Military Pay
Resident - If the taxpayer is a resident of Mississippi they are subject to Mississippi income tax on all income regardless of the source. This includes active duty military pay.
Nonresident - If the taxpayer is a nonresident of Mississippi stationed in Mississippi whose only source of income is active duty military pay, they are not required to file a Mississippi return.
One spouse is a resident of Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi.
Mississippi does not permit a filing status change from the federal return. If they are married filing joint on the federal return, they are required to file married filing joint or married filing combined on the Mississippi return and the spouse will be required to use the same residency status as the servicemember. The resident spouse should file a nonresident Mississippi return.
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 Mississippi, the following conditions must be met by the military spouse/employee:
- Currently resides in Mississippi;
- Resides in Mississippi solely to live with the servicemember spouse;
- The servicemember spouse is in the state of Mississippi in compliance with military
orders. - The state of domicile claimed by the servicemember and spouse must be the same.
If the military spouse meets the eligibility requirements, they can avoid Mississippi state tax from being withheld from their pay by providing their employer with Form 89-350 Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate.
To claim a refund of taxes withheld from the Mississippi income in error, from the nonresident Mississippi Tax Return menu select:
- Mississippi Adjusted Gross Income
- Wages, Salaries, Tips
- Adjustments to State Wages (+/-) - Enter the spouse wages as a negative number.
In order to file a return under the MSRRA in Mississippi, the taxpayer:
- Must file a joint Non-Resident Individual Income Tax Return Form 80-205.
- Must file the return as a paper return - No e-file returns allowed.
- Must provide a copy of the Military Spouse ID Card.
- Must provide a copy of the Federal Form DD-2058.
The documents listed above must be submitted with the mailed paper copy of the Non-Resident return.
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:
MS DOR: Mississippi Income Tax Instructions
MS DOR: Mississippi Military Spouse Residency Relief Act
MS DOR: Mississippi Military Spouse Residency Relief Act - Update