask if they could get a verification of military status and current duty assignment statement.
Is your state one of the ones that doesn’t assess state income tax for AD military serving out of state?
Yes, he is at USNA. I'll suggest to him to follow-up with his chain if command. Hopefully it is routine enough.
Maybe I'll send a pic of him holding his appointment offer. But then again, that may make him the first 19 year old in history to get audited!
From the state website... "Enclose copies of your W-2 statement and all your orders for the tax year. A letter from your commanding officer may be used if your orders are unavailable."
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Service academies, colleges, nursing homes, military bases, etc go by the 'Group Quarters Count' for Census purposes. The census count is based on where they are physically living in April. And yes, while everybody in the country is living at home right now, the Census Bureau still wants the school address. This helps in funding allocation for various services. It does seem contradictory, but that's how they do it.
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@brewmeist
I had to dig deep but finally remembered that what your DS is looking for is a “statement of service.”
This is a letter in standard Navy letter format. He needs the current version of what I have attached below. He doesn’t need the endorsement, just the basic letter on letterhead, which can be signed by any officer authorized to sign routine correspondence. I think this should do it.
I had to dig deep but finally remembered that what your DS is looking for is a “statement of service.”
This is a letter in standard Navy letter format. He needs the current version of what I have attached below. He doesn’t need the endorsement, just the basic letter on letterhead, which can be signed by any officer authorized to sign routine correspondence. I think this should do it.
Perfect! Thanks.
Impulsive
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Not being a Tax Accountant, I have maybe a stupid question. My understanding (at least when I was in) was AD could declare their original state of residence or their current duty station (whichever was more tax advantaged). Has this changed? If a DD/DS has their paternal home as HOR on their LES then that would be their tax address, if they use an academy (military duty station) address then I thought that would be their HOR for tax purposes. As stated above, it is pretty easy to change an address thru DFAS and use whichever address is more advantageous.