Filling out federal tax forms can be confusing at best for military members and a nightmare at worst, said Internal Revenue Service officials. Certain tax rules apply to military personnel that don't apply to civilians, including pay, allowances, sale of a house and extensions of filing deadlines. The Navy has a program which will help take the difficulty out of tax time. All military personnel, overseas Department of Defense, retirees and dependents are eligible for this free service. We have such a program here in London.
Military members can have their tax returns prepared by trained volunteers free of charge.
With electronic filing, military members can receive refunds directly deposited into their bank accounts eight to 16 days after transmittion. The program has been a huge success since it was launched in 1994. IRS officials said when doing your taxes, military members should not forget to check out the credits and deductions that apply to civilian taxpayers, such as dependent and child care expenses, earned income credit and education expenses. For information on these and other possible tax benefits, check out IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax. IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces Tax Guide.