Ohio Department of Taxation Individual Income Tax

Tips for Members of the National Guard and Reserves

Ohio resident members of the National Guard and reserves are entitled to the deduction for military pay received while stationed outside the state, if eligible. Please read the guidelines to determine if you qualify for this deduction.

Also, members of the National Guard and reserve are eligible for certain tax extensions and other benefits, if stationed in a combat zone. The military retirement pay received for National Guard and reserve service is also exempt from Ohio income taxes. These issues are discussed below:

Tax Extensions

If you are an Ohio resident and a member of the Ohio National Guard or a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces and are called to active duty for any reason, you are eligible for an extension for filing and payment of individual and/or school district income taxes during the period of your service and for 60 days after the termination of your duty. If you are serving on active duty in a federally-designated combat zone at the time the tax return is due to be filed, the tax relief measures discussed below in "Combat Zone Provisions" apply.

A member of the Ohio National Guard or a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces who is called to active duty for any reason is granted an extension of time to pay real property and manufactured home taxes until the seventh month after termination of the member’s active duty service.

Combat Zone Provisions

Any active duty taxpayer assigned to a federally-designated combat zone and any taxpayer who is a member of the National Guard or a reserve component serving on active duty and assigned to a federally-designated combat zone is eligible for tax relief. All federal income tax relief provisions for service in a combat zone also apply to Ohio taxes.

Pay earned while serving in a combat zone, including base pay, hostile fire and imminent danger pay, is excluded from federal income tax and also from Ohio income and school district income tax. The only exception to this is for commissioned officers, whose combat zone pay exclusion is capped at the highest enlisted grade plus hostile fire and imminent danger pay.

If you have served in a combat zone, your income tax filing and payment due dates are extended for 180 days beyond your period of service in the combat zone. This extension can be lengthened by any time spent in missing-in-action status, as well as time in continuous hospitalization from injuries suffered in the combat zone. These provisions are discussed in more detail in Information Release IT 2002-01. This release also applies to the current taxable year. 

Retirement and Survivor Benefit Income

Military retired pay and Survivor Benefit Plan benefits are exempt from state income tax and school district income tax for taxable years that began after Dec. 31, 2007. If you are retired from the National Guard or reserves, this pay can be deducted from your federal adjusted gross income. Eligible taxpayers can contact the Defense Finance and Accounting Service to request an adjustment of their Ohio withholding. Federal civil service retirees who received credit for their military service can deduct only that portion of their pension that is based on credit for military service. A formula to assist federal civil service retirees with that deduction is provided in the instructions for Line 37b on page 25 of the 2011 Ohio income tax instructions.

Have questions?

Additional details concerning military tax issues are discussed in our Frequently Asked Questions - Military.

You can reach us by e-mail at Military-Info@tax.state.oh.us. Our toll-free number for individual taxpayer inquiries is (800) 282-1780, and the toll-free number for forms is (800) 282-1782.