What's New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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Text
Contents
What's New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Publication 3
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Armed Forces'
Tax Guide
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
For use in preparing
2025 Returns
Gross Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Servicemembers’ Government Pay Included
in Gross Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Servicemembers’ Government Pay Items
Excluded From Gross Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Income Items of Special Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Foreign Source Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Community Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Domicile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Nevada, Washington, and California
Domestic Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Form W-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Adjustments to Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Travel Expenses of Armed Forces Reservists . . . 10
Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) . . . . 11
Moving Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Treatment of Distributions (and Repayments of
Distributions) From an IRA or Qualified
Plan to Qualified Reservists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Income Exclusions for Armed Forces Members
in Combat Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Combat Zone Exclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
How Much of My Combat Zone Pay Can I
Exclude? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
How Do I Report the Combat Zone
Exclusion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
What Is Combat Zone Pay? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Combat Zone Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Service Eligible for Combat Zone Exclusion . . . . 15
Gain or Loss From Sale of Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Foreclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Itemized Deductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Repayments to Your Employer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other
Dependents, and Additional Child Tax
Credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
ACTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Earned Income Credit (EIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Credit for Excess Social Security Tax
Withheld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Get forms and other information faster and easier at:
• IRS.gov (English)
• IRS.gov/Spanish (Español)
• IRS.gov/Chinese (中文)
Jan 13, 2026
• IRS.gov/Korean (한국어)
• IRS.gov/Russian (Pусский)
• IRS.gov/Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)
Forgiveness of Decedent's Tax Liability . . . . . . . . 24
Combat Zone Related Forgiveness . . . . . . . . . . 24
Terrorist or Military Action Related
Forgiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
How Do I Make a Claim for Tax Forgiveness? . . . 25
Publication 3 (2025) Catalog Number 46072M
Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov
Filing Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Where To File My Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
When To File My Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
When Is the Latest I Can Pay My Tax? . . . . . . . . . 27
Extensions of Deadlines To File Your Tax
Return, To Pay Your Taxes, and for Other
Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Can I Get an Extension To File My Return if I
Am Not in a Combat Zone or a
Contingency Operation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and Other
Extensions Specifically for Those in a
Combat Zone or a Contingency
Operation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Can I Get an Extension To Pay My Tax if I Am
Not in a Combat Zone or a Contingency
Operation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Maximum Rate of Interest When There Is
Hardship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Tax Returns of Aliens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Resident Aliens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Nonresident Aliens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Dual-Status Aliens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Signing Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
How To Get Tax Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
What's New
Due date of return. File Form 1040 or 1040-SR by April
15, 2026.
Penalty for failure to file. If your return is more than 60
days late, the minimum penalty will be $525 or the amount
of any tax you owe, whichever is smaller.
Standard deduction amount increased. For 2025, the
standard deduction amount has been increased for all filers. The amounts are:
• Single or Married filing separately—$15,750;
• Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving
spouse—$31,500; and
• Head of household—$23,625.
For more information, see the Instructions for Form 1040.
Child tax credit amount increased. Beginning in 2025,
the maximum child tax credit (CTC) amount has increased
to $2,200 for each qualifying child. In addition, beginning
in 2025, to be eligible to claim the CTC or ACTC, you must
have a valid SSN, which means it must be valid for employment and issued before the due date of your return
(including extensions). If you are filing a joint return, only
one spouse is required to have a valid SSN in order to be
eligible for the CTC and ACTC. The other spouse must
have either an SSN or ITIN, and it must have been issued
2
on or before the due date of the return (including extensions).
Deductibility of contributions to some organizations
serving members of the Armed Forces. In 2025, a
charitable contribution made to a congressionally chartered veteran service organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue
Code is deductible for federal income tax purposes. For
more information, see Pub. 526, Charitable Contributions.
Updated reporting requirement for Form 1099-K. For
2025, payment card companies, payment apps, and online marketplaces will be required to send you a Form
1099-K when the amount of your business transactions
during the year is more than $20,000 in more than 200
transactions. See Understanding your Form 1099-K for
more information.
Standard mileage rates. The 2025 rate for business use
of a vehicle is 70 cents a mile. The 2025 rate for use of
your vehicle to do volunteer work for certain charitable organizations is 14 cents a mile. The 2025 rate for operating
expenses for a car when you use it for medical reasons is
21 cents a mile.
Higher catch-up contribution limit for ages 60 to 63.
If, at the end of 2025, you were at least age 60 but
younger than age 64, and you participated in a deferred
compensation plan (including most 401(k), 403(b), and
governmental 457 plans, and the governmental Thrift Savings Plan), a higher catch-up contribution limit may apply
to you. For 2025, this higher catch-up contribution limit is
$11,250. For more information, contact your plan administrator and see Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
Modified adjusted gross income (AGI) limit for traditional IRA contributions. For 2025, if you are covered
by a retirement plan at work, your deduction for contributions to a traditional IRA is reduced (phased out) if your
modified AGI is:
• More than $126,000 but less than $146,000 for a married couple filing a joint return or a qualifying surviving
spouse,
• More than $79,000 but less than $89,000 for a single
individual or head of household, or
• Less than $10,000 for a married individual filing a separate return.
If you either live with your spouse or file a joint return, and
your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work but
you aren't, your deduction is phased out if your modified
AGI is more than $236,000 but less than $246,000. If your
modified AGI is $246,000 or more, you can't take a deduction for contributions to a traditional IRA. See How Much
Can You Deduct? in Pub. 590-A.
Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions. For
2025, your Roth IRA contribution limit is reduced (phased
out) in the following situations.
• Your filing status is married filing jointly or qualifying
surviving spouse and your modified AGI is at least
$236,000. You can't make a Roth IRA contribution if
your modified AGI is $246,000 or more.
Publication 3 (2025)
• Your filing status is single, head of household, or mar-
ried filing separately and you didn't live with your
spouse at any time in 2025 and your modified AGI is at
least $150,000. You can't make a Roth IRA contribution if your modified AGI is $165,000 or more.
• Your filing status is married filing separately, you lived
with your spouse at any time during the year, and your
modified AGI is more than zero. You can't make a Roth
IRA contribution if your modified AGI is $10,000 or
more. See Can You Contribute to a Roth IRA? in Pub.
590-A.
2026 modified AGI limits. You can find information
about the 2026 contribution and AGI limits in Pub. 590-A.
Tax law changes for 2025. When you figure how much
income tax you want withheld from your pay and when you
figure your estimated tax, consider tax law changes effective in 2025. For more information, see Pub. 505, Tax
Withholding and Estimated Tax.
Alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amount increased. The AMT exemption amount is increased to
$88,100 ($137,000 if married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse; $68,500 if married filing separately). The
amount used to determine the phaseout of your exemption
has increased to $626,350 ($1,252,700 if married filing
jointly or qualifying surviving spouse).
Adoption credit. The adoption credit and the exclusion
for employer-provided adoption benefits have both increased to $17,280 per eligible child in 2025. The amount
begins to phase out if you have modified AGI in excess of
$259,190 and is completely phased out if your modified
AGI is $299,190 or more. Up to $5,000 of your adoption
credit may be refundable. The amount of the refundable
portion is determined separately for each eligible child.
No tax on tips. You may be eligible to take a deduction
for qualified tips paid to you in 2025. You can’t deduct
more than $25,000 of those tips. Your deduction will be
limited if your modified AGI is more than $150,000
($300,000 if married filing jointly). To be eligible, you
and/or your spouse who received the tips must have a
valid SSN. If you are married, you must file a joint return.
No tax on overtime. If you earned qualified overtime,
you may be eligible to deduct up to $12,500 ($25,000 if
married filing jointly) of your qualified overtime compensation. Your deduction will be limited if your modified AGI is
more than $150,000 ($300,000 if married filing jointly). To
be eligible, you and/or your spouse who received the overtime must have a valid SSN. If you are married, you must
file a joint return.
No tax on car loan interest. If you paid or accrued
qualified passenger vehicle loan interest on a vehicle you
purchased in 2025 for personal use, you may be eligible to
deduct up to $10,000 of that interest. Your deduction will
be limited if your modified AGI is more than $100,000
($200,000 if married filing jointly).
Enhanced deduction for seniors. If you were born before January 2, 1961, you may be eligible for an enhanced
deduction for seniors. Your deduction will be limited if your
modified AGI is more than $75,000 ($150,000 if married
filing jointly). To be eligible, you and/or your spouse must
Publication 3 (2025)
have a valid SSN. If you are married, you must file a joint
return. The maximum amount of the deduction is $6,000
($12,000 if both spouses are eligible).
New Schedule 1-A. A new schedule to Form 1040,
Schedule 1-A, has been created for taxpayers to claim a
deduction for the recently enacted deductions for no tax
on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on car loan interest, and
the enhanced deduction for seniors. For more information,
see the Instructions for Schedule 1-A.
Reminders
Future developments. For the latest information about
developments related to Pub. 3, such as legislation enacted after it was published, go to IRS.gov/Pub3.
Who must file. Generally, the amount of income you can
receive before you must file a return has been increased.
For more information, see the Instructions for Form 1040.
Change of address. If you change your mailing address,
be sure to notify the IRS using Form 8822, Change of Address. Mail it to the Internal Revenue Service Center for
your old address. (Addresses for the Service Centers are
on the back of the form.) Use Form 8822-B, Change of
Address or Responsible Party—Business, if you are
changing a business address.
Nontaxable combat pay election. Beginning in 2024,
nontaxable combat pay will be reported on Form 1040 or
1040-SR, line 1i.
Credits for sick and family leave for certain self-employed individuals are not available. The credit for
sick and family leave for certain self-employed individuals
was not extended and you can no longer claim these credits.
Tuition and fees deduction not available. The tuition
and fees deduction is not available after 2020. Instead, the
income limitations for the lifetime learning credit have
been increased. See Form 8863 and its instructions.
Form 1040-X continuous-use form and instructions.
Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and its instructions have been converted from an annual revision to continuous use beginning in tax year
2022. Both the form and instructions will be updated as required. For the most recent version, go to IRS.gov/
Form1040X. Section discussions and charts that were updated annually have been removed, or replaced with references to relevant forms, schedules, instructions, and publications. See the forms, schedules, instructions, and
publications for the year of the tax return you are amending for guidance on specific topics.
Choosing to treat a nonresident or dual-status
spouse as a U.S. resident. The Forms 1040 and
1040-SR added a checkbox in the Filing Status section to
make the choice to treat your nonresident or dual-status
spouse as a U.S. resident. For more information, see the
Instructions for Form 1040, or Pub. 519.
Electronic filing available for Form 1040-X. You can
file Form 1040-X electronically with tax filing software to
amend 2021 or later Forms 1040 or 1040-SR. See
3
IRS.gov/Filing/Amended-Return-Frequently-AskedQuestions for more information.
• Distributions from a retirement plan made to someone
All taxpayers now eligible for Identity Protection PIN.
Beginning in 2021, the IRS Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)
Opt-In Program has been expanded to all taxpayers who
can properly verify their identity. An IP PIN helps prevent
your social security number from being used to file a fraudulent federal income tax return. You can use the Get An
IP PIN tool on IRS.gov to request an IP PIN, file Form
15227 if you meet income requirements, or make an appointment to visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center.
• Distributions to firefighters at age 50 or with 25 years
Alimony and separate maintenance payments.
