Members of the U.S. Armed Forces have special tax situations and benefits. Understand how that affects you and your taxes. Get general information about how to file and pay taxes, including many free services by visiting How to file your taxes: step by step. Check if you are eligible for military tax benefits. Current and former military MilTax, a Department of Defense program that generally offers free return preparation and e-filing software for all military members, and some veterans, with no income limit Get free tax help from volunteers Armed Forces' Tax Guide, Publication 3 (for active and reserve military only) Automatic extensions of your filing deadline Tax breaks for you and your family Special application of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits excluded from taxable income Information for veterans Federal income tax withholding after leaving the military PDF Combat service If you serve in one of the combat zones recognized by the IRS, you may be able to exclude combat income from taxation. You may also want to see if special EITC rules apply that could lead to a larger refund. Disabled veterans If you're a disabled veteran your disability payment may qualify for certain tax exclusions. You may also be eligible to claim a federal tax refund if you received: A lump sum disability severance payment that was counted as income An increase in disability percentage from the Department of Veterans Affairs If you already filed, you may benefit from amended return filing for combat-injured disabled veterans. The following webinar is available for view: Military Spouse Entrepreneurial Webinar (01/18/2024) This webinar outlines tax-related resources for military spouse entrepreneurs. IRS employees and partners discuss the small business tax and self-employed tax center, the gig economy tax center, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), payments and more.
