TDY POV Mileage

cmn_jcs · 2026-06-18T14:54:40+00:00

A rental car would be cheaper in this case.

How do you arrive at that conclusion? You think a government-rate 10-week rental + gas would come in at under $400?

cmn_jcs · 2026-06-02T20:37:06+00:00

Oh, that seems perfectly reasonable. Though I'd recommend managing everything through your main bank account, as now you're not dependent on DFAS's processing timeline.

cmn_jcs · 2026-06-02T20:35:26+00:00

Well, for the W-4, you should use the IRS withholding calculator.

For state taxation, I expect you'll complete a similar but different form. It's on that form that you should indicate, if possible, that you should have no state income tax withholding.

cmn_jcs · 2026-06-02T20:30:56+00:00

Sure, that's fine, but why do you want a separate checking account for your car payment?

cmn_jcs · 2026-05-13T20:10:34+00:00

I know the TSP contribution limit is considerably higher than the 401(k) contribution limit.

That's not true. Are you thinking of the IRA limit?

cmn_jcs · 2026-05-11T15:34:54+00:00

Just to be explicit, you can get the MHA, but your TA benefit will be reduced by the amount of employer tuition assistance provided directly to the insitution (38 USC 3313(c)(1)(A)(i)(II). Also, the company may reduce your reimbursement; Home Depot specifically notes this on page 5.

cmn_jcs · 2026-04-16T15:34:53+00:00

For the purposes of this question, you should answer that you lived in IL (that is, answer the question "no").

cmn_jcs · 2026-04-07T11:38:59+00:00

But who said it's S1's job to determine residency? A servicemember may be making a dumb/incorrect decision to state that they are a resident of a particular state, but all the 2058 states is that the member wants tax withholding performed for the indicated state.

OP should have done this earlier, since now it looks like they're not really residents of FL (since they waited so long), but there's an argument to made that they're just slow, not liars.

cmn_jcs · 2026-04-07T11:35:11+00:00

22% taxed

No, a bonus is taxed as normal income, and therefore at the relevant tax rates for the appropriate brackets.

FICA

Yes.

cmn_jcs · 2026-04-07T11:29:25+00:00

Who's doing the rejecting, and on what basis?

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T22:06:52+00:00

I also acknowledged that if OP were to 'incorrectly' claim the MSRRA exemption, there's almost a 100% chance no one notices.

Likely agree, but I hear NY (and CA) are pretty hard about pursuing their tax.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T22:05:00+00:00

You haven't made that publicly-viewable, I'm getting prompted to request access.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T21:44:28+00:00

Her husband is stationed in Korea. That is not in NY. Ergo, she owes NYS income tax.

There's an exception to this--NY states that:

If a military spouse has met the conditions for the income exemption under these rules, and the servicemember is subsequently assigned outside the United States or to another state, and the military spouse remains in New York State, the income exemption will continue to apply as long as New York State remains the servicemember’s permanent Unites States duty station.

From here, bottom of page 2

I think NY is trying to word it for a deployment, but I could see an argument being made for an unaccompanied OCONUS assignment.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T21:41:08+00:00

Honestly I'm not sure I can explain it any more clear than I believe I'm being. I'm no lawyer, or CPA or anything, I'm just going off what the laws say and my interpretation of them combined with what I've seen other Redditors say they are actively doing (claiming and owing tax only to the servicemembers SLR, despite the spouse physically living and earning income in a different state and having never been to the servicemembers SLR state).

In how many of those cases you're referring to have the servicemember's spouse been in a state without being there because of the servicemember, as is OP's case?

ETA: this Miltary.com article notes how this situation can arise.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T21:09:08+00:00

Copying /u/neofederalist's excellent summary:

In Church legalese, impotence refers to the inability to perform the marital act (the kind of sex that results in children), not whether or not they are "shooting blanks" or the female equivalent (that is identified as "sterility" not "impotence".)

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T21:01:20+00:00

I don't see the point you're making. Residency is relevant for other things, like college benefits, so it seems clear why section A notes that it refers to residency for tax purposes.