Amounts paid as alimony or separate maintenance payments under a divorce or separation agreement executed
after 2018 won't be deductible by the payer. Such
amounts also won't be includible in the income of the recipient. Amounts received as alimony or separate maintenance pursuant to a divorce or separation agreement executed on or before December 31, 2018, are includible in
the recipient’s income unless that agreement was modified after 2018, to expressly provide that alimony received
isn't included in your income. See your tax return instructions and Pub. 555.
Qualified birth or adoption distribution. Beginning in
tax years after 2019, you can take a distribution from your
IRA without it being subject to the 10% additional tax for
early distributions. For more information, see Pub. 590-B.
Changes to reporting amounts from Form 1099-K.
Beginning in 2024, if you received a Form(s) 1099-K that
shows payments that were included in error or for personal items sold at a loss, you will now enter these
amounts in the entry space at the top of Schedule 1 (Form
1040). See Form(s) 1099-K, under Instructions for Schedule 1 in the Instructions for Form 1040.
Digital assets received as ordinary income. If you received digital assets as ordinary income, and that income
is not reported elsewhere on your return, you will enter
those amounts on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8v. See
the instructions for Schedule 1, line 8v.
Additional child tax credit amount increased. The
amount that can be claimed as a refundable credit, called
the additional child tax credit (ACTC), is $1,700 for each
qualifying child.
Third party designee. You can check the “Yes” box in
the Third Party Designee area of your return to authorize
the IRS to discuss your return with your preparer, a friend,
a family member, or any other person you choose. This allows the IRS to call the person you identified as your designee to answer any questions that may arise during the
processing of your tax return. It also allows your designee
to perform certain actions. See your income tax return instructions for details.
Exception to the 10% additional tax for early distributions from certain retirement plans. The exception to
the 10% additional tax for early distributions includes the
following.
• Distributions from a retirement plan in connection with
federally declared disasters.
4
who is terminally ill.
of service under the plan.
See Form 5329 and its instructions and Pub. 590-B for additional exceptions to the 10% additional tax for early distributions and more information.
Distributions to victims of domestic abuse. Beginning
with distributions made after 2023, a distribution to a domestic abuse victim is not subject to the 10% additional
tax on early distributions if certain requirements are met.
See Pub. 590-B for more information.
Distributions for emergency personal expenses. Beginning with distributions made after 2023, a distribution to
an individual for certain emergency personal expenses is
not subject to the 10% additional tax on early distributions
if certain requirements are met. See Pub. 590-B for more
information.
Educational assistance benefits. If you receive educational assistance benefits from your employer under an
educational assistance program, you can exclude up to
$5,250 of those benefits.
Photographs of missing children. The IRS is a proud
partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children® (NCMEC). Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring
these children home by looking at the photographs and
calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
Introduction
This publication covers the special tax situations of active
members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
For federal tax purposes, the U.S. Armed Forces includes commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted personnel in all regular and reserve units under control
of the Secretaries of the Defense, Army, Navy, and Air
Force. The U.S. Armed Forces also includes the Coast
Guard and Space Force. The Public Health Service and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration can
also receive many of the same tax benefits. The U.S.
Armed Forces doesn't include the U.S. Merchant Marine
or the American Red Cross.
Members serving in an area designated or treated as a
combat zone are granted special tax benefits. In the event
an area ceases to be a combat zone, the IRS will do its
best to notify you. Many of the relief provisions will end at
that time.
Tip: Throughout this publication, we reference the
terms “combat pay exclusion” and “combat pay.” These
terms are also known as “combat zone exclusion” and
“combat zone compensation,” respectively.
What isn't covered in this publication. This publication
doesn't cover military retirement pay or veterans' benefits
or give the basic tax rules that apply to all taxpayers. For
Publication 3 (2025)
information on military retirement pay or veterans' benefits, see Pub. 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income. If you
need the basic tax rules or information on another subject
not covered here, you can check our other free publications.
527 Residential Rental Property
527
529 Miscellaneous Deductions
529
555 Community Property
555
559 Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
559
Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and suggestions for future
editions.
You can send us comments through IRS.gov/
FormComments. Or, you can write to the Internal Revenue
Service, Tax Forms and Publications, 1111 Constitution
Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224.
Although we can’t respond individually to each comment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will
consider your comments and suggestions as we revise
our tax forms, instructions, and publications. Don’t send
tax questions, tax returns, or payments to the above address.
Getting answers to your tax questions. If you have
a tax question not answered by this publication or the How
To Get Tax Help section at the end of this publication, go
to the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant page at IRS.gov/
Help/ITA where you can find topics by using the search
feature or viewing the categories listed.
590-A Contributions to Individual Retirement
Arrangements
590-A
590-B Distributions from Individual Retirement
Arrangements
590-B
596 Earned Income Credit
596
970 Tax Benefits for Education
970
3920 Tax Relief for Victims of Terrorist Attacks
3920
Form (and Instructions)
1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
1040
1040-SR U.S. Income Tax Return for Seniors
1040-SR
1040-X Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
1040-X
1310 Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a
Deceased Taxpayer
1310
2555 Foreign Earned Income
2555
Getting tax forms, instructions, and publications.
Go to IRS.gov/Forms to download current and prior-year
forms, instructions, and publications.
Ordering tax forms, instructions, and publications.
Go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to order current forms, instructions, and publications; call 800-829-3676 to order
prior-year forms and instructions. The IRS will process
your order for forms and publications as soon as possible.
Don’t resubmit requests you’ve already sent us. You can
get forms and publications faster online.
Useful Items
You may want to see:
Publication
17
54
17
Your Federal Income Tax
Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens
Abroad
54
463 Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of
Representative
2848
3903 Moving Expenses
3903
4868 Application for Automatic Extension of Time To
File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
4868
8822 Change of Address
8822
8822-B Change of Address or Responsible
Party—Business
8822-B
9465 Installment Agreement Request
9465
8915-F Qualified Disaster Retirement Plan
Distributions and Repayments
8915-F
See How To Get Tax Help at the end of this publication for
information about getting IRS publications and forms.
Gross Income
463
501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing
Information
501
503 Child and Dependent Care Expenses
503
505 Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
505
516 U.S. Government Civilian Employees Stationed
Abroad
Members of the Armed Forces receive many different
types of pay and allowances. Some are included in gross
income while others are excluded from gross income.
Servicemembers’ Government Pay
Included in Gross Income
516
519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
519
523 Selling Your Home
523
525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income
525
526 Charitable Contributions
You must report the items listed in Table 1 as gross income on your tax return unless the pay is for service in a
combat zone. For pay for service in a combat zone, refer
to Table 2. The items in Table 1 are taxable. The list in Table 1 isn't exclusive. Also see Income Items of Special Interest, later.
526
Publication 3 (2025)
5
Table 1. Servicemembers’ Government Pay Included in Gross Income
These items are included in gross income, unless the pay is for service in a combat zone.
Basic pay
• Active duty
• Attendance at a designated service school
• Back wages
• Cadet/midshipman pay
• Drills
• Reserve training
• Training duty
Special pay
• Aviation career incentives
• Career sea
• Diving duty
• Foreign duty (outside the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia)
• Foreign language proficiency
• Hardship duty
• Hostile fire or imminent danger
• Medical and dental officers
• Nuclear-qualified officers
• Optometry
• Other Health Professional Special Pays (for example, nurse, physician assistant, social work, etc.)
• Pharmacy
• Special compensation for assistance with activities of daily living (SCAADL)
• Special duty assignment pay
• Veterinarian
• Voluntary Separation Incentive
Bonus pay
• Career status
• Continuation pay
• Enlistment
• Officer
• Overseas extension
• Reenlistment
Incentive pay
• Submarine
• Flight
• Hazardous duty
• High Altitude/Low Opening (HALO)
Other pay
• Accrued leave
• CONUS COLA
• High deployment per diem
• Personal money allowances paid to high-ranking officers
• Student loan repayment from programs, such as the Department of Defense Educational Loan
Repayment Program when the year's service (requirement) isn't attributable to a combat zone, to
the extent that qualified higher education expenses exceed $5,250 annually
• Certain payments made by an employer after March 27, 2020, and before January 1, 2026, of
principal or interest on certain qualified education loans
In-kind military
benefits
• Personal use of a government-provided vehicle
Servicemembers’ Government Pay
Items Excluded From Gross Income
Items in Table 2 aren't includible in your gross income
though you may have to report them on your income tax
return. The list in Table 2 isn't exclusive. See your tax return instructions for more information on specific items.
Also see Income Items of Special Interest, later.
6
Combat zone pay. You may also be able to exclude pay
for service in a combat zone even though that pay would
otherwise be taxable. For information on the exclusion of
pay for service in a combat zone and other tax benefits for
combat zone participants, see Combat Zone Exclusion
and Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and Other Extensions
Specifically for Those in a Combat Zone or a Contingency
Operation, later.
Publication 3 (2025)
Table 2. Servicemembers’ Government Pay Items Excluded From Gross
Income
The exclusion for certain items applies whether the item is furnished in kind or is a reimbursement or allowance.
Combat zone pay
• Compensation for active service while in a combat zone (See Combat Zone Exclusion, later.)
Note: The exclusion for certain officers is limited. See Commissioned officers (other than
commissioned warrant officers), later.
Other pay
• Certain amounts received under the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and
Financial Assistance Program payments
• Certain disability retirement pay, including payments received for injuries incurred as a direct
result of a terrorist or military action
• Group-term life insurance
• Professional education
• ROTC educational and subsistence allowances
• State bonus pay for service in a combat zone (See State bonus payments, later.)
• Survivor and retirement protection plan premiums
• Uniform allowances
Death allowances
• Burial services
• Death gratuity payments to eligible survivors
• Travel of dependents to burial site
Family allowances
• Certain educational expenses for dependents
• Emergencies
• Evacuation to a place of safety
• Separation
Living allowances
• BAH (See also Can I deduct expenses paid with my excluded BAH?, later.)
• BAS
• Housing and cost-of-living allowances abroad paid by the U.S. Government or by a foreign
government
• OHA (Overseas Housing Allowance)
Moving allowances
• Dislocation
• Military base realignment and closure benefit (See Military base realignment and closure
benefits, later.)
• Move-in housing
• Moving household and personal items
• Moving trailers or mobile homes
• Storage
• Temporary lodging and temporary lodging expenses
Travel allowances
• Annual round trip for dependent students
• Leave between consecutive overseas tours
• Reassignment in a dependent restricted status
• Transportation for you or your dependents during ship overhaul or inactivation
• Per diem
• Travel benefits under operation hero miles
In-kind military benefits
• Dependent-care assistance program
• Defense counsel services
• Legal assistance
• Medical/dental care
• Commissary/exchange discounts
• Space-available travel on government aircraft
• Uniforms furnished to enlisted personnel
Income Items of Special Interest
Death gratuity to a survivor. Any death gratuity paid to
a survivor of a member of the Armed Forces is excluded
from the survivor’s gross income.
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Can I deduct expenses paid with my excluded BAH?
As noted in Table 2, BAH is excluded from income. This
doesn't prevent you from deducting certain expenses paid
for with your BAH. You may still be able to deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes on your home if you
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pay these expenses with your BAH. See the Instructions
for Schedule A (Form 1040) of your tax return.
TSP distributions, see TSPBK26, Tax Rules About TSP
Payments.
