I’ve noticed a lot of frustration about taxes on military bonuses. That’s not surprising, because it IS frustrating if you don’t understand what’s going on. But it doesn’t have to be too hard to understand. First, you have to have a firm grasp on how income taxes work. If you are not sure, then read… | Read More…
Understanding The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act and How It Applies To State Taxes
Important note: This information was accurate at the time of publishing. The law has been further updated. For up-to-date information, see Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Text As It Applies To Spouses and Taxes. This article is remaining here for historical purposes. The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (MSRRA) is an important law, but it is very… | Read More…
Why My Teen Is Having Taxes Withheld This Summer
This is an update on an old post about teens and income taxes. So the timeline makes no sense if you’ve been tracking 🙂 But the info is still true! Our family is reaching another milestone this summer – the first paid job by a teen. Daughter #2 has obtained a lifeguarding job at a… | Read More…
Your Tax Refund Isn’t What’s Important
Oh, my goodness. You spend 2 minutes communicating with anyone lately, whether in person, on the phone, via owl, or on the internet, and the talk turns to income taxes. Everyone has a story this year, and they want to share it. It’s not surprising; between the changes to withholding last year, and the child… | Read More…
Maintaining Your State of Legal Residence
Consistent maintaining your state of legal residence can be a little extra work, but it’s important to do it. Legal offices and financial counselors have been saying it for years. You have to demonstrate, through your actions, that you are intending to maintain your legal residence in the state you’re calling home for tax purposes…. | Read More…
Social Security Tax Repayment: What To Do With A Corrected W-2
Most military service members are finishing up the Social Security tax repayment from the deferral that happened in the last part of 2020. This will be a change in your paycheck and you may get a corrected 2020 W-2. What Were The Deferral and Repayment? From September through December of 2020, Social Security taxes were… | Read More…
Tax Returns: When One State Isn’t Enough
My friend Jerry Zeigler is always helping me out with tax questions, and he’s graciously shared this information about how and when military service members and their spouses may need to file tax returns in multiple states. We definitely did this wrong for a few years, and it cost us money in the long run…… | Read More…
Favorable Tax Rules for Military When Excluding Capital Gain from Sale of Principal Residence
I asked my smart friend Paul Allen if he could possibly explain the capital gains exclusion in another way, especially the part about partial exclusions. I’ve always been confused by them. Even though I’ve written about this here, I was still baffled about that part. And Paul came back in a big way. I am… | Read More…