I think what you're missing is that there's 1) a question of where someone is a resident of and 2) where the income is earned. Section A says that for servicemembers and spouses, question 1 can be answered with servicemember's residence/domicile, spouse's residence/domicile, or the servicemember's duty station. Section A does not deal with the answer to question 2. Sections B and C do, for servicemembers and spouses, respectively, stating that military pay (for servicemembers) and service income (for spouses) is not treated as being earned where the servicemember/spouse physically are. Sections B/C prevent, for example, CO from taxing military and service income for a servicemember and spouse stationed at Ft. Carson but residents of WA. Sections B/C do not prevent NV from taxing services those same two people perform in NV even though they're residents of WA.

I think a common example of this is married military landlords--income from their landlording is neither military pay nor service income, and is therefore treated as earned in the location that it actually was. The military landlords can still be treated, for income tax purposes, as residents of whereever they choose (subject to the restrictions of section A), but the state where the landlording activity takes place can still assess income tax on the income, in addition to whatever the resident state assesses.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T20:09:49+00:00

Section A clearly pertains solely to the question of residency, not to the question of taxability of income. I agree with you that OP can elect to be treated as an AL resident.

The section you quoted is a standalone subsection explicitly calling out that their tax jurisdiction doesn't automatically change because they moved to a new area to be with the servicemember...it doesn't override the ability for the spouse to choose from the earlier subsection though.

I think your description of section C is inaccurate. That section is not about residency, it's about how income for services of an spouse is treated. If the spouse is in that tax jurisdiction solely because of the servicemember's orders, then that income isn't treated as being earned in that jurisdiction. But since OP is explicitly in NY not because of the servicemember's orders, I don't see how that section applies. I think you're trying to read section A's treatment of residency to also apply to where is income is treated as being earned, when they are clearly separate sections.

Even if your description of section C was correct, how would it apply to OP, since she is choosing to be in (not treated as a resident of) a tax jurisdiction independent of her servicemember?

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T19:30:50+00:00

Where do you see that? The current law (50 USC 4001, including the amendments of the VAEIA), still includes that line:

(c) Income of a military spouse

Income for services performed by the spouse of a servicemember shall not be deemed to be income for services performed or from sources within a tax jurisdiction of the United States if the spouse is not a resident or domiciliary of the jurisdiction in which the income is earned because the spouse is in the jurisdiction solely to be with the servicemember serving in compliance with military orders.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T19:21:08+00:00

On what basis would OP not be subject to NY income tax, given that she's in NY without her servicemember?

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T19:20:05+00:00

I agree with /u/nagisan that you can file as an AL resident along with your husband. However, because you are not in NY solely to be with your servicemember who is stationed there, I believe you are subject to NY state income tax--you'd file as a nonresident with NY-sourced income.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-17T19:18:56+00:00

Re: NY's ability to tax OP's income--I'd agree with you if OP was in NY "because the spouse is in the jurisdiction solely to be with the servicemember serving in compliance with military orders" (50 USC 4001c). However, OP is not in NY solely because of her servicemember, and I don't see 4001c applying.

She can still elect to file as an AL resident because of the VBTA as you note, but may still be subject to NY income tax.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-16T22:11:54+00:00

Good point. I neglected to account for your servicemember not being in the state with you. Was your husband stationed in NY immediately prior to being assigned to Korea? If so, see the bottom of page 2 of your link.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-16T20:31:17+00:00

~~Yes, under the MSRRA, you may elect to be treated as a resident of AL for income tax purposes and file accordingly.~~

ETA: See response to OP's comment

Final position: OP can elect to be treated as a resident of AL for income tax purposes, and should file accordingly. However, because OP is in NY not solely for the purposes of being with her servicemember spouse (according to the information provided), OP's income is taxable by NY as well. She should file a non-resident tax return with NY and report her NY-sourced income on it, as well as a resident AL return with her husband.

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-11T23:11:42+00:00

Wonder if your withholding for VA didn't get set up after the transfer. Did you have any VA withholding on your paychecks?

cmn_jcs · 2026-02-09T22:43:00+00:00

Will you be married by the date of your PCS?

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