Differential wage payments. Differential wage payments are taxable. They aren't treated as combat zone
pay even if the individual was in a combat zone.
Note: For 2025, combat zone service entitles service
members to contribute as much as $70,000 in a TSP retirement account.
What are differential wage payments? Differential
wage payments are payments made by an employer
(other than the Armed Forces) to an individual. They are
paid for a period during which the individual performed
services in the uniformed services while on active duty for
a period of more than 30 days. These payments represent
all or a portion of the wages the individual would have received from the employer if the individual had been performing services for the employer during that period.
Note: The annual additions limit is the total amount of
all the contributions made in a calendar year. This limit is
per employer and includes money from all sources: employee contributions (tax-deferred, after-tax, and tax-exempt), Agency/Service Automatic (1%) Contributions, and
Agency/Service Matching Contributions. It does not include catch-up contributions.
The annual additions limit affects mostly members of
the uniformed services who can exceed the annual elective deferral limit. The excess contributions go into the traditional portion of their TSP accounts from tax-exempt pay
earned in a combat zone.
Military base realignment and closure benefits. Military base realignment and closure benefits paid under the
Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) are generally excluded from income. However, for any property, the sum of
all your payments can't be more than the maximum
amount described in subsection (c) of 42 U.S.C. 3374 as
in effect on November 6, 2009. You must include in income the excess over this maximum amount. For more information about the HAP, see usace.army.mil/Missions/
Military-Missions/Real-Estate/HAP/.
Qualified reservist distribution (QRD). The portion of
your QRD reported by your employer as wages on Form
W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, is included in your gross
income and is taxable. The amount reported should be the
QRD reduced by the after-tax contributions to your health
flexible spending arrangement. This amount is also subject to employment taxes.
What is a QRD? With reference to a cafeteria plan or
health flexible spending account, a QRD is a distribution
to an individual of all or part of the individual's balance in a
cafeteria plan or health flexible spending arrangement if:
• The individual was a reservist who was ordered or
called to active duty for more than 179 days or for an
indefinite period, and
• The distribution is made no sooner than the date the
reservist was ordered or called to active duty and no
later than the last day reimbursements could otherwise be made under the arrangement for the plan year
which includes the date of the order or the call to duty.
Uniformed Services Traditional Thrift Savings Plan
(TSP) distributions. If you participate in the Uniformed
Services Traditional TSP and receive a distribution from
your account, the distribution is generally included in your
taxable income unless your contributions included tax-exempt combat zone pay.
If your contributions included tax-exempt combat zone
pay, the part of the distribution attributable to those contributions is tax exempt. However, the earnings on the
tax-exempt portion of the distribution are taxable. The TSP
will provide a statement showing the taxable and nontaxable portions of the distribution. For more information on
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Uniformed Services Roth TSP. Roth TSP contributions
are included in your income. They are after-tax contributions and are subject to the same contribution limits as the
traditional TSP. Qualified distributions from your Roth account in the TSP aren't included in your income. For more
details, see Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) in Part II of Pub.
721, Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement Benefits,
and TSPBK26.
State bonus payments. A state bonus payment will be
treated as combat zone pay and may not be taxable if it is
made because of your current or former service in a combat zone. See Combat Zone Defined, later, for a list of
designated combat zones.
What are state bonus payments? A state bonus
payment is a bonus payment made to you or to your dependent(s) by a state (or a political subdivision of a state).
Foreign Source Income
What Is Foreign Source Income?
For U.S. citizens, foreign source income is income from
sources outside the United States. This section only discusses the tax consequences for foreign source income of
U.S. citizens.
Is My Foreign Source Income Taxable?
You must report all of your foreign source income on your
tax return, except for those amounts that U.S. law specifically allows you to exclude. This is true whether you reside
inside or outside the United States and whether or not you
receive a Form W-2 or a Form 1099. This applies to
earned income (such as wages and tips) as well as unearned income (such as interest, dividends, capital gains,
pensions, rents, and royalties).
Some foreign income may be excluded, but these exclusions aren't available for wages and salaries of military
and civilian employees of the U.S. Government. See more
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on these exclusions under Foreign earned income exclusion and American Samoa and Puerto Rico income exclusion below.
Foreign earned income exclusion. Certain taxpayers
can exclude income earned in foreign countries. For 2025,
this exclusion amount can be as much as $130,000. However, military and civilian employees of the U.S. Government are not eligible to elect the foreign earned income
exclusion. Employees of the U.S. Government include
those who work at U.S. Armed Forces exchanges, commissioned and noncommissioned officers' messes, and
Armed Forces motion picture services, and similar personnel. Military personnel and/or their spouses may be eligible to elect the foreign earned income exclusion only if
they are independent contractors who are not employees
of the U.S. Government. Of course, these individuals
would need to meet the requirements of the foreign
earned income exclusion to qualify. You won’t be treated
as having a tax home in a foreign country for any period
for which your abode is within the United States, unless
you are serving in an area designated by the President of
the United States by Executive order as a combat zone in
support of the Armed Forces of the United States. For
more information on the exclusion, including requirements
and the definition of “abode,” see Pub. 54.
American Samoa and Puerto Rico income exclusion.
Residents of American Samoa and Puerto Rico may be
able to exclude income from American Samoa and Puerto
Rico. However, this territory exclusion doesn’t apply to wages and salaries of military and civilian employees of the
U.S. Government. If you need information on this territory
exclusion, see Pub. 570, Tax Guide for Individuals With Income From U.S. Territories.
Community Property
The pay you earn as a member of the Armed Forces may
be subject to community property laws depending on your
marital status, the nature of the payment, and your domicile. These laws may affect how much of your income is
included in your gross income for tax purposes. Community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Marital Status
property state. These rules may affect your tax liability if
you file separate returns or are divorced during the year.
Nature of the Payment
Active duty military pay is subject to community property
laws. Armed Forces retired or retainer pay may be subject
to community property laws.
For more information on community property laws, see
Pub. 555.
Domicile
Your domicile is the permanent legal home you intend to
use for an indefinite or unlimited period, and to which,
when absent, you intend to return. It isn't always where
you presently live.
Domicile or tax residence of civilian spouse. If you
are the civilian spouse of an active duty U.S. military servicemember, you can elect to have the same domicile or
residence as the servicemember. If your domicile or residence is the same as the servicemember's, you may be
able to keep your prior domicile or residence for tax purposes when you accompany your spouse who relocated to a
new duty station. For more information about this option,
see Pub. 570. You may also elect to have the same domicile or residence as the servicemember.
Nevada, Washington, and California
Domestic Partners
A registered domestic partner in Nevada, Washington, or
California must generally report half of their income plus
half of the income of their domestic partner. See Form
8958 and Pub. 555.
Form W-2
What Information Can I Find on My Form
W-2?
Form W-2 shows your total pay and other compensation
and the income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax
that was withheld during the year. Form W-2 also shows
other amounts that you may find important in box 12.
Community property rules apply to married persons
whose domicile during the tax year was in a community
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Form W-2 Reference Guide for Box 12 Codes
A
Uncollected social security or RRTA tax
on tips
B
Uncollected Medicare tax on tips (but not
Additional Medicare Tax)
C
Taxable cost of group-term life
insurance over $50,000
D
Elective deferrals to a section 401(k)
E
cash or deferred arrangement plan
(including a SIMPLE 401(k) arrangement)
Elective deferrals under a section 403(b)
salary reduction agreement
F
Elective deferrals under a section
408(k)(6) salary reduction SEP (this
includes elective deferrals made to a
Roth SEP IRA)
G
Elective deferrals and employer
contributions (including nonelective
deferrals) to a section 457(b) deferred
compensation plan
H
Elective deferrals to a section 501(c)(18)
(D) tax-exempt organization plan
J
Nontaxable sick pay
K
20% excise tax on excess golden
parachute payments
L
Substantiated employee business
expense reimbursements
M
Uncollected social security or RRTA
tax on taxable cost of group-term life
insurance over $50,000 (former
employees only)
N
Uncollected Medicare tax on taxable cost
of group-term life insurance over $50,000
(but not Additional Medicare Tax) (former
employees only)
P
Excludable moving expense
reimbursements paid directly to a
member of the U.S. Armed Forces
Q
Nontaxable combat pay
R
Employer contributions to an Archer MSA
S
Employee salary reduction contributions
under a section 408(p) SIMPLE plan (this
includes salary reduction contributions
made to a Roth SIMPLE IRA)
T
Adoption benefits
V
Income from exercise of nonstatutory
stock option(s)
W
Employer contributions (including
employee contributions through a
cafeteria plan) to an employee's health
savings account (HSA)
Y
Deferrals under a section 409A
nonqualified deferred compensation
plan
Z
Income under a nonqualified deferred
compensation plan that fails to satisfy
section 409A
AA Designated Roth contributions under a
section 401(k) plan
BB
Designated Roth contributions under a
section 403(b) plan
DD
Cost of employer-sponsored health
coverage
EE Designated Roth contributions under a
governmental section 457(b) plan
FF
Permitted benefits under a qualified
small employer health reimbursement
arrangement
GG
Income from qualified equity grants
under section 83(i)
HH Aggregate deferrals under section 83(i)
elections as of the close of the calendar
year
II
Medicaid waiver payments excluded
from gross income under Notice
2014-7
Note: For more information on these codes, see the General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3.
What Do the Codes in Box 12 of Form W-2
Mean?
Box 12 shows amounts not listed in other places on the
form. The amounts shown in box 12 are generally preceded by a code. A list of the codes used in box 12 is shown
above.
a member of the reserves, you can deduct your unreimbursed travel expenses on your tax return. Include all unreimbursed expenses from the time you leave home until
the time you return home. See How To Report My Reserve-Related Travel Expenses, later, for information on
how to report these expenses on your tax return.
Am I a Member of a Reserve Component?
Adjustments to Income
You are a member of a reserve component of the Armed
Forces if you are in:
Adjusted gross income (AGI) is your total income minus
certain adjustments. The following adjustments are of particular interest to members of the Armed Forces.
• The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast
• Travel Expenses of Armed Forces Reservists.
• Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
• Moving Expenses.
Each of these adjustments is discussed below.
Travel Expenses of Armed Forces
Reservists
Are My Travel Expenses as a Reservist
Deductible?
If you are a member of a reserve component of the Armed
Forces and you travel more than 100 miles away from
home in connection with your performance of services as
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Guard Reserve;
• The Army National Guard of the United States;
• The Air National Guard of the United States; or
• The Ready Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service.
How To Report My Reserve-Related Travel
Expenses
If you have reserve-related travel that takes you more than
100 miles from home, you should first complete Form
2106, Employee Business Expenses.
On Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 12, enter the part of
your expenses, up to the federal rate, included on Form
2106, line 10, that is for reserve-related travel more than
100 miles from your home.
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For more information about this limit, see Per Diem and
Car Allowances in chapter 6 of Pub. 463.
Is My Combat Zone Pay Included in IRA
Calculations?
Example. Captain Harris, a member of the Army Reserve, traveled to a location 220 miles from his home to
perform his work in the Reserves in April 2025. He incurred $1,608 of unreimbursed expenses consisting of $308
for mileage (440 miles × 70 cents a mile), $300 for meals,
and $1,000 for lodging. Only 50% of his meal expenses
are deductible. He shows his total deductible travel expenses of $1,458.00 ($308 + $150 (50% of $300) + $1,000)
on Form 2106, line 10. He enters the $1,458 ($308 + $150
+ $1,000) for travel over 100 miles from home on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 12.
