Military Pay
Resident - If the taxpayer is a resident of Kansas they are subject to Kansas income tax on all income regardless of the source. This includes active duty military pay.
Kansas follows federal law and provides income tax relief for servicemembers on active duty in combat zones.
Nonresident - If the taxpayer is a nonresident of Kansas stationed in Kansas whose only source of income is active duty military pay, they are not required to file an Kansas return.
One spouse is a resident of Kansas and the other is not - A servicemember’s spouse may elect, for income tax purposes, to use the same state of residence as the servicemember. If a servicemember is not a Kansas resident, and is instead a resident of another state, his or her spouse can elect to also be a resident of that state and not a resident of Kansas.
Kansas law provides that if a husband or wife is a resident of Kansas while the other is a nonresident of Kansas, and file a Married Filing Joint federal return, they must file a Married Filing Joint Kansas return and file as nonresidents of the state of Kansas.
Spouse Income - Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (MSRRA)
The MSRRA allows military spouses who reside with their service member spouse stationed in a nonresident state on military orders to keep their resident state for tax purposes. This means if the spouse has income from the nonresident state, they are not required to pay taxes to the nonresident state but report this income on their resident state return.
In order to be eligible for the income exemption under the MSRRA in Kansas , the non-military spouse must be residing in Kansas solely because the military service member is stationed in Kansas under military orders.
If the military spouse meets the eligibility requirements, they can avoid Kansas state tax from being withheld from their pay by providing their employer with Kansas Withholding Form K-4.
To claim a refund of taxes withheld from the Kansas income in error, from the nonresident Kansas Tax Return Menu select:
- Part-Year / Nonresident Income Allocation
- Total Income from Kansas Sources
- Wages, Salaries, Tips, etc.
- Adjustments to State Wages (+/-) - Enter the spouse wages as a negative number
- Return to the Kansas Tax Return Menu
- Subtractions from Federal AGI
- Military Compensation of a Nonresident Servicemen
Note: This is an article on reporting military pay and military spouse pay in the TaxSlayer Pro program. It is not intended as tax advice.
Additional Information:
KS DOR: Income Tax Instructions for Armed Forces Personnel
KS DOR: Spouses of United States Military Servicemembers
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