U.S. Armed Forces

W e also file taxes for members of the U.S. Armed Forces community. Below you will find a collection of frequently asked questions courtesy of IRS.gov. For specific assessment of your situation, please contact us directly.

a. Who does the IRS consider a member of the U.S. Armed Forces?

“For federal tax purposes, the U.S. Armed Forces includes officers and enlisted personnel in all regular and reserve units controlled by the Secretaries of Defense, the Army, Navy and Air Force. The Coast Guard is also included, but not the U.S. Merchant Marine or the American Red Cross. However, these and other support personnel may qualify for certain tax deadline extensions because of their service in a combat zone.” Additional information may be found on the IRS website at this link.

b. I am a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and have been serving in a combat zone. I heard that tax deadlines are extended as a result of my service. When do these deadline extensions begin for me and when would my taxes be due?

The deadline extensions for most tax actions begin on the date you started serving in the combat zone. This does not, however include any time spent overseas in preparation for entering the combat zone.

For example if you shipped out on 1 February but did not enter your specific combat zone until 23 March, your start extension start date would be 23 March. If, however, your shipped out on 28 March and did not enter the combat zone until after 15 April, you are not entitled to an extension as you could have filed in advance of your deployment.

Generally speaking, your new tax deadline would be 180 days after your last day in the combat zone. As such, assessment and collection of any taxes due would be extended and you will not be assessed fees unless you are late filing from that 180 day extension.

c. I am a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who finished serving in a combat zone. I know that I had a 180 day extension but I am being redeployed to another combat zone before that 180 days expires. What does that mean for my filing status?

Because your extension did not expire prior to your re-entry into a new combat zone, it would continue.

d. Will my applicable extensions continue if I am hospitalized due to an injury sustained in the combat zone as a member of the U.S Armed Forces?

Yes. If continuously hospitalized outside the U.S., the extension continues for the period you are in hospital plus the 180 day end of combat zone extension. If you are in a hospital in the U.S., the extension period cannot exceed 5 years.

e. I have been on an installment plan with the IRS for back taxes owed but now am being assigned to a combat zone. What should I do?

Please contact the office where you are making payments and inform them of your situation. You will qualify under the combat zone extensions without needing to worry about the penalties and interests.

f. Do extensions only apply for members of the U.S. Armed Forces or do they apply for any U.S. citizen working in a combat zone?

These extensions apply to individuals serving in the combat zone in support of and under the direction of the U.S. Armed Forces. This would include Red Cross personnel, accredited correspondents, Department of Defense staff, and civilians (bomb explosive specialists, infrastructure specialists, etc.) acting under “under the direction of the U.S. Armed Forces in support of those forces”.

This would not include civilians, private business people or teachers living in a combat zone working on or for non-military projects. The extensions require that one must be “serving in support of the U.S. Armed Forces”.

g. I am a defense contractor who is based in the US. I will be temporarily in Germany later this year. Since my job involves production of items used by U.S. Armed Forces in a combat zone, do extension provisions apply to me?

No, neither in the U.S. nor in Germany. You must be serving in direct support of the U.S. Armed Forces in the combat zone to qualify.