For IRA purposes, your compensation includes nontaxable combat zone pay. Even though you don't have to include the combat zone pay in your gross income, you do
include it in your compensation when figuring the limits on
contributions, and on deductions for contributions, to
IRAs.
Individual Retirement Arrangements
(IRAs)
Is a QRD subject to the 10% additional tax? A QRD,
defined below, isn’t subject to the 10% additional tax on
early distributions from certain retirement plans.
An IRA generally includes a traditional IRA or Roth IRA.
What is a QRD? With reference to an IRA, a section
401(k) plan, or a 403(b) plan, a distribution you receive is
a QRD if the following requirements are met.
Deductibility of Contributions to My IRA
Caution: Deductible IRA contributions. You no longer need to be younger than age 701/2 to take a deduction
for your contributions to an IRA.
Generally, you can deduct the lesser of the contributions to your traditional IRA for the year or the general limit
(or spousal IRA limit, if applicable). However, if you or your
spouse was covered by an employer-maintained retirement plan at any time during the year for which contributions were made, you may not be able to deduct all of the
contributions. The Form W-2 you or your spouse receives
from an employer has a box used to indicate whether you
were covered for the year. The “Retirement plan” box
should have a mark in it if you were covered.
For purposes of a deduction for contributions to a traditional IRA, Armed Forces members (including reservists
on active duty for more than 90 days during the year) are
considered covered by an employer-maintained retirement plan. The "Retirement plan" box on your Form W-2
should have a mark in it. Your deduction for contributions
to a traditional IRA may be subject to a phaseout. See
Limit if Covered by Employer Plan in Pub. 590-A for more
information.
As a military person, do I get additional time to make
a contribution to my IRA? Individuals serving in the
U.S. Armed Forces or in support of the U.S. Armed Forces
in designated combat zones have additional time to make
a contribution to an IRA. For more information on this extension of deadline provision, see Are There Filing, Tax
Payment, and Other Extensions Specifically for Those in a
Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation, later. For more
information on contributions to IRAs, see Pub. 590-A.
Treatment of Distributions (and Repayments
of Distributions) From an IRA or Qualified
Plan to Qualified Reservists
• You were ordered or called to active duty after September 11, 2001.
• You were ordered or called to active duty for a period
of more than 179 days or for an indefinite period because you are a member of a reserve component (see
Am I a Member of a Reserve Component, earlier, under Travel Expenses of Armed Forces Reservists).
• The distribution is from an IRA or from amounts attributable to elective deferrals under a section 401(k) or
403(b) plan or a similar arrangement.
• The distribution was made no earlier than the date of
the order or call to active duty and no later than the
close of the active duty period.
Can I repay amounts distributed from my IRA, my
section 401(k) or 403(b) plan, or a similar arrangement? You may be able to contribute (repay) to an IRA
amounts equal to any QRD (defined earlier) you received.
You can make these repayment contributions even if they
would cause your total contributions to the IRA to be more
than the general limit on contributions. You may make
these repayment contributions to an IRA, even if you received the QRD from a section 401(k) or 403(b) plan or a
similar arrangement.
Is there a limit to the amount I can repay? Your
qualified reservist repayments can’t be more than your
QRD.
Is there a time limit for repaying? You can make
these repayment contributions up to and including the
date that is 2 years after your active duty period ends.
Can I deduct qualified reservist repayments? You
can’t deduct qualified reservist repayments.
Will the repayment affect my IRA deduction? The
repayment of QRD doesn’t affect the amount you can deduct as an IRA contribution.
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How do you report the repayment? If you repay a
QRD, include the amount of the repayment with nondeductible contributions on line 1 of Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs.
Tax Relief for Qualified Disaster
Distributions and Repayments
Special rules provide for tax-favored distributions from and
repayments to certain retirement plans (including IRAs) on
account of economic losses due to disasters declared by
the President. To report the qualified distributions and repayments, use Form 8915-F for disasters that occur after
2019. For more information, see the Instructions for Form
8915-F and Pub. 590-B.
Moving Expenses
You may be able to exclude from income the value of government-provided services and reimbursement. If you
weren't reimbursed, you may be able to deduct expenses
you incurred when you moved. We discuss both below.
• Are Reimbursements, or the Value of Services Provi-
ded by the Government When I Move, Included in My
Income?
• Which Moving Expenses Are Deductible and Which
Aren't.
To deduct moving expenses, you must be a member of
the Armed Forces on active duty and your move must be
due to a military order and the result of a permanent
change of station (defined next).
What constitutes a permanent change of station? A
permanent change of station includes:
• A move from your home to your first post of active
duty,
• A move from one permanent post of duty to another,
and
• A move from your last post of duty to your home or to
a nearer point in the United States. The move must
occur within 1 year of ending your active duty or within
the period allowed under the Joint Travel Regulations.
Are there additional considerations when a spouse
or dependent moves? If you are the spouse or dependent of a member of the Armed Forces who deserts, is imprisoned, or dies while on active duty, a permanent
change of station for you includes a move to:
• The member's place of enlistment or induction;
• Your, or the member's, home of record; or
• A nearer point in the United States.
If the military moves you to or from a different location
than the member, the moves are treated as a single move
to your new main job location.
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Are Reimbursements, or the Value of
Services Provided by the Government When
I Move, Included in My Income?
Don't include in your income the value of moving and storage services provided by the government because of a
permanent change of station. Similarly, don't include in income amounts received as a dislocation allowance, temporary lodging expense, temporary lodging allowance, or
move-in housing allowance.
Generally, if the total reimbursements or allowances
that you receive from the government because of the
move are more than your actual moving expenses, the excess is included in your wages on Form W-2. However, if
any reimbursements or allowances (other than dislocation
allowances, temporary lodging expenses, temporary lodging allowances, or move-in housing allowances) exceed
the cost of moving and the excess isn't included in your
wages on Form W-2, the excess must still be included in
gross income on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1h.
If you must relocate and your spouse and dependents
move to or from a different location, don't include in income reimbursements, allowances, or the value of moving
and storage services provided by the government to move
you and your spouse and dependents to and from the
separate locations.
Which Moving Expenses Are Deductible and
Which Aren't
How much of my moving expenses can I deduct? If
you move because of a permanent change of station, you
can deduct the reasonable unreimbursed expenses of
moving you and members of your household. See How To
Report Moving Expenses, later, for how to report this deduction.
A member of your household is anyone who has both
your former home and your new home as their main home.
It doesn't include a tenant or employee unless you can
claim that person as a dependent on your tax return.
Which moving expenses can I deduct? You can deduct expenses (if not reimbursed or furnished in kind) for:
• Moving household goods and personal effects, and
• Travel.
Moving household goods and personal effects. You
can deduct the expenses of moving your household
goods and personal effects, including expenses for hauling a trailer, packing, crating, in-transit storage, and insurance. You can't deduct expenses for moving furniture or
other goods you bought on the way from your old home to
your new home.
Storing and insuring household goods and personal effects. You can include only the cost of storing
and insuring your household goods and personal effects
within any period of 30 consecutive days after the day
Publication 3 (2025)
these goods and effects are moved from your former
home and before they are delivered to your new home.
Travel. You can deduct the expenses of traveling (including lodging within certain limitations, but not meals) from
your old home to your new home, including car expenses
and airfare. You can deduct as car expenses either:
• Your actual out-of-pocket expenses such as gas and
oil, or
• The standard mileage rate of 21 cents a mile.
You can add parking fees and tolls to the amount
claimed under either method. You can't deduct any expenses for meals. You can't deduct the cost of unnecessary
side trips or lavish and extravagant lodging.
Moving services and allowances provided by the
government. Don’t deduct any expenses for moving
services that were provided by the government. Also,
don’t deduct any expenses that were reimbursed by an allowance you didn’t include in income.
Foreign Moves
A foreign move is a move from the United States or its territories to a foreign country or from one foreign country to
another foreign country. A move from a foreign country to
the United States or its territories isn't a foreign move. For
purposes of determining whether a move is a foreign
move, a U.S. military base is not a territory of the United
States and moving to a U.S. military base located in a foreign country is a foreign move.
For a foreign move, the deductible moving expenses
described earlier are expanded to include the reasonable
expenses of the following.
• Moving your household goods and personal effects to
and from storage.
• Storing these items for part or all of the time the new
job location remains your main job location. The new
job location must be outside the United States.
How To Report Moving Expenses
Figure moving expense deductions on Form 3903. The
Form 3903 instructions provide information on how to figure your deduction for qualified expenses that exceed
your reimbursements and allowances (including dislocation allowances, temporary lodging expenses, temporary
lodging allowances, or move-in housing allowances that
are excluded from gross income).
If you qualify to deduct expenses for more than one
move, use a separate Form 3903 for each move.
Carry the moving expense deduction from Form(s)
3903, line 5, to Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 14. For more
information, see Form 3903 and its instructions.
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Income Exclusions for Armed
Forces Members in Combat
Zones
Gross income doesn’t include compensation you received
for active service in the Armed Forces for any month during any part of which you served in a combat zone or
qualified hazardous duty area. The exclusion available to
you as a member of the Armed Forces may depend on
your rank.
Enlisted members, warrant officers, and commissioned warrant officers. If you are an enlisted member,
warrant officer, or commissioned warrant officer, you can
exclude the following amounts from your income.
• Active duty pay earned in any month you served in a
combat zone. See Combat Zone Exclusion, later.
• Imminent danger/hostile fire pay. See Serving in a
Combat Zone, later.
• A reenlistment bonus if the voluntary extension or reenlistment occurs in a month you served in a combat
zone.
• Pay for accrued leave earned in any month you served
in a combat zone. The DoD must determine that the
unused leave was earned during that period.
• Pay received for duties as a member of the Armed
Forces in clubs, messes, post and station theaters,
and other nonappropriated fund activities. The pay
must be earned in a month you served in a combat
zone.
• Awards for suggestions, inventions, or scientific ach-
ievements you are entitled to because of a submission
you made in a month you served in a combat zone.
• Student loan repayments (except for repayments un-
der the Active Duty Health Professions Student Loan
Repayment Program (ADHPLRP)). If the entire year of
service required to earn the repayment was performed
in a combat zone, the entire repayment made because
of that year of service is excluded. If only part of that
year of service was performed in a combat zone, only
part of the repayment qualifies for exclusion. For example, if you served in a combat zone for 5 months,
5/12 of your repayment qualifies for exclusion.
• ADHPLRP. If the service member is serving in a com-
bat zone when they meet the eligibility requirements of
the loan repayment program, the entirety of the student loan repayment is excluded. If they are not serving in a combat zone when they become eligible under
the program, the exclusion will not apply to any portion
of the loan repayment.
Commissioned officers (other than commissioned
warrant officers). If you are a commissioned officer
(other than a commissioned warrant officer), you may exclude part of your combat zone pay. There is a limit to the
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amount of combat zone pay you can exclude. See Commissioned officers (other than commissioned warrant officers) under How Much of My Combat Zone Pay Can I Exclude, later.
Combat Zone Exclusion
Tip: Combat zone exclusion and combat zone pay are
also known as combat zone tax exclusion and combat
zone compensation, respectively.
