EVERY VETERAN SHOULD KNOW THESE TAX FILING RESOURCES AND TIPS

By Allison Kirschbaum

It’s military tax filing season again. Should you expect any changes in this year's tax filing process?

This is for new military families who don’t have any ideas yet about tax filing or veteran families who want to know the changes and have a clear understanding of tips when filing their taxes.

Kevin Matthews, a Navy veteran and tax pro, used a webinar hosted by the Military Officers Association of America to discuss the basics of tax filing since there aren’t such significant changes in military tax filing. He also discussed the possible changes in Trump’s administration this year in terms of taxes, such as the tax cuts enacted in Trump’s first administration, which are set to expire soon.

How Soon Can You Pay Your Taxes

The 2025 active duty military tax filing is due on Tuesday, April 15. Preparing documents for tax filing can be time-consuming; that’s why you should start preparing mid-week of March to ensure that necessary documents are valid and available; doing this so on paper with long lines can be hard; that’s why electronic filing is an important option now.

However, there’s an option for service members who are deployed in a combat zone; this is called the Combat Zone Exception, in which service members who are deployed are given the option to extend their filing and payment without penalties by 180 days after leaving the combat zone, plus the number of days they served in the combat zone during the calendar year before April 15.

There is a third option, which is a six-month extension for any taxpayer when filing their tax return if they pay any amount through the webpage and indicate that their payment is for an extension, but this option for military service members is warned by Matthews as this extension is only applied for tax return.

Who Should and Must File for Their Tax

Everyone should know the difference between who should file their taxes and who is legally required to do so, as understanding this can help you not have penalties and make better financial decisions.

Who SHOULD File for their Tax

If you qualify for a refundable tax credit, it reduces your tax bill, and you can even collect it personally.

Who MUST File for their Tax

You are required to pay self-employment tax if:

If you owe more than $400 in self-employment tax, you have to file.
If you made money at the base where you're stationed, but it's not your legal home state, you may need to report it to the state where you earned it if that state has an income tax.

You were granted the Premium Tax Credit for reduced-cost health insurance

This tax credit helps people who have a low income so they can get cheaper insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

You received a 1099-SA form for your Health Savings Account (HSA)

In the 2024 tax year, this will apply more to veterans than active-duty troops. On another side, the Defense Department is starting Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts for service members this month.

What to Expect with 2017 Tax Changes Expiration

It’s better to be informed and understand these changes as soon as possible as we don’t want to make any mistakes and stress ourselves out. These are the things that you should expect after 2025:

Bigger Child Tax Credit: More families may qualify for a higher credit
Higher Standard Deduction Amounts: Tax income can be reduced
Suspensions of Personal and Dependency Exemptions: Deductions are available for dependents

Tax Mistakes That We Don’t Know

There are many tax mistakes that most military service members don’t know. It’s better to know what it is and the ways you can avoid it.

Failing to Update Your Address with the IRS or Tax Agencies: Since military service members frequently move from this to another state, they need to update their address with the IRS to make sure they don’t miss any mail.
Military Spouses Having Incorrect W-2 Tax Withholding: If you're a military spouse starting a new job at a new duty station, you should check your tax withholding if it’s set for your legal home state, not the state where you're stationed. If your employer doesn’t allow this, try to be exempt from that state's income tax.
Married Couples Filing Separately When It’s Not Beneficial: Some military couples believe they must file as "Married Filing Separately" if they live apart, but that's not true.

Military tax filing can be stressful to some, but if you know how it works and you’re informed and prepared, you can save time and money and avoid stress.

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