Military Spouses Residency Relief Act
PL 111-97 (S.475), enacted 11/11/2009

123 STAT. 3007 
PUBLIC LAW 111–97—NOV. 11, 2009 
Public Law 111–97 
111th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to guarantee the equity of spouses 
of military personnel with regard to matters of residency, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Spouses Residency 
Relief Act’’. 
SEC. 2. GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR SPOUSES OF MILITARY PER-
SONNEL FOR VOTING PURPOSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705 of the Servicemembers Civil 
Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘For’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For’’; 
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(b) SPOUSES.—For the purposes of voting for any Federal office 
(as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) or a State or local office, a person who 
is absent from a State because the person is accompanying the 
person’s spouse who is absent from that same State in compliance 
with military or naval orders shall not, solely by reason of that 
absence— 
‘‘(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or domicile in 
that State, without regard to whether or not the person intends 
to return to that State; 
‘‘(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or domicile 
in any other State; or 
‘‘(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or a resident 
of any other State.’’; and 
(3) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND
SPOUSES 
OF MILITARY PERSONNEL’’ before the period at the end. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in section 
1(b) of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 501) is amended by striking 
the item relating to section 705 and inserting the following new 
item: 
‘‘Sec. 705. Guarantee of residency for military personnel and spouses of military 
personnel.’’. 
(c) APPLICATION.—Subsection (b) of section 705 of such Act 
(50 U.S.C. App. 595), as added by subsection (a) of this section, 
shall apply with respect to absences from States described in such 
subsection (b) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
regardless of the date of the military or naval order concerned. 
50 USC app. 595 
note. 
Military Spouses 
Residency 
Relief Act. 
50 USC app. 501 
note. 
Nov. 11, 2009 
[S. 475] 
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123 STAT. 3008 
PUBLIC LAW 111–97—NOV. 11, 2009 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION FOR TAX PURPOSES OF RESIDENCE OF 
SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 511 of the Servicemembers Civil 
Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 571) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘A servicemember’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A servicemember’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) SPOUSES.—A spouse of a servicemember shall neither 
lose nor acquire a residence or domicile for purposes of taxation 
with respect to the person, personal property, or income of 
the spouse by reason of being absent or present in any tax 
jurisdiction of the United States solely to be with the service-
member in compliance with the servicemember’s military orders 
if the residence or domicile, as the case may be, is the same 
for the servicemember and the spouse.’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) as 
subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g), respectively; 
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(c) INCOME OF A MILITARY SPOUSE.—Income for services per-
formed by the spouse of a servicemember shall not be deemed 
to be income for services performed or from sources within a tax 
jurisdiction of the United States if the spouse is not a resident 
or domiciliary of the jurisdiction in which the income is earned 
because the spouse is in the jurisdiction solely to be with the 
servicemember serving in compliance with military orders.’’; and 
(4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by paragraph (2)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or the spouse of 
a servicemember’’ after ‘‘The personal property of a service-
member’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or the spouse’s’’ 
after ‘‘servicemember’s’’. 
(b) APPLICATION.—Subsections (a)(2) and (c) of section 511 of 
such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 571), as added by subsection (a) of this 
section, and the amendments made to such section 511 by sub-
section (a)(4) of this section, shall apply with respect to any return 
of State or local income tax filed for any taxable year beginning 
with the taxable year that includes the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF LAND RIGHTS RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR 
SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 508 of the Servicemembers Civil 
Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 568) is amended in subsection (b) by 
inserting ‘‘or the spouse of such servicemember’’ after ‘‘a service-
member in military service’’. 
(b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to servicemembers in military service (as defined 
50 USC app. 568 
note. 
50 USC app. 571 
note. 
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123 STAT. 3009 
PUBLIC LAW 111–97—NOV. 11, 2009 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 475: 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 111–46 (Comm. on Veterans’ Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 155 (2009): 
Aug. 4, considered and passed Senate. 
Nov. 2, considered and passed House. 
DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2009): 
Nov. 11, Presidential statement. 
in section 101 of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 511)) on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
Approved November 11, 2009. 
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