How Much of My Combat Zone Pay
Can I Exclude?
Enlisted member, warrant officer, or commissioned
warrant officer. If you are an enlisted member, warrant
officer, or commissioned warrant officer, none of your
combat zone pay is included in your income for tax purposes.
Commissioned officers (other than commissioned
warrant officers). If you are a commissioned officer
(other than a commissioned warrant officer), there is a
limit to the amount of combat zone pay you can exclude.
The amount of your exclusion is limited to the highest rate
of enlisted pay (plus imminent danger/hostile fire pay you
received) for each month during any part of which you
served in a combat zone or were hospitalized as a result
of your service there. For 2025, the applicable amount is
$10,983 per month (that is, $10,758 for the highest enlisted pay + $225 for imminent danger pay).
Earned income election. Though your combat zone pay
is excluded from income, you can elect to include it in income in figuring your EIC. See Can I treat my nontaxable
combat zone pay as earned income? under Earned Income Credit, later.
How Do I Report the Combat Zone
Exclusion?
Ordinarily, you don't have to do anything for this exclusion
to apply. The exclusion will be reflected on your Form W-2.
The wages shown in box 1 of your 2025 Form W-2
shouldn't include military pay excluded from your income
under the combat zone exclusion provisions. If it does, you
will need to get a corrected Form W-2 from your finance
office. You can't exclude as combat zone pay any wages
shown in box 1 of Form W-2.
What Is Combat Zone Pay?
Tip: Combat zone compensation is also known as
combat zone pay.
Combat zone pay is pay received by a member of the
U.S. Armed Forces who serves in:
1. A combat zone as designated by the President in an
Executive order (see Combat Zone Defined, later);
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2. A qualified hazardous duty area designated by Congress while receiving hostile fire pay or imminent danger pay in accordance with 37 U.S.C. 351 (see Serving in a Combat Zone, later); or
3. An area outside the combat zone or qualified hazardous duty area when the DoD certifies that such service is in direct support of military operations in a combat zone or qualified hazardous duty area, and the
member receives hostile fire pay or imminent danger
pay (see Serving outside combat zone considered
serving in a combat zone, later).
The month for which you receive the pay must be a
month in which you either:
• Served in a combat zone; or
• Were hospitalized as a result of wounds, disease, or
injury incurred while serving in the combat zone.
You don't have to receive the excluded pay while you are
in a combat zone, are hospitalized, or in the same year
you served in a combat zone.
Partial month service is treated as full month of
service. If you serve in a combat zone for any part of 1 or
more days during a particular month, you are entitled to a
combat zone exclusion for that entire month.
Are my retirement pay and pensions treated as combat zone pay? Retirement pay and pensions don't qualify for the combat zone exclusion.
Tip: Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
is a benefit awarded to certain retired veterans with combat-related disabilities. CRSC is excluded from income.
Combat Zone Defined
A combat zone is any area the President of the United
States designates by Executive order as an area in which
the U.S. Armed Forces are engaging or have engaged in
combat. An area usually becomes a combat zone and
ceases to be a combat zone on the dates the President
designates by Executive order. To date, the Afghanistan
area, the Kosovo area, and the Arabian Peninsula have
been designated as combat zones. Combat zone tax benefits have been designated by Congress for the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt under certain circumstances. Though the
former Yugoslavia is no longer treated as a combat zone,
certain benefits may still be available to those who served
in that area at that time. Each of the combat zones, the Sinai Peninsula, and the former Yugoslavia area are discussed below.
Serving outside combat zone considered serving
in a combat zone. Military service outside a combat
zone is considered to be performed in a combat zone if:
• The DoD designates that the service is in direct support of military operations in the combat zone, and
• The service qualifies you for special military pay for
duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger under
37 U.S.C. 351.
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Military pay received for this service will qualify for the
combat zone exclusion if all of the requirements discussed
under Service Eligible for Combat Zone Exclusion, later,
other than service in a combat zone, are met and if the
pay is verifiable by reference to military pay records.
The Afghanistan area. By Executive Order No. 13239,
Afghanistan (and the airspace above) was designated as
a combat zone beginning September 19, 2001.
The following countries were certified by the DoD for
combat zone tax benefits due to their direct support of
military operations in the Afghanistan combat zone.
• Jordan and Pakistan (as of September 19, 2001).
• Djibouti (as of July 1, 2002).
• Yemen (as of April 10, 2002).
• Somalia and Syria (as of January 1, 2004).
Note: For the Philippines only, the personnel must have
deployed in conjunction with Operation Enduring Freedom
or Operation Freedom’s Sentinel supporting military operations in the Afghanistan combat zone.
The Kosovo area. By Executive Order No. 13119 (EO
13119), the following locations (including the airspace
above) were designated as a combat zone beginning
March 24, 1999.
• Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro).
• Albania.
• Kosovo.
• The Adriatic Sea.
• The Ionian Sea—north of the 39th parallel.
Note: The combat zone designation for Montenegro and
Kosovo (previously a province within Serbia) under EO
13119 remains in force even though Montenegro and Kosovo have become independent nations since EO 13119
was signed.
The Arabian Peninsula. By Executive Order No. 12744,
the following locations (and the airspace above) were designated as a combat zone beginning January 17, 1991.
• The Persian Gulf.
• The Red Sea.
• The Gulf of Oman.
• The part of the Arabian Sea that is north of 10 degrees
north latitude and west of 68 degrees east longitude.
• The Gulf of Aden.
• The total land areas of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The following countries were certified by the DoD for
combat zone tax benefits due to their direct support of
military operations in the Arabian Peninsula combat zone.
• Israel (as of March 16, 2023). The land area of Israel
includes Jerusalem and the Golan Heights and excludes the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• The land area or adjacent littoral waters of the Coop-
erative Security Location of Manda Bay, Kenya (as of
September 26, 2023).
Sinai Peninsula. Section 11026 of Public Law 115-97
designates the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt as a qualified
hazardous duty area that is treated as if it were a combat
zone. This designation generally applies for the period beginning June 10, 2015. For more information about
amending prior-year returns to take advantage of the benefits associated with this designation, see the Instructions
for Form 1040-X.
The former Yugoslavia area. Section 1 of Public Law
104-117 designated the following locations as qualified
hazardous duty areas that were treated as if they were
combat zones.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Croatia.
• Macedonia.
That designation generally applied beginning November
21, 1995, and ending November 1, 2007, allowing, for example, members of the Armed Forces who die by reason
of wounds that were incurred in that area and during that
period to qualify for special tax treatment upon their
deaths.
Service Eligible for Combat Zone
Exclusion
As noted earlier, pay eligible for the combat zone exclusion must have been received for a month in which you either served in a combat zone or were hospitalized as a result of wounds, disease, or injury incurred while serving in
the combat zone. We discuss these below. Also see Serving outside combat zone considered serving in a combat
zone, earlier, under Combat Zone Defined.
Serving in a Combat Zone
You are considered to be serving in a combat zone if you
are either assigned on official temporary duty to a combat
zone or you qualify for hostile fire/imminent danger pay
while in a combat zone.
Service in a combat zone includes any periods you are
absent from duty because of sickness, wounds, or leave.
If, as a result of serving in a combat zone, a person becomes a prisoner of war or is missing in action, that person is considered to be serving in the combat zone so
long as they keep that status for military pay purposes.
• Jordan (as of March 19, 2003).
• Lebanon (as of February 12, 2015).
• Turkey east of 33.51 degrees east longitude (as of
September 19, 2016).
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Hospitalization as a Result of Wounds,
Disease, or Injury Incurred While Serving in
a Combat Zone
Hospitalized while serving in a combat zone. If you
are hospitalized while serving in a combat zone, the
wound, disease, or injury causing the hospitalization will
be presumed to have been incurred while serving in the
combat zone unless there is clear evidence to the contrary.
Example. You are hospitalized for a specific disease in
a combat zone where you have been serving for 3 weeks,
and the disease for which you are hospitalized has an incubation period of 2 to 4 weeks. The disease is presumed
to have been incurred while you were serving in the combat zone. On the other hand, if the incubation period of the
disease is 1 year, the disease wouldn't have been incurred
while you were serving in the combat zone.
Hospitalized after leaving a combat zone. In some cases, the wound, disease, or injury may have been incurred
while you were serving in the combat zone, even though
you weren't hospitalized until after you left. In that case,
you can exclude military pay earned while you are hospitalized as a result of the wound, disease, or injury.
Example. You were hospitalized for a specific disease
3 weeks after you departed the combat zone. The incubation period of the disease is 2 to 4 weeks. The disease is
presumed to have been incurred while serving in the combat zone.
Time limit on combat zone exclusion for pay received
while hospitalized. If you are hospitalized, you can't exclude any military pay received for any month of service
that begins more than 2 years after the end of combat activities in the combat zone. This pay won't be combat zone
pay.
Nonqualifying Presence in a Combat
Zone
None of the following types of military service qualify as
service in a combat zone.
• Presence in a combat zone while on leave from a duty
station located outside the combat zone.
• Passage over or through a combat zone during a trip
between two points that are outside a combat zone.
• Presence in a combat zone solely for your personal
convenience.
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Gain or Loss From Sale of
Home
You may not have to pay tax on all or part of the gain from
the sale of your main home. Usually, your main home is
the one you live in most of the time. It can be a:
• House,
• Houseboat,
• Mobile home,
• Cooperative apartment, or
• Condominium.
How much can you exclude? You can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000, in most cases, if
married filing a joint return) realized on the sale or exchange of a main home in 2025. The exclusion is allowed
each time you sell or exchange a main home, but generally not more than once every 2 years.
What must you do to be eligible for the exclusion?
You will be eligible for the exclusion if, during the 5-year
period ending on the date of the sale, you:
• Owned the home for at least 2 years (the ownership
test), and
• Lived in the home as your main home for at least 2
years (the use test).
It doesn’t have to be a single block of time.
What happens if I don't meet the ownership and use
tests? If you don't meet the ownership and use tests due
to a move to a new permanent duty station, you can exclude gain, but the maximum amount of gain you can exclude will be reduced. See Pub. 523 for more details.
Five-year test period can be suspended for members
of the Armed Forces. You can choose to have the
5-year test period for ownership and use suspended during any period you or your spouse serves on qualified official extended duty as a member of the Armed Forces.
This means that you may be able to meet the 2-year use
test even if, because of your service, you didn't actually
live in your home for the required 2 years during the 5-year
period ending on the date of sale.
Example. David bought and moved into a home in
2017. He lived in it as his main home for 21/2 years. For the
next 6 years, he didn't live in it because he was on qualified official extended duty with the Army. He then sold the
home at a gain in 2025. To meet the use test, David chooses to suspend the 5-year test period for the 6 years he
was on qualifying official extended duty. This means he
can disregard those 6 years. Therefore, David's 5-year
test period consists of the 5 years before he went on qualifying official extended duty. He meets the ownership and
use tests because he owned and lived in the home for 21/2
years during this test period.
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Limits on period of suspension. The period of suspension can't last more than 10 years. You can't suspend
the 5-year period for more than one property at a time. You
can revoke your choice to suspend the 5-year period at
any time.
Qualified official extended duty. You are on qualified
official extended duty if you serve on extended duty either:
• At a duty station at least 50 miles from your main
home, or
• While you live in government quarters under government orders.
