According to the
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, active duty military pay is not subject to
PA personal income tax if earned by a PA resident serving full-time active duty
or federal active duty for training outside the state. However, other income earned,
received or realized is taxable. Service members must submit copies of military
orders assigning out-of-state active duty with tax returns
Therefore, when
completing a PA personal income tax return, PA-40, military taxpayers should
not include military pay earned outside Pennsylvania on Line 1a. Such taxpayers
should submit copies of W-2 forms and military orders, along with an
explanation of the amount of income excluded from Line 1a
The department will
accept the authority section of the military orders directing the PA resident
to federal active duty outside Pennsylvania as proof. When the authority for
reporting to active duty is a federal statute – such as 32 U.S.C. §§316, 502, 503,
504 or 505 – the department presumes federal active duty
However, military
pay is subject to PA personal income tax if the authority for reporting to
active duty is a PA statute, such as P.S. §508 or §3102.
So in order for
TurboTax to correctly exclude your active duty military pay, you will need to
make sure that you answer all the military questions related to your duty
assignment under the Personal Information section.
Click this link for more information on PA
- Information related to Military filings in PA
Just make sure that you are letting the TurboTax
system know that you are on active military duty.
You may need to edit
your personal information under the Personal Info tab (for TurboTax Online
sign-in, click Here) to let the
TurboTax system know that you are in the U.S. Armed Forces.
You will need to
edit your personal info and you will need to make sure that you select yes
-"I am a member or former member of the U.S. Armed Forces (active, reserve
or National Guard)".
Also answer
"no" to "I lived in another state". Even though you may
have lived in a different state, this will not apply if you are on active
military service in a state other than your home of record state. (see
screenshots)
Additionally, if you
earned any income outside your military pay in a state that is not your state
of record, you will need to file a nonresident state income tax return to
recognize this nonmilitary income. Otherwise you will only have a resident
state income tax return for your home of record, the state where you lived when
you joined the military.
Thank you for
protecting our country.
