Military Pay
Resident - If the taxpayer is a resident of North Dakota they are subject to North Dakota income tax on all income regardless of the source. This includes active duty military pay.
Nonresident - If the taxpayer is a nonresident of North Dakota stationed in North Dakota whose only source of income is active duty military pay, they are not required to file a North Dakota return.
One spouse is a resident of North Dakota 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 North Dakota resident but a resident of another state, his or her spouse can elect to also be a resident of that other state.
North Dakota does not permit taxpayers to choose a married filing separately filing status if they used married filing jointly on the federal 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 North Dakota , the following conditions must be met by the military spouse/employee:
- The service member’s permanent duty station is in North Dakota.
- The civilian spouse is residing and working in North Dakota only because he or she wants to be with the service member.
If the military spouse meets the eligibility requirements, they can avoid North Dakota state tax being withheld from their pay by providing their employer with Form NDW-M - Exemption from withholding for a qualifying spouse of a U.S. armed forces servicemember.
To claim a refund of taxes withheld from the North Dakota income in error, from the North Dakota Nonresident Tax Return menu select:
- Nonresident Income Allocation
- Total Income
- Wages, salaries, tips, etc.
- Adjustments to State Wages (+/-) - Enter the allowable wages as a negative number.
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:
ND: Military Service Members Information
North Dakota State Tax Information
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