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h_nikole t1_ja1gbot wrote

So once you get married you’ll be able to claim (if you want to) your spouses home state of residence. My husband is active duty USCG and he claims FL (no state taxes) as his “home state” of residence. I claim it as well under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. We live in DC where I also work and DC taxes come out of my check. Because I’m a FL “resident” when we file (married jointly) I get those DC taxes back. It’s actually pretty easy. He’s been active duty for 19 years and we’ve always filed ourselves with no issues on TurboTax. I’ve worked in every place we’ve been stationed - North Carolina, Guam, DC, Virginia, etc….and I’ve had no issues filing as a FL “resident” military spouse and getting those state taxes back.

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eventhroughfire t1_ja39q57 wrote

This is the answer. The MSRRA allows you as a spouse to claim the military member’s residency state starting in the tax year that you’re married.

That said, the complication is that you are exempt from state income taxes if you moved to that state to comply with military orders. So if you move to Virginia to be closer to your spouse where they are stationed, after you’re married, this might apply: source

You will still get taxes withheld based on where you physically live from your pay check and need your employer to have your true home address (look into if the state where you live has a method for your employer to exempt you from those taxes ahead of time).

Like the poster prior said, online tax companies should be well aware of this and useable even in this situation - it’s the law and it’s common. Don’t let some of these posters have you second guess or feel guilty that you’re taking advantage of this law, they presumably don’t have to move every few years or deal with any of the other aspects of being a military spouse.

And finally— some of the info you’ll read will say that you can only claim the same state of residence as your spouse if you also had established residency there prior to being married. That changed in 2018 in the Veterans Benefits and Transitions Act, see Title III: Source

Signed, 3 military moves & one marriage in 3 years

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