update for those who are interested

hearings on the HR1182 version occurred today, with AMVETS, the VFW and the MOAA all in support.

we'll see how it goes!

Funny (because I am usually up to date on most of this stuff) but this is the first I am hearing of it (I had to look it up).

It will be interesting to see if this passes.

IT IS HEADED TO THE PRESIDENT!

A copy of the official press release:

"North Carolina Richard Burr
217 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3154
FAX (202) 228-2981
http://www.burr.senate.gov

House Passes Burr Bill to Grant Residency Rights to Military Spouses
Bill would ease the burden on military families when they are transferred

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, November 02, 2009
CONTACT: Phone: David Ward Samantha Smith (202) 228-1616

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed S. 475, the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, a bill introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R-TX) to allow military spouses to maintain or change residency when their family relocates due to military orders. Rep. John Carter (R-TX) sponsored the bill in the House. The bill is now headed to the President’s desk.

"Our military families are often called on to make frequent relocations, and it is only fair that we give the same residency benefits to spouses as we do to servicemembers," Senator Burr said. “This legislation is one small way we can help ease the burden of military families, who make sacrifices everyday to support our men and women in uniform and to keep our country safe.”

Military men and women have the ability to claim a state of residence and maintain that residency regardless of where military orders may send them. Unfortunately, military spouses are not granted this same benefit. In addition to the stress of frequently relocating, this inequality means that military spouses are less likely to have their names on deeds and titles of family property, leaving many feeling like second class citizens.

The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act would give a military spouse who moves out of state because of military orders the option to claim one state of domicile, regardless of where they move. This bill makes the move from station to station easier, removing the need to update drivers’ licenses, filing tax returns for multiple states, and changing vehicle and voter registrations with each move.

"The passage of this bill today is a victory for our military spouses and their families," Burr added. “At a time when we are demanding so much from our military families, this bill will make their lives and constant transitions a little easier.”"

wooohooo!!! lets hope he does something good for us

Not sure what the big deal is about this, but okay...sure. Pass a bill for it.

A spouse not having to pay state income tax could have a big impact. I don't buy the bit about being a military spouse keeping one from having their name on deeds and titles of family properties.

quote:

Originally posted by 18XParent:
A spouse not having to pay state income tax could have a big impact. I don't buy the bit about being a military spouse keeping one from having their name on deeds and titles of family properties.

Its not that you dont have to pay income tax, its just that you can maintain residency in the same state as your spouse and only file in one place no matter where you are.

We've always kept the cars in his name because some states, if I was on there at all, even if he wasnt subject to rules I was and therefore it was a hassle.

Hmm I always changed to the physical state for residency just to make things easier for voting (in local elections), renewing drivers license, etc...

About the income tax - if you are a resident of state X but live in state Y, might you have to pay income tax to both? Or not? Or if you and your spouse have the same legal residence state (state X) but you live and work in state Y, are you exempt from filing in state Y?

My AD husband's state of residence is PA, which is nice b/c he pays no state income tax as long as he does not physically reside in PA and he also gets to register his vehicle for $36/yr. But he has to carry around a renewal card with his photo driver license b/c it expired, and he has to fill out absentee ballots to vote (which usually means he votes only in presidential elections b/c he just does not care that much).

I guess this will be a benefit to some people, esp if they plan on moving back to that state after separation/retirement. Do you think this will affect in-state tuition rates for military spouses at their physical location?

quote:

Originally posted by mmt4:
About the income tax - if you are a resident of state X but live in state Y, might you have to pay income tax to both? Or not? Or if you and your spouse have the same legal residence state (state X) but you live and work in state Y, are you exempt from filing in state Y?

works the same as the SSRA relief act. you can only be taxed in ONE state, which is the state of residence, regardless of where you live and work. That's how military members only pay taxes to their recidency: the SSRA.

As for in state tuition rates, I doubt it will have an effect.

And that's a good thing. Some of the people that I work with have to file state income taxes in 5-6 different states because they travel all the time. I'm supposed to file for CA and IL this year (I live in FL) because I worked in both last year. I'll probably just ignore both of them because I never seem to get any money back from any of them, particularly since I was only in CA for two days.

