I was just wondering how many soldiers or military families claim a home residency that is really not their own, simply so they don't have to pay state taxes.
I know a lot of military families (including my family) who claim the state of Texas, so we don't have to pay state taxes. We got tired of paying hundred of dollars into our home state and not get any refund... and we rarely go home.
Just wondering....
2007-11-26 03:57:40 · 15 answers · asked by your_sunshine78 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
We did not fake a residency. This is perfectly legal and we do pay taxes in the state where we are currently stationed. I just don't think we should have to pay over $1500 in taxes to a state where we do not only recieve any services, but we only get a couple hundred of that back every year. We use my mother's address. There is nothing illegal about this.
2007-11-26 06:04:20 · update #1
I think people are objecting to they way you worded your question, you ask "how many military families claim a home residency that is not really their own, simply so they don't have to pay state taxes."
Once you claim it, (which your are legally entitled to do), it really is your own. Regardless of your long term intentions.
I'm originally from TN and I've always said that as soon as TN gets an income tax, I'm switching. To what remains to be seen, but I'm switching.
2007-11-26 13:12:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was under the impression that to claim residency in a state you had to have a driver's license and an address that you could use as proof of residence (not a PO box). My husband's state of residence is OR, a state that does not tax military working and living out of state. There can be a catch however. If you are stationed somplace and must be evacuated (natural disaster, terrorist activity or other safety issues) they will only send your family to the active duty person's state of residence. We found this out when we were put on alert at one point after 9/11 while living overseas. They would have sent us to Seattle and we would have had to made our own way from there to where ever we wanted/needed to go (in my case, MA). Using a state just for the tax breaks can prove to be inconvenient for your dependents at some point. Most states do not require military to pay taxes if they are stationed elsewhere. You may want to check into a state where you or your spouse have family as that is where they may end up in an emergency.
2007-11-26 05:24:57 · answer #2 · answered by Annie 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Many state don't charge military members taxes while on active duty and stationed out of their state. CA is one of them. Sometimes the people are from states that don't have such a tax regulation will legally change there state of residency to places like FL, TX or WA that have no state income tax. Many state, but not all do offer tax free status for their military.
2007-11-26 04:50:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In some cases it's because of the obvious stupidity of some states' tax laws. New York State is a classic example. A serviceman is not liable for NY State Income Tax if he is stationed outside the State. Unless he lives in government quarters and then he has to face NY State Income Tax. The total absurdity of that situation came to light in the late 1960s when President Richard Milhous Nixon faced six months of tax liability in NY State for 1969, before he bought the residence in San Clemente, because he was living in government quarters: the White House!
2007-11-26 06:09:44 · answer #4 · answered by desertviking_00 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
DH's home of record is New York. we haven't been stationed in NY for 13 years. he was paying taxes, but every year got all of it back since it was not earned while maintaining a residence there. some states do tax income earned outside of the state (such as Califiornia). FL and TX do not tax income.
last deployment, all taxes were stopped, and he never bothered to set them (state, that is)up again when he got back.
2007-11-26 04:06:23 · answer #5 · answered by Mrsjvb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We don't do that. We are stationed in Florida which is also a tax free state. We pay taxes to he state of Colorado where we are legal residents. Weget those state taxes back every year. We do eventually plan on moving back to Colorado to live after he retires. We not going to "fake" legal residency to save money when we get his state tax money back anyway and we plan on living there in the end.
2007-11-26 05:18:15 · answer #6 · answered by mustangsally76 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We went the other way with our thinking. Although we don't get access to many of the services our taxes pay for in NM right now we are going to go back to the area to live. I'd kind of like to have the infrastructure of the state maintained for that time. But then, NM doesn't have an exorbitant tax rate and we do get a good portion of what we pay in back.
2007-11-26 09:14:00 · answer #7 · answered by Critter 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I also claim the state of Texas. But then, I entered the military from the Great State of Texas, have never had anything but a Texas driver's license, am registered to vote in Texas, and have owned three houses in Texas (still own one of them and my family resides in it).
So I guess I'm legit.
2007-11-26 04:25:04 · answer #8 · answered by Smoker06 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The rule of thumb was state you entered service at, or where you live. But the address you claim would work as well.
I claimed my mothers address for a while and never had a problem.
2007-11-26 04:07:41 · answer #9 · answered by reallycoolstuff123 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually we always claimed California even when we lived in North Carolina and Virginia. Then we found out when we didn't actually live in the state, and were military, we weren't supposed to pay!!!!! We kept CA license plates on our car though.
2007-11-26 04:07:52 · answer #10 · answered by Tapestry6 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