You are on extended duty when you are called or ordered to active duty for a period of more than 90 days or
for an indefinite period.
What if the property was used for rental or business?
You may still qualify for a reduced exclusion of the gain
from the sale of a home that you have used as a rental
property or for business. However, you must meet the
ownership and use tests discussed in Pub. 523.
What if there were periods when I didn't use the
property as my main home and wasn’t on qualified
official extended duty? If the sale of your main home results in a gain that is allocated to one or more periods of
nonqualified use, you can't exclude that gain from your income.
Nonqualified use means any period after 2008 when
neither you nor your spouse (or your former spouse) used
the property as a main home, with certain exceptions. For
example, a period of nonqualified use doesn't include any
period (not to exceed a total of 10 years) during which you
or your spouse is serving on qualified official extended
duty, discussed above. You will be able to exclude the
gain attributable to the period during which you or your
spouse served on qualified official extended duty.
Are my losses deductible? You can't deduct a loss from
the sale of your main home.
More information. For more information, see Pub. 523.
Foreclosures
There may be tax consequences as a result of compensation payments for foreclosures.
Payments made for violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). All servicemembers who
received a settlement payment reported on a Form 1099
may need to report the amount on their tax return as income. However, the tax treatment of settlement payments
will depend on the facts and circumstances as illustrated
below.
Lump-sum portion of settlement payment. Generally, you must include the lump-sum payment in gross income. In limited circumstances, you may be able to exclude part or all of the lump-sum payment from gross
income. For example, you may qualify to exclude part or
Publication 3 (2025)
all of the payment from gross income if you can show that
the payment was made to reimburse specific nondeductible expenses (such as living expenses) you incurred because of the SCRA violation.
Interest payment on lump-sum portion of settlement payment. You must include any interest on the
lump-sum portion of your settlement payment in your income.
Lost equity portion of settlement payment. If you
lost your main home in foreclosure, you should treat the
lost equity payment as an additional amount you received
on the foreclosure of the home. You will have a gain on the
foreclosure only if the sum of the lost equity payment and
the value of the main home at foreclosure is more than
what you paid for the home. In many cases, this gain may
be excluded from income. For more information on the
rules for excluding all or part of any gain from the sale (including a foreclosure) of a main home, see Pub. 523.
The rules that apply to a lost equity payment you
received for the foreclosure of a property that wasn't
your main home are different. To find rules for reporting
gain or loss on the foreclosure of property that wasn't your
main home, see Pub. 544, Sales and Other Dispositions
of Assets.
Interest payment on lost equity portion of settlement payment. You must include any interest on the lost
equity portion of your settlement payment in your income.
Itemized Deductions
You can no longer claim any miscellaneous itemized deductions, including the deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses. Miscellaneous itemized deductions are those deductions that would have been
subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limitation.
If you are an Armed Forces reservist, you may be able
to deduct unreimbursed employee business expenses as
an adjustment to income. See Travel Expenses of Armed
Forces Reservists, earlier. These deductions aren’t available for active duty service members.
Repayments to Your Employer
If you had to repay to your employer an amount that you
included in your income in an earlier year, you may be
able to deduct the repaid amount from your income for the
year in which you repaid it. Where you report the repayment on your tax return will depend on the amount of the
repayment. See Repayments in Pub. 525.
Credits
After you have figured your taxable income and tax liability, you can determine if you are entitled to any tax credits.
This section discusses the child tax credit, additional child
tax credit, credit for other dependents, earned income
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credit, and credit for excess social security tax withheld.
For information on other credits, see your tax form instructions.
4. Lived with you for more than half of 2025 (but see Are
there exceptions to the time lived with you requirement, later).
Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other
Dependents, and Additional Child Tax
Credit
5. Is claimed as a dependent on your return.
6. Doesn't file a joint return for the year (or files it only to
claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax
paid).
The child tax credit (CTC) is a credit that may reduce your
tax by as much as $2,200 for each of your qualifying children. See How Much Can I Claim as a CTC, later.
7. Was a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or a U.S. resident
alien. If the child was adopted, see Adopted child,
later.
The additional child tax credit (ACTC) is a credit you
may be able to take if you aren't able to claim the full
amount of the CTC. The ACTC is discussed later.
Are there exceptions to the time lived with you requirement? Temporary absences by you or the other
person for special circumstances, such as school, vacation, business, medical care, military service, or detention
in a juvenile facility, count as time the person lived with
you.
If the person meets all other requirements to be your
qualifying child but was born or died in 2025, the person is
considered to have lived with you for more than half of
2025 if your home was this person's home for more than
half the time they were alive in 2025.
Any other person is considered to have lived with you
for all of 2025 if the person was born or died in 2025 and
your home was this person's home for the entire time they
were alive in 2025.
There are also exceptions for kidnapped children, children lawfully placed with you for legal adoption by you in
2025, eligible foster children placed with you in 2025, and
children of divorced or separated parents. For details, see
Pub. 501.
The credit for other dependents (ODC) is a credit that
may reduce your tax by as much as $500 for each of your
qualifying children or other dependents who can’t be
claimed for the CTC. The amount you may claim for your
CTC is calculated together with the amount you may claim
for your ODC on the Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other
Dependents Worksheet in the instructions for your tax return. These credits are reported on the same line of your
return. The ODC is discussed later.
Caution: The ACTC is a credit you may be able to take
if you aren't able to claim the full amount of the CTC. The
CTC isn't the same as the credit for child and dependent
care expenses. See Pub. 503 for information on the credit
for child and dependent care expenses.
Tip: Refunds for returns claiming the ACTC can't be issued before mid-February 2026. This delay applies to the
entire refund, not just the portion associated with the
ACTC. This delay does not apply if the return claims the
CTC unless the return also claims the EIC.
Can I claim the CTC if I don't have a social security
number (SSN) or an individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN)? If you or your spouse (if filing jointly)
doesn’t have an SSN or ITIN issued on or before the due
date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you can't
claim the CTC on either your original or an amended 2025
return, even if you later get an SSN. If an ITIN is applied
for on or before the due date of a 2025 return (including
extensions) and the IRS issues an ITIN as a result of the
application, the IRS will consider the ITIN as issued on or
before the due date of the return.
What if my child is the qualifying child of more than
one person? A special rule applies if your qualifying
child is the qualifying child of more than one person as
only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying
child. For details, see Pub. 501.
Adopted child. Your adopted child is always treated as
your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully
placed with you for legal adoption. If you are a U.S. citizen
or U.S. national and your adopted child lived with you as a
member of your household all year, that child meets condition 7.
How Much Can I Claim as a CTC?
2. Was under age 17 at the end of 2025.
The maximum amount you can claim for the credit is
$2,200 for each qualifying child under age 17 at the end of
2025, who has an SSN that is valid for employment and issued before the due date of your 2025 return (including
extensions). If your child was issued an SSN that wasn't
valid for employment and became eligible for a card without the legend “Not valid for employment” by the due date
of your return (including extensions), you may claim the
CTC on an original or amended return for that tax year
even if your child’s card wasn't updated by the due date of
your return.
3. Didn't provide over half of the child’s own support for
2025.
Modified AGI. For purposes of the CTC and ACTC,
your modified AGI is the amount on Form 1040 or
Is My Child a Qualifying Child?
Your child is a qualifying child for purposes of the CTC if
your child meets all seven of the following conditions.
1. Is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother,
sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your
grandchild, niece, or nephew).
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1040-SR, line 11a, plus the following amounts that may
apply to you.
• Any amount excluded from income because of the exclusion of income from Puerto Rico.
• Any amount on line 45 and line 50 of Form 2555.
• Any amount on line 15 of Form 4563, Exclusion of Income for Bona Fide Residents of American Samoa.
If you don't have any of the above, your modified AGI is
the same as your AGI.
Claiming the Credit
To claim the CTC and/or ACTC, you must file Form 1040,
1040-SR, or 1040-NR. For each qualifying child, you must
check the “Child tax credit” box on line 7 of the Dependents section on page 1 of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR and complete Schedule 8812 (Form 1040). If
you meet the residency requirements to claim the ACTC,
you will claim the ACTC on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR, line 28. Otherwise, you will claim the CTC on
Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 19. For more information on these credits, see the Instructions for Form
1040 or the Instructions for Form 1040-NR, and the Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040).
Form 8862, who must file. You must file Form 8862 to
claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC if your ACTC or ODC for a
year after 2015 was denied or reduced for any reason
other than a math or clerical error. Attach a completed
Form 8862 to your 2025 return unless an exception applies. See Form 8862, Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance, and its instructions for more information, including whether an exception applies.
Caution: If you take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC even
though you aren't eligible and it is determined that your error is due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules
for these credits, you won't be allowed to take the CTC,
ACTC, or ODC for 2 years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you fraudulently take the CTC, ACTC, or
ODC, you won't be allowed to take the CTC, ACTC, or
ODC for 10 years. See the Instructions for Form 8862 for
more information. You may also have to pay penalties.
ODC
This credit is a nonrefundable credit of up to $500 for each
eligible dependent who can't be claimed for the CTC or
ACTC. The CTC, ACTC, and ODC are figured using
Schedule 8812 (Form 1040).
To claim the credit, you must file Form 1040, 1040-SR,
or 1040-NR. For each qualifying child, you must check the
“Credit for other dependents” box on line 7 of the Dependents section on page 1 of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR. For more information on the ODC, see the Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040).
Form 8862, who must file. You must file Form 8862 to
claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC if your CTC, ACTC, or ODC
for a year after 2015 was denied or reduced for any reaPublication 3 (2025)
son other than a math or clerical error. Attach a completed
Form 8862 to your 2025 return to claim the CTC, ACTC, or
ODC unless an exception applies. See Form 8862 and its
instructions for more information, including whether an exception applies.
Caution: If you take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC even
though you aren't eligible and it is determined that your error is due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules
for these credits, you won't be allowed to take the ODC for
2 years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you
fraudulently take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC, you won't be allowed to take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC for 10 years. See
the Instructions for Form 8862 for more information. You
may also have to pay penalties.
ACTC
What is the ACTC? This credit is for certain individuals
who get less than the full amount of the CTC.
Tip: The ODC can’t be used to figure the ACTC. Only
your CTC can be used to figure your ACTC. If you are
claiming the ODC but not the CTC, you can’t claim the
ACTC.
Tip: Refunds for returns claiming the ACTC can’t be issued before mid-February 2026. This delay applies to the
entire refund, not just the portion associated with the
ACTC. This delay does not apply if the return claims the
CTC unless the return also claims the EIC.
Form 8862, who must file. You must file Form 8862 to
claim the ACTC if your CTC, ACTC, or ODC for a year after
2015 was denied or reduced for any reason other than a
math or clerical error. Attach a completed Form 8862 to
your 2025 return unless an exception applies. See Form
8862 and its instructions for more information, including
whether an exception applies.
Caution: If you take the CTC, ACTC, or ODC even
though you aren't eligible and it is determined that your error is due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules
for these credits, you won't be allowed to take the CTC,
ACTC, or ODC for 2 years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you fraudulently take the CTC, ACTC, or
ODC, you won't be allowed to take the CTC, ACTC, or
ODC for 10 years. See the Instructions for Form 8862 for
more information. You may also have to pay penalties.
