A change to the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022 will affect military members and their spouses by giving them options to claim residency for tax purposes.
Starting in tax year 2023 and going forward, service member and their civilian spouses can elect to use any of the following as their residence for state income tax purposes:
- The residence or domicile of the service member
- The residence or domicile of the spouse
- The permanent duty station of the servicemember
As it pertains to the State of Ohio, service members and their civilian spouses can make this election with the Ohio Department of Taxation by filing the Ohio IT 1040 or IT 10 form and reporting their residency status. Additionally, they will also need to complete an IT 4 (Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate) and provide it to their employer before the start date of employment or in the event of any changes.
Absent this election, service members and their spouses can use the following resources to determine their residency status:
- Page 10 of the 2023 Individual and School District income tax instructions
- Military frequently asked questions
- Information Release IT 2008-02 – “Ohio Taxable Income and Deductions for Servicemembers and Civilian Spouses”
Also, as part of the changes to the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022, a civilian spouse is no longer required to have the same state of legal residence as the service member to retain the spouse’s original state of legal residence.
Taxpayers with additional questions can contact the Zinner & Co. Tax Team.
School District Income Tax Update
ODT has redesigned the SD 100, School District Income Tax Return.
Beginning in tax year 2023, all school district tax liabilities, payments, and withholding are reported on one return.
In January 2024, ODT updated lines 33 through 36 of the SD 100 return and instructions.
Again, if you have any questions, please reach out to the Zinner & Co. Tax Team.
