Tax Pro Plus: Tax Tips - Good News for Armed Services Personnel

Five special benefits that can help ease the burden

Military personnel face unique challenges that most other Americans don’t. The IRS allows active members of the U.S. Armed Forces certain tax benefits that may help, including:

1. Moving Expenses. If you are a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and you move because of a permanent change of station, you may be able to deduct some of your unreimbursed moving expenses.

2. Combat Pay. If you serve in a combat zone as an enlisted person or as a warrant officer for any part of a month, all your military pay received for military service during that month is nontaxable. For officers, the monthly exclusion is capped at the highest enlisted pay, plus any hostile fire or imminent danger pay  received. You can also elect to include your nontaxable combat pay in your earned income for purposes of claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit.

3. Deadline Extensions. The deadline for filing tax returns, paying taxes, filing claims for refund and taking other actions with the IRS is automatically extended for qualifying members of the military.

4. Uniform Cost and Upkeep. If military regulations prohibit you from wearing certain uniforms when off duty, you can deduct the cost and upkeep of those uniforms. However, you must first reduce your expenses by any allowance or reimbursement you receive.

5. Travel to Reserve Duty. If you are a member of the U.S. Armed Forces Reserves, you can deduct unreimbursed travel expenses for traveling more than 100 miles away from home to perform your reserve duties.

Call Tax Pro Plus today: 310-827-4829.  We take the stress out of taxes!