The IRS website (www.irs.gov) has a great resource for you in the form of Publication 3, Armed Forces Tax Guide, which is a concise booklet on all the tax considerations available to active duty soldiers and reservists. There are comprehensive tables showing what is taxable income and what is excluded (examples of excluded income include: combat pay (limited exclusion for officers), moving, travel and living allowances, in-kind military benefits and so on). An important tax consideration to know is that while housing allowances are excluded from income, soldiers may still deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes if they own their residence (an unusual “double dip”). There are also many special rules for many items, including IRA contributions, reservist expenses, forgiveness of tax liabilities, extensions of returns and payments.

Fort Detrick, like most military installations, has tremendous resources available for active duty soldiers. Eileen Mitchell, Deputy Garrison Commander at Fort Detrick, suggested contacting the Legal Assistance office, at 301-619-2259, where someone would be available to assist your son with his specific tax considerations. If the personnel at this office are unable to assist you and your son, they will refer you to outside tax professionals. You should also keep in mind that between January and April 15 of every year, the Fort Detrick Tax Center offers free state and federal tax preparation for active duty members, mobilized reservists, retirees and their families. Fort Detrick’s website, www.detrick .army.mil, is an excellent resource for military personnel and their families to obtain information and contact numbers for offices that can assist them with their particular needs. These services are at no charge for service members and their families An interesting side note: According to the U.S. Government Printing Office, the tax code is a total of 16,845 pages, consisting of 13,458 pages written by the IRS and 3,387 pages written by Congress. A copy of this 20-volume set is available for about $1,000. Or you can visit the Internal Revenue Service’s website, www.irs.gov.

First off, thanks to your son for his service to our country! There are many tax benefits available to service men and women that are too numerous to list. I’ll cover a few. The Service-members Civil Relief Act of 2003 is a federal law that gives all military members some important rights and many protections as they enter or while on active duty. It covers such issues as rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, eviction, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosure, civil judicial proceedings and income tax payments. If you are a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who serves in a combat zone or a qualified hazardous duty area, you can exclude certain pay from your income. This pay is generally referred to as “combat pay.” You do not actually need to show the exclusion on your tax return because income that qualifies for the combat zone exclusion is not included in the wages reported on your Form W-2. For state tax purposes, if your spouse works and owes tax in a state other than the state of your permanent legal residence, SCRA will protect your family from double taxation. When that state determines the tax rate on your spouse’s income, it will exclude your service-member income. In addition, active duty personnel are offered substantial noncash benefits, such as retirement, health care, commissaries and childcare. In some cases, these noncash benefits exceed those available to private-sector personnel. In essence they are getting these benefits tax free. It is always best to sit down with a tax adviser to review your specific situation and make sure you are taking advantage of every opportunity available to you.

First, let me thank your son for his service to our country. There are many tax benefits available to the members of our armed forces (exclusion of certain income, extensions for filing and payment of taxes and retirement plan benefits to mention a few). Each individual case is different from another, and there is not enough information provided in your question to address the issues specific to your son’s situation. The IRS website (www.irs.com) has a webpage dedicated to tax issues regarding military personnel, and your son should also check with his personal accountant to make sure he receives all of the benefits available to him because of his service. Again, I can’t thank your son enough for all that he has done, and is doing, to ensure the freedom of our families and country.