Military Spouses Residency Relief Act

Remember, can't just say you are from the same domicile as your active duty spouses, you have to take positive action to meet the requirements for establishing domicile as well as meet the conditions set forth in the act.

If you don't know what those actions and conditions are you should consider consulting a legal assistance office to discuss... Read More. That could prevent one from making a change that a state disallows down the road.

You can find a legal assistance attorney near you at: http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php

The good thing is both my husband and I are from the same state as his home of record, which is CA and I have never changed my license and I am still registered to vote there. California has always left it easy for a military spouse to keep their residency there.

Dawn ... your situation and comments made me rethink why the State officials told you what they did. I think I might understand why you were told what you were told and I would definitely recommend following their advise until the interpretation is complete.

Because it has not been completely vetted by the state of VA, they are erring on the side of caution. While VA has issued new VA-4s that contain the SCRA exemption it is possible that this is only applicable at the moment for spouses who moved to Virginia during or after 2009. Here's a possibility and perhaps a reason you were told not to change anything yet:

Prior to Jan 1, 2009, Virginia rules stated that if you lived in the State for more than 183 days you are considered a resident for tax purposes (Beginning Jan. 1, 2009 (or the first day of the tax year your state was in on Nov. 11 if your state is not on a calendar tax year) MSRRA prohibits this automatic residency declaration if you are only there to be with your servicemember and your legal residency/domicile is the same as his home state). So, if you became a legal resident of Virginia in 2008 ... the State could try to argue that your state of legal residence on Jan 1, 2009 was VA so you would not be protected under the MSRRA.... Read More

I would heed the advise you have received from State officials until their clarification of residency situations becomes available. For those that are just moving to VA or moved during 2009, as long as you have a solid, documented residency claim in your servicemember's home state (home ownership, voter ID, driver's license, etc.) then I think it is safe to claim MSRRA exemption from VA state income tax withholding on Form VA-4.

All the discussion just highlights the fact that this, as with many new laws, needs some time for the details and interpretations to be worked out. And, since we have 54 different taxing jurisdictions, there could very well be different interpretations and applications across the country (despite the fact it is a Federal law).

Jennifer: That is not entirely true. First, "home of record" is not relevant to the discussion. "Home of Record" is a term used by the military to determine travel and transportation entitlements upon release from active duty (among other administrative purposes). It is generally the place the member lived when they entered active duty and does... Read More not change during service. The spouse of the service member does not have a "home of record" per se.

What the SCRA/MSRPA deals with is "residency" or more specifically legal residency or domicile. These terms are used more or less interchangeably and are taken to mean in the military context that place (i.e. state) to which a member intends to return to make their permanent home upon release from active duty. Domicile, unlike home of record can change over a member's military service. What is critical is that there is objective evidence of the member's intent. With the passage of the MSRPA, that can now also be applied to spouses for the purposes of voting, taxation and some property issues.

Generally speaking, physical presence has been a requirement to establish legal residence or domicile. A key question with regard to how the MSRPA will be interpreted and implemented is how the concept of physical presence will be applied. As Jason pointed out at the top of this post, there is nothing in the law that explicitly says it does not apply to a spouse desiring to have the same legal residence of the active duty member. Not a problem for those stationed and living together now or in the past) in the state they would like to be there domicile, but potentially a big problem for those who have never lived there! All I can suggest is that before one takes action, if they are unsure of how to establish their legal residence or if they are entitled to domicile in a specific state) they consult with a legal assistance attorney!

Looks like I've generated some good discussion on this. If anyone gets a firm answer on the FL residency issue I've brought up, please post it here as I'm sure many are in the same boat (no pun intended) with regards to FL residency to match his or her military spouse and having never lived in the state. I've called many resources in the state of... Read More... Read More FL (DMV, elections dept, etc) and I get different answers from each on what is needed to claim FL residency. Of note, the FL website explaining ways to establish FL residency http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0222/SEC17.HTM&Title=->2000->Ch0222->Section%2017 doesn't specifically say that an individual can claim residency based on his or her military spouse's residency. I'm hoping that may change with the passge of the MSRRA.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2318193_establish-texas-residency.html I am trying to firgure this all out also since my hubby is from TX as well. I am going down in december to actually talk to someone about this since CT is wayyy to farr

Hi Stacy, I recommend calling the state of TX and talking with base legal.
Rikki

I sent an email to the Texas State Comptroller's office and a Mr. Tommy Hoyt called me back. My husband is stationed in Colorado and he is a Texas resident. I was too until we moved. Mr. Hoyt stated that once I established Texas residency requirements (Texas Drivers License, registered our cars there, or own property) then his suggestion was that I contact the state of Colorado revenue to find out what I have to do to get my withholding changed to Texas. Since Texas does not have state income tax they are not concerned about that piece of it. Mr. Hoyt then followed up with an email:

Thank you for your time as we discussed it seems your first call might be to the Colorado Department of Revenue or the office that administers the Colorado state income tax to determine how to capitalize on the provisions in Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (MSRRA). You also might want to contact the Office of the Governor of Texas for information on obtaining/maintaining Texas residency. The Web site is:

http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/... Read More

Samantha the President signed MSRRA into law on Veterans Day. I would recommend talking to base legal and calling the state in which you and your DH are claiming as your domicile to inquire.
Rikki

Traci, best place to go is Iowa's DMV/taxation/residency requirements web site. I think if you scroll down through the page, some others have either asked about Iowa or had their questions answered. Hope that helps!

MSRA does not change the law regarding drivers licenses. VA already permits spouses of active duty stationed and resident in VA who hold valid a drivers license from the state of domicile to keep that state's license while in VA. The VA Code section is: Virginia Code § 46.2-306 (http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/citizen/drivers/eligibility.asp... Read More). I would check with the employer, pointing out the VA law on this to see if they will accept that DL as meeting their DL requirement.

If for some reason they demand the VA DL, that alone would not necessarily invalidate a claim of legal residency in another state. While maintaining a DL in one's state of legal residence is one good indicator of their intent, it is not the only one. You can still register to vote, have bank accounts, keeping cars registered there, etc. You just have to be a bit more diligent about developing and keeping the ties to your domicile state.

I understand the requirements and the allowances for DL's in Virginia and PA. I only changed my DL over to Virginia because of the employment situation. Thanks for the info though.

I think they changed it. The DMV site doesn't mention spouse employment anymore. Go to Military personnel, spouses and children. I'm in the same boat, I have a PA DL but I'm in Va Beach, I was waiting to switch DL's but it looks like I may not have to

Yes Samantha, but you need to do things like get your voter registration card, etc. Check TX web site to get further information:)

You should go talk to a legal assistance attorney at the JAG office nearest you. There is likely also one on the base where your husband is located. This can help you find one: http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php Remember, there is a difference between state and federal taxes. The new law does not impact federal tax filing ... Read Moreonly potentially state income taxes. For your federal taxes you can file jointly even though one of you is in the states and the other overseas. There are several ways to do so. Its early, don't stress too bad...talk to the JAG office! (most bases also offer free income tax assistance through th JAG office during filing season).

thank u