Earned Income Credit (EIC)
The EIC is a credit for certain persons who work. The
credit may give you a refund even if you don't owe any tax
or didn't have any tax withheld.
You must satisfy certain criteria in order to claim the
EIC. The criteria you must meet depends on whether you
have a qualifying child. Detailed information is provided
under Claiming the EIC if I Have a Qualifying Child and
Claiming the EIC if I Don't Have a Qualifying Child, later.
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Form 8862, who must file. You must file Form 8862 to
claim the EIC if your EIC for a year after 1996 was denied
or reduced for any reason other than a math or clerical error. Attach a completed Form 8862 to your 2025 return.
Don't file Form 8862 if you filed Form 8862 for a tax year
after the denial or reduction if the EIC was allowed for that
year or if the 10-year period and/or 2-year period in the
Caution below is over. See Form 8862 and its instructions
for details.
Caution: If you take the EIC even though you aren't eligible and it is determined that your error is due to reckless
or intentional disregard of the EIC rules, you won't be allowed to take the credit for 2 years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you fraudulently take the EIC, you
won't be allowed to take the credit for 10 years. You may
also have to pay penalties. See Form 8862 and its instructions for details.
Tip: Refunds for returns claiming the EIC can't be issued before mid-February 2026. This delay applies to the
entire refund, not just the portion associated with the EIC.
Can I claim the EIC if I don't have an SSN? If you don't
have an SSN by the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you can't claim the EIC on either your
original or an amended 2025 return, even if you later get
an SSN.
Claiming the EIC if I Have a Qualifying Child
Caution: If you are claiming the EIC with a qualifying
child, you should follow the eligibility rules that apply to
filers with a qualifying child or children when determining
whether you are eligible to claim the EIC even if your qualifying child hasn't been issued a valid SSN on or before
the due date of your return (including extensions). However, when calculating the amount of EIC that you are eligible to claim on your return, you should follow the rules
that apply to taxpayers who do not have a qualifying child.
If you have a qualifying child (defined later), you must
satisfy all nine of the following rules to claim the EIC.
5. Your qualifying child can't be used by more than one
person to claim the credit. If your qualifying child is the
qualifying child of more than one person, you must be
the person who can treat the child as a qualifying
child. See the Caution below. If the other person can
claim the child as a qualifying child, you may be able
to claim the EIC under the rules for a taxpayer without
a qualifying child. For details, see Rule 9 in Pub. 596.
6. You can't file Form 2555 to exclude income earned in
foreign countries, or to deduct or exclude a foreign
housing amount. See Pub. 54 for more information
about this form.
7. You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year
unless:
a. You are married to a U.S. citizen or a resident
alien,
b. Your filing status is married filing jointly, and
c. You choose to be treated as a resident alien for
the entire year. If you need more information about
making this choice, see Resident Aliens, later.
8. Certain investment income must be $11,950 or less
during the year. For most people, this investment income is taxable interest and dividends, tax-exempt interest, and capital gain net income. See Worksheet 1
in Pub. 596 for more information on the investment income includible in the amount that must meet the
$11,950 limit.
9. You must have a valid SSN for yourself, your spouse
(if filing a joint return), and any qualifying child.
Caution: If you and someone else have the same
qualifying child but the other person can't claim the EIC
because they aren’t eligible or their income or AGI is too
high, you may be able to treat the child as a qualifying
child. But you can't treat the child as a qualifying child to
claim the EIC if the other person uses the child to claim
any of the tax benefits listed below.
1. The CTC, ACTC, and ODC.
1. You must have earned income (defined later).
2. Head of household filing status.
2. Your earned income and AGI must each be less than:
3. The credit for child and dependent care expenses.
a. $61,555 ($68,675 for married filing jointly) if you
have three or more qualifying children,
b. $57,310 ($64,430 for married filing jointly) if you
have two qualifying children, or
c. $50,434 ($57,554 for married filing jointly) if you
have one qualifying child.
3. If you are married, you must file a joint return to claim
the EIC or satisfy certain requirements to be considered unmarried for EIC purposes.
4. You generally can't be a qualifying child of another
person. If filing a joint return, your spouse also can't
be a qualifying child of another person.
4. The exclusion for dependent care benefits.
How to report. If you satisfy all these rules, fill out
Schedule EIC (Form 1040), Earned Income Credit, and attach it to Form 1040 or 1040-SR. You will claim the EIC on
Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 27.
Qualifying child. Your child is a qualifying child if your
child passes four tests and has an SSN, as required under
SSN of child, later. The four tests are:
1. Relationship,
2. Age,
3. Residency, and
4. Joint return.
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Each test, and the SSN requirement, are discussed below.
Relationship test. In order to be classified as a qualifying child, your child must pass the relationship test. Your
child passes this test if the child is your:
• Son, daughter, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild); or
• Brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or
stepsister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your niece or nephew).
An adopted child is always treated as your own child.
The term “adopted child” includes a child who was lawfully
placed with you for legal adoption.
Your foster child, for the relationship test, is a child
placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by
judgment, decree, or other order of any court of competent jurisdiction. An authorized placement agency includes
a state or local government agency. It also includes a
tax-exempt organization licensed by a state. In addition, it
includes an Indian tribal government or an organization
authorized by an Indian tribal government to place Indian
children.
Age test. In order to be classified as a qualifying child,
your child must pass the age test. A child passes the age
test if they are in at least one of the following categories.
1. Category 1. Under age 19 at the end of 2025 and
younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly).
2. Category 2. Under age 24 at the end of 2025, a student (defined below), and younger than you (or your
spouse, if filing jointly).
3. Category 3. Permanently and totally disabled (defined later) at any time during 2025, regardless of age.
Student defined. To qualify as a student, your child
must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar
months of 2025:
1. A full-time student at a school that has a regular
teaching staff, course of study, and regular student
body at the school; or
2. A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course
given by a school described in (1), or a state, county,
or local government.
The 5 calendar months need not be consecutive.
A school can be an elementary school, junior or senior
high school, college, university, or technical, trade, or mechanical school. However, on-the-job training courses,
correspondence schools, and schools offering courses
only through the Internet don't count as schools for the
EIC.
Students who work in co-op jobs in private industry as
a part of a school's regular course of classroom and practical training are considered full-time students.
Permanently and totally disabled. Your child is permanently and totally disabled if, at any time in 2025, both
of the following apply.
1. Your child couldn't engage in any substantial gainful
activity because of a physical or mental condition.
2. A doctor determined the condition has lasted or can
be expected to last continuously for at least a year or
can lead to death.
Residency test. In order to be classified as a qualifying child, your child must pass the residency test. A child
passes the residency test if they have lived with you in the
United States for more than half of 2025.
The IRS may ask you for documents to show you lived
with each qualifying child. Documents you might want to
keep for this purpose include school and childcare records
and other records that show your child's address.
Caution: You can't take the credit for a child who didn't
live with you for more than half the year even if you paid
most of the child's living expenses. But see below for allowable absences.
The United States includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It doesn't include U.S. territories such as
Guam or Puerto Rico.
U.S. Armed Forces personnel stationed outside the
United States on extended active duty are considered to
live in the United States during that duty period for purposes of the EIC. Extended active duty means you are called
or ordered to active duty for an indefinite period or for a
period of more than 90 days. Once you begin serving your
extended active duty, you are still considered to have been
on extended active duty even if you don't serve more than
90 days.
A child who was born or died in 2025 is treated as having lived with you for more than half of 2025 if your home
was the child's home for more than half of the time they
were alive in 2025.
Count time that you or your child is away from home on
a temporary absence due to a special circumstance as
time the child lived with you. Examples of a special circumstance include illness, school attendance, business,
vacation, military service, and detention in a juvenile facility.
A child adopted in 2025 who was lawfully placed with
you for legal adoption by you in 2025, or the child was an
eligible foster child placed with you during 2025, is considered to have lived with you for more than half of 2025 if
your main home was this child's main home for more than
half the time they were adopted or placed with you in
2025.
A kidnapped child is treated as living with you for more
than half of the year if the child lived with you for more
than half the part of the year before the date of the kidnapping or following the date of the child's return. The child
must be presumed by law enforcement authorities to have
been kidnapped by someone who isn't a member of your
family or your child's family. This treatment applies for all
years until the child is returned. However, the last year this
treatment can apply is the earlier of:
1. The year there is a determination that the child is
dead, or
2. The year the child would have reached age 18.
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If your qualifying child has been kidnapped and meets
these requirements, enter “KC,” instead of a number, on
line 6 of Schedule EIC.
Joint return test. In order to be classified as a qualifying child, your child must satisfy the joint return test.
There are two parts to this test.
First, the child can't file a joint return for the year (unless
the joint return is filed only as a claim for refund of income
tax withheld or estimated tax paid).
Second, even if your child doesn't file a joint return, if
your child was married at the end of the year, they can't be
your qualifying child unless:
1. You can claim the child as a dependent, or
2. The reason you can't claim the child as a dependent
is that you let the child's other parent claim the child
as a dependent under the special rule for divorced or
separated parents (or parents who live apart) described in Pub. 596 and the Instructions for Form 1040.
SSN of child. In order to be classified as a qualifying
child, your child must have a valid SSN unless the child
was born and died in 2025. If a child didn't have an SSN
on or before the due date of your return (including extensions), you can't count that child as a qualifying child in
figuring the EIC on either your original or an amended
2025 return, even if that child later gets an SSN. You can't
claim a higher EIC credit amount on the basis of a qualifying child if:
1. Your qualifying child's SSN is missing from your tax
return or is incorrect;
2. Your qualifying child's social security card says “Not
valid for employment” and was issued for use in getting a federally funded benefit; or
3. Instead of an SSN, your qualifying child has:
a. An ITIN which is issued to a noncitizen who can't
get an SSN; or
b. An adoption taxpayer identification number
(ATIN), which is issued to adopting parents who
can't get an SSN for the child being adopted until
the adoption is final.
If you have more than one qualifying child and only one
has a valid SSN, you can claim a higher EIC credit amount
only for that one child.
More information. For more information on the EIC, see
Pub. 596.
Claiming the EIC if I Don't Have a Qualifying
Child
If you don't have a qualifying child, you can take the credit
if you satisfy all 11 of the following rules.
1. You must have earned income (defined later).
2. Your earned income and AGI must each be less than
$19,104 ($26,214 for married filing jointly).
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3. If you are married, see Special rule for separated
spouses in Pub. 596 for more details.
4. You can't be a qualifying child of another person. You
automatically meet this requirement if you are claiming the EIC on a joint return.
5. You must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at the
end of 2025. If you are married filing a joint return, either you or your spouse must be at least age 25 but
under age 65 at the end of 2025. It doesn't matter
which spouse meets the age test, as long as one of
the spouses does. See Pub. 596 for more details.
You meet the age test if you were born after December 31, 1960, and before January 2, 2001. If you
are married filing a joint return, you meet the age test
if either you or your spouse was born after December
31, 1960, and before January 2, 2001.
If neither you nor your spouse meets the ages test,
you can't claim the EIC. Enter “No” on the dotted line
next to line 27a (Form 1040 or 1040-SR).
6. You can't be claimed as a dependent by anyone else
on that person's return. You automatically meet this
requirement if you are claiming the EIC on a joint return.