This all came as a result of states wanting a cut of a pro athlete's salary. If the Dallas Cowboys play the San Francisco 49ers in SF then the entire team (and there are several millionaires involved) have to pay taxes to CA while they are in state. Depending on how they get paid, and how well it gets argued in court, this can be pretty heft tax because they sometimes have to pay taxes on 1/20 of their income (16 regular season and 4 preseason games). At an annual salary of even $5,000,000 that is tax on $250,000 for being in town for less than 48 hours.

quote:

Originally posted by catherine0830:
works the same as the SSRA relief act. you can only be taxed in ONE state, which is the state of residence, regardless of where you live and work. That's how military members only pay taxes to their recidency: the SSRA.

As for in state tuition rates, I doubt it will have an effect.

OK thanks for the clarification. I know when I did work it was a huge pain to do state income taxes for my state of residence when we filed jointly on the federal return. It took forever to do the calculations to take his income out of the mix. (It should have been more straightforward but state income tax returns always seem to be a real pain).

and hmmm I am now wondering if this goes through if I should declare residency in PA, like him. I haven't lived in PA since I was 8, and I don't know if we will ever move back there, but it sounds like it might make it easier for us.

Nice thing about PA is they dont tax pensions. That's why my grandfather moved there when he retired from the state of NY

May help you out to not have to pay taxes too! !

Some states haven't ammended their tax codes to allow you to deduct income of a military member if you filed joint federally and require you to file joint at the state level if you filed joint federally. meaning you have to take a smaller deduction on the federal level if you dont want your military income taxed in 2 states (Kansas changed their laws after we were forced to have our dual-military income taxed for years despite my HOR being RI. because tax rates are higher in KS my income as a military member was taxed in 2 states for a few years, but it still worked out better in the end with the larger federal deduction). This is where I think it will be the most helpful.

quote:

Originally posted by catherine0830:
despite my HOR being RI.

Where is RI are you from? I'm from Cumberland.

quote:

Originally posted by dekeoboe:

quote:

Originally posted by catherine0830:
despite my HOR being RI.

Where is RI are you from? I'm from Cumberland.

Scituate. moved there when I was nine and graduated from scituate High school in 1999. My brother played a few babseball games in Cumberland.

My recruiting Office was in eastern Woonsocket (though warwick was closer) on Diamond hill, and the fastest way to get there was to take 295 to Diamond hill road and cut through Cumberland. Did that drive once a month for a year until I shipped!

I grew up in a development off Diamond Hill Road, but I was long gone by the time you were driving that route.

If you get a job in a state that you and the military member move to, chances are you have to be a resident of that state for tax purposes.

I just dont see the big deal that this bill needs rushed to the POTUS when there are bigger issues at hand that he should be looking at

quote:

Originally posted by thesimonsens:
If you get a job in a state that you and the military member move to, chances are you have to be a resident of that state for tax purposes.

not under the MSRRA. That's the point

quote:

I just dont see the big deal that this bill needs rushed to the POTUS when there are bigger issues at hand that he should be looking at

Bills are signed daily. Nothing new. They outlawed clove cigarettes a few weeks ago. necessary or even emergent? no.

quote:

Its not that you dont have to pay income tax, its just that you can maintain residency in the same state as your spouse and only file in one place no matter where you are.

I was thinking in terms of someone whose home or record would be a state with no income tax. My DIL had to pay state income tax when they were at Ft. Bragg. Had this been in place she would not have had to do that and could have saved some bucks. As it turned out they PCSed to Ft. Lewis and it became a moot point.

I'm curious how businesses, especially small ones, will handle their payroll. Will they still take the taxes out and the employee will then have to file to get them back from the state in which they reside? I guess it will be the same as when a military member has a second job, but I am not sure how that works either.

Signed into law S. 475, the "Military Spouses Residency Relief Act". This Act, among other things, would provide that when a service member leaves his or her home State in accord with military or naval orders, the service member's spouse may retain residency in his or her home State for voting and tax purposes, after relocating from that State to accompany the service member.

When the military orders service members to move, spouses who move with them often have to pay taxes in a new State or locality and lose the right to vote in the place considered to be home. This legislation will alleviate these and other burdens on our military families. As the Congress has recognized, and as the legislative history reflects, this legislation is an important means of maintaining the morale and readiness of our Armed Forces and significantly enhances the ability of our military to effectively recruit and retain these highly valued service personnel.

November 11, 2009.