Military Tax Filing Question - California Home of Record but Stationed in Missouri

Military personnel taxation is governed by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which provides specific protections regarding state taxation. Under SCRA provisions, military members are only required to pay income taxes to their legal state of residence (domicile), regardless of where they are stationed on military orders. In your situation, if California is your legal state of residence/domicile (not just home of record), then you would file as a California resident and a Missouri nonresident. The military wages would be taxable in California but exempt from Missouri taxation. However, I should note that 'home of record' for military purposes is not necessarily the same as 'legal residence' for tax purposes. You should carefully determine which state you consider your domicile based on voter registration, driver's license, etc.

I've seen this exact situation confuse dozens of military families. The W-2 showing California doesn't necessarily mean you're subject to California taxes. It's about your legal domicile, not where your pay comes from. I've used https://taxr.ai to analyze my military client's documents and determine correct filing status. It specifically recognizes military situations and explains the SCRA implications for your specific documents. Helps avoid the common mistake of filing as a resident in both states or paying taxes to the wrong state altogether. Military tax situations have unique rules that most tax software doesn't explain well.

Been there, done that! We were CA residents stationed in TX last yr. CA tried to tax everything but we fought it and won. Basically, if CA is truly ur legal residence (voter reg, DL, etc) then yeah, file as CA resident & MO nonresident. BUT if you've actually established MO as your legal residence (got MO DL, registered to vote there, etc) then you'd file as MO resident and CA nonresident. The key is proving which state is your actual legal domicile. Military pay is only taxable in your domicile state. Saved us like $3k when we got it sorted!

If trying to reach the IRS or state tax agencies about this is like trying to navigate a maze blindfolded, I've found Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) really helpful. It's like having a fast-pass at an amusement park - gets you through to an actual human at the IRS or state tax departments without the endless hold times. When I had questions about my military spouse tax situation that weren't clear from the forms, getting a real person on the phone made all the difference. Saved me hours of hold music and frustration.

According to the Military.com tax center (https://www.military.com/money/personal-finance/taxes/state-tax-information.html), you should check both states' rules specifically. Some states like California are notoriously aggressive about claiming residents, while others are more military-friendly. Also worth checking if your spouse's income is protected under the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act if that applies to your situation. The IRS Publication 3 (Armed Forces Tax Guide) also covers this in detail if you want to reference the official source.

Be careful with this! My brother-in-law assumed his military pay was exempt from his duty station state (Georgia) while keeping Florida as his home of record, but he hadn't properly established Florida residency. Ended up having to pay back taxes plus penalties to Georgia because he couldn't prove Florida was his actual domicile. He didn't have a Florida driver's license, wasn't registered to vote there, and had a permanent home in Georgia. The state tax board wasn't impressed with just having 'Florida' listed as home of record on military paperwork.

I dealt with this exact situation on January 15th this year. The key distinction is between 'Home of Record' (military administrative term) and 'State of Legal Residence' (tax term). For tax purposes, your military income is only taxable in your state of legal residence. If you've maintained California as your legal residence (kept CA driver's license, still vote there, intend to return), then you file as a CA resident and MO nonresident. You'll need to file Form 540NR for California and Form MO-NRI for Missouri. On the Missouri form, you'll exclude military income under the SCRA exemption. The deadline for filing is April 15th, 2024, so you still have time to get this sorted correctly.

I was in a similar situation with Washington (home of record) and Virginia (stationed). Much easier than your situation though since Washington has no income tax! But the principle is the same as others have mentioned - it's about where you're legally domiciled, not where you're physically stationed. Just like when I moved from Texas to Virginia but kept Texas as my legal residence, you need to be careful about which state you've established as your actual legal domicile. So relieved when I finally figured it all out last year!