I am active duty military with legal residency in Florida. My spouse lived in TX before we got married in VA. She is getting taxes withheld from VA. Is she exempt?

The Military Spouse Residency Relief Act (MSRRA) provides protection to military spouses related to residency, voting, and taxes. When a servicemember leaves his or her home state in accord with military orders, the servicemember’s spouse may retain residency in his or her home state for voting and tax purposes, after relocating from that state to accompany the servicemember. The MSRRA amends the Servicemember Civil Relief Act to include the same privileges to a military servicemember’s spouse.

1. Is legally married to the spouse; AND
2. The servicemember is in the state on military orders; AND
3. Currently resides in a state different than the state of his or her domicile; AND
4. Resides in the state solely in order to live with the servicemember; AND
5. The servicemember is present in the state in compliance with military orders.  A military spouse does not lose his or her status if a servicemember is deployed to a war zone or other location where the military spouse is not allowed to follow. The military treats this as a “travel” or “TDY” situation.

Some States Require Another Factor:

• The military spouse and the servicemember both are able to claim the same domicile.

If she meets the qualifications above she should be eligible.  If her employer has been taking out taxes, she will want to file a Non-Resident VA return to get her money back. Also, she needs to notify the employer to stop taking out taxes.

Check with VA Department of Revenue on which form you need to file with her employer.