topic Help Received! in Tax help for military filers

Help Received!

kyoong — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 20:45:14 GMT

Help received. Thank you!

Re: Active Duty Military Residency

DoninGA — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:16:58 GMT

If there is no state income taxes withheld in box 17 of the W-2, then leave boxes 15, 16 and 17 blank (empty) on the TurboTax W-2.

Re: Active Duty Military Residency

kyoong — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:20:52 GMT

We did finish out the NM portion of the return without adding any values into the boxes but it still says we’ll get a NM return. So we still file with NM and get money from the state even though we didn’t pay anything into state taxes? That feels incorrect?

Re: Active Duty Military Residency

DoninGA — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:32:02 GMT

@kyoong If you did have any New Mexico income or pay any New Mexico state income taxes, there is no reason to file a New Mexico non-resident tax return.

When you were completing your personal information, you were asked if you lived in or made money in any other states (this refers to tax year 2025 Only). Do you answer NO to each of these questions?

Re: Active Duty Military Residency

SteamTrain — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 23:47:03 GMT

Several things to consider...about NM.

1) Probably a slip, but you indicated that box 16 was ten NM state ID number.....it isn't... it is the NM wages. The NM state ID number is in the second half of box 15.

2) The NM military member's DOD wages are not taxed by NM, but if y'all had other investment income from Interest, dividends or investments, then those $$ are taxed by NM,

3) Did you, as the non-military member, have any income for 2025. If you were also aligned with your Military spouse as a NM resident, then that income is taxable by NM.

4) Yes, a refund would be unusual based on what you've said. Double check, by editing, any tax forms you entered. Look to make absolutely sure that the state withholding boxes in those forms are empty. If you uploaded ANY tax form by taking a picture, or uploading a PDF file....those forms of entry are subject to MASSIVE errors, because the AI that interprets that picture or PDF makes mistakes. Every box of the form entered that way MUST be double-checked by Editing the form.....also to answer any follow-up questions that are not answered by the simple upload process. Manual entry of a form and its boxes is usually safer (yeah, personal opinion).