I'm an Ohio resident in the military and stationed outside of Ohio all of 2016; however it's saying that I owe state taxes which is incorrect. How do I fix it?

[kyle-huston85]

I answered the question regarding me being stationed outside of Ohio in the Ohio State Return section, so I'm not sure why it's not working properly.  There must be another box that must not be checked correctly or something.  Please help.

[AnnS7 · Accepted solution]

You will enter your total military pay as earned outside Ohio.  Military pay earned while on active duty and stationed outside of Ohio is exempt from the Ohio income tax and may be deducted to the extent it is included in federal adjusted gross income.

You will file an Ohio Resident return:

• As you work through the Ohio state return look for a screen titled " Here's the income that Ohio handles differently”. Under Military, click Start to the right of Military stationed outside of Ohio. 
• On the next screen, answer Yes to Were You in the Military, National Guard, or Reserves?
• Answer Yes to Do you qualify for the income deduction? on the Income Deduction for Being Stationed Outside Ohio.
• On the screen titled Enter Your Military Pay, enter your active duty wages from your W-2 (Box 1) into the box to the right of Pay received while stationed outside Ohio. (see screen shot)

This should exempt your military pay from Ohio.

[Fjbouil]

On mine there is no option for just military.  What do I need to change in order to have the 'military' option.

[DMarkM1]

First be sure in the "My Info" section all military questions have been answered and your resident state is OH and you did not live in any other state is indicated.  Then recheck your W2 entries to verify the "Active Duty Military Pay" button is selected in the follow on question for the Military W2.  Next go into the OH interview and edit the income section.  You will get a series of questions about your military pay and the option to exclude the part that was earned outside of OH.