7. Your main home (and your spouse's, if filing a joint return) must be in the United States for more than half
the year. Your home can be any location where you
regularly live. You don't need a traditional home. (U.S.
military personnel stationed outside the United States
on extended active duty, discussed earlier, are considered to be living in the United States.)
8. You can't file Form 2555.
9. You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year
unless:
a. You are married to a U.S. citizen or a resident
alien,
b. Your filing status is married filing jointly, and
c. You choose to be treated as a resident alien for
the entire year.
10. Certain investment income must be $11,950 or less
during the year. For most people, this investment income is taxable interest and dividends, tax-exempt interest, and capital gain net income. See Worksheet 1
in Pub. 596 for more information on the investment income includible in the amount that must meet the
$11,950 limit.
11. You (and your spouse, if filing a joint return) must have
a valid SSN.
How to report. If you satisfy all 11 of these rules, fill out
Worksheet A or B (whichever applies) for line 27a in your
tax form instructions to figure the amount of your credit.
More information. For more information, see Pub. 596.
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How Do I Figure My Earned Income?
When figuring your earned income for the EIC, you must
know what counts as earned income as well as what
doesn't count as earned income. Both categories of income are described below.
What is included in my earned income for the EIC?
For purposes of the EIC, earned income generally includes the following.
• Wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee pay.
• Net earnings from self-employment.
• Gross income received as a statutory employee.
• Nontaxable combat zone pay if you elect to include it
in earned income. See Can I treat my nontaxable combat zone pay as earned income? next.
Can I treat my nontaxable combat zone pay as
earned income? You can elect to include your nontaxable combat zone pay in earned income for the EIC. If you
make the election, you must include in earned income all
nontaxable combat zone pay you received. If you are filing
a joint return and both you and your spouse received nontaxable combat zone pay, you can each make your own
election. In other words, if one of you makes the election,
the other one can also make it but doesn't have to.
The amount of your nontaxable combat zone pay
should be shown on your Form W-2 in box 12 with code
Q. Electing to include nontaxable combat zone pay in
earned income may increase or decrease your EIC.
Figure the credit with and without your nontaxable combat zone pay before making the election. Whether the
election increases or decreases your EIC depends on
your total earned income, filing status, and number of
qualifying children. If your earned income without your
combat zone pay is less than the amount shown below for
your number of children, you may benefit from electing to
include your nontaxable combat zone pay in earned income and you should figure the credit both ways. If your
earned income without your combat zone pay is equal to
or more than these amounts, you won't benefit from including your combat zone pay in your earned income.
When they complete Worksheet A without adding the
nontaxable combat zone pay to their earned income, they
find their credit to be $2,389. When they complete Worksheet A with the nontaxable combat zone pay added to
their earned income, they find their credit to be $4,213.
Because making the election will increase their EIC, they
elect to add the nontaxable combat zone pay to their
earned income for the EIC. They enter $4,213 on line 27a,
and they enter $10,000 on line 1i of their Form 1040.
Example 2—Election doesn't increase the EIC. The
facts are the same as in Example 1, except Gray had taxable wages of $5,000 and nontaxable combat pay of
$35,000. When Gray and Jaidyn add their nontaxable
combat pay to their earned income, they find their credit to
be $2,242. Because the credit they can get if they don't
add the nontaxable combat pay to their earned income is
$2,389, they decide not to make the election. They enter
$2,389 on line 27a of their Form 1040.
What isn't earned income for the EIC? When figuring
your earned income for purposes of the EIC, don't include
any of these amounts.
• Basic pay or special, bonus, or other incentive pay
that is subject to the combat zone exclusion (unless
you make the election described earlier under Can I
treat my nontaxable combat zone pay as earned income).
• BAH.
• BAS.
• Any other nontaxable employee compensation.
• Interest and dividends.
• Social security and railroad retirement benefits.
• Certain workfare payments.
• Pensions or annuities.
• Veterans' benefits (including VA rehabilitation payments).
• Workers' compensation.
• Unemployment compensation.
• Alimony and child support.
• $8,490 if you have no qualifying children.
• $12,730 if you have one qualifying child.
• $17,880 if you have two or more qualifying children.
The IRS Can Figure Your Credit for You
The following examples illustrate the effect of including
nontaxable combat zone pay in earned income for the
EIC.
There are certain instructions you must follow before the
IRS can figure the credit for you. See IRS Will Figure the
EIC for You in Pub. 596.
Example 1—Election increases the EIC. Gray and
Jaidyn are married, were born in 1988, and will file a joint
return. They have one qualifying child. Gray was in the
Army and earned $15,000 ($5,000 taxable wages +
$10,000 nontaxable combat zone pay). Jaidyn worked
part of the year and earned $2,000. Their taxable earned
income and AGI are both $7,000. Gray and Jaidyn qualify
for the EIC and fill out the Worksheet A—2025
EIC—Line 27a in the Form 1040 instructions.
Credit for Excess Social Security Tax
Withheld
Publication 3 (2025)
Most employers must withhold social security tax from
your wages. If you worked for two or more employers in
2025 and you earned more than $176,100, you may be
able to take the credit for excess social security tax withheld. The maximum amount of social security tax that
should have been withheld for 2025 is $10,918.20. You
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are eligible for the credit for excess social security tax
withheld only if you had more than one employer. You
should use the Credit for Excess Social Security Tax Withheld Worksheet to figure your credit.
Caution: All wages are subject to Medicare tax withholding.
What if one of my employers withheld more than
$10,918.20? If any one employer withheld more than
$10,918.20 in social security taxes in 2025, you can't take
a credit for the excess social security tax withheld over
$10,918.20 by that employer. The employer should adjust
the tax for you. If the employer doesn't adjust the overcollection, you can file a claim for refund using Form 843,
Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement.
Joint return. If you are filing a joint return, you can't add
the social security tax withheld from your spouse's wages
to the amount withheld from your wages in determining
whether you or your spouse had excess social security tax
withheld. You must figure the withholding separately for
you and your spouse to determine if either of you has excess withholding.
Credit for Excess Social Security Tax Withheld Worksheet. You can use the Credit for Excess Social Security
Tax Withheld Worksheet to figure your credit for excess
social security tax withheld on wages in 2025 only if you
had no wages in 2025 from employers that were railroads.
If you worked for a railroad employer in 2025, see Do I figure my credit differently if I am a railroad employee? next.
Do I figure my credit differently if I am a railroad
employee? If you work for a railroad employer, the discussion in this section doesn't apply to you. Your railroad
employer must withhold tier 1 railroad retirement (RRTA)
tax and tier 2 RRTA tax. See chapter 2 of Pub. 505 for
more information.
How to take the credit. Enter the credit on Schedule 3
(Form 1040), line 11.
Forgiveness of Decedent's Tax
Liability
Tax liability can be forgiven if a member of the U.S. Armed
Forces dies:
• While in active service in a combat zone (see Combat
Zone Related Forgiveness, later);
• From wounds, disease, or injury received in a combat
zone (see Combat Zone Related Forgiveness, later);
or
• From wounds or injury incurred in a terrorist or military
action (see Terrorist or Military Action Related Forgiveness, later).
What does tax forgiveness mean? When there is tax
forgiveness, the following occurs.
• If the tax being forgiven hasn't yet been paid, it may
not have to be paid.
• If the tax being forgiven has been paid, the payment
may be refunded.
How Do I Make a Claim for Tax Forgiveness, later, provides details.
Combat Zone Related Forgiveness
Combat zone related forgiveness occurs when an individual meets both of the following criteria.
1. Is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces at death.
2. Dies while in active service in a combat zone, or at
any place from wounds, disease, or injury incurred
while in active service in a combat zone.
Except as limited under Deadline for Filing a Claim for
Tax Forgiveness, later, forgiveness applies to:
• The tax year death occurred, and
• Any earlier tax year ending on or after the first day the
member served in the combat zone in active service.
Credit for Excess Social Security Tax Withheld Worksheet
If you received wages from a railroad employer, you can't use this worksheet. See Do I figure my credit differently if I am a railroad
employee.
If you had only one employer, don't use this worksheet. Instead, see What if one of my employers withheld more than $10,918.20.
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1. Add all social security tax withheld (but not more than $10,918.20 for each employer). Enter
the total here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.
2. Enter any uncollected social security tax on wages, tips, or group-term life insurance
included in the total on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.
3. Add lines 1 and 2. If $10,918.20 or less, stop here. You can't take the credit . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.
4. Social security tax limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.
5. Subtract line 4 from line 3. This is your excess social security tax withheld credit. Enter the
result here and on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.
10,918.20
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In addition, any unpaid taxes for years ending before
the member began service in a combat zone will be forgiven and any of those taxes that are paid after the date of
death will be refunded.
The beneficiary or trustee of the estate of a deceased
servicemember doesn't have to pay tax on any amount received that would have been included (had the servicemember not died) in the deceased member's gross income for the year of death.
Service outside combat zone. These rules also apply
to a member of the Armed Forces serving outside the
combat zone if the service:
• Was in direct support of military operations in the
zone, and
• Qualified the member for special military pay for duty
subject to hostile fire or imminent danger.
For a description of combat zone, see Combat Zone Defined, earlier, under Combat Zone Exclusion.
Missing status. The date of death for a member of the
Armed Forces who was in a missing status (missing in action or prisoner of war) is the date their name is removed
from missing status for military pay purposes. This is true
even if death actually occurred earlier.
Terrorist or Military Action Related
Forgiveness
Terrorist or military action related forgiveness occurs when
an individual meets both of the following criteria.
How Do I Make a Claim for Tax
Forgiveness?
How Is Tax Forgiveness Claimed?
If the decedent's tax liability is forgiven, the personal representative should take the following steps.
Step 1: File the proper form. The form filed to claim the
tax forgiveness depends on whether a return has already
been filed for the tax year.
• File a paper Form 1040 or 1040-SR if a tax return
hasn't been filed for the tax year. Form W-2 must accompany the return.
• File a paper Form 1040-X if a tax return has been filed.
A separate paper Form 1040-X must be filed for each
year in question.
Step 2: Properly identify the return. Properly identify
the return by providing the conflict or action on which the
claim for tax forgiveness is based.
• All returns and claims must be identified by writing
“Iraqi Freedom—KIA,” “Enduring Freedom—KIA,” “Kosovo Operation—KIA,” “Desert Storm—KIA,” or “Former Yugoslavia—KIA” in bold letters on the top of
page 1 of the return or claim.
• On Forms 1040, 1040-SR, and 1040-X, the phrase
“Iraqi Freedom—KIA,” “Enduring Freedom—KIA,”
“Kosovo Operation—KIA,” “Desert Storm—KIA,” or
“Former Yugoslavia—KIA” must be written on the line
for total tax.
• Is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces at death.
• Dies from wounds or injury incurred while a member of
• If the individual was killed in a terrorist action, write
Except as limited under Deadline for Filing a Claim for
Tax Forgiveness, later, forgiveness applies to:
Step 3: Include a before and after tax forgiveness
computation. Include an attachment with a computation
of the decedent's tax liability before any amount is forgiven
and the amount that is to be forgiven. For computations
when the decedent has filed joint returns or the spouse
has filed as married filing separately, see below.
the U.S. Armed Forces in a terrorist or military action.
• The tax year death occurred, and
• Any earlier tax year in the period beginning with the
year before the year in which the wounds or injury occurred.
A terrorist or military action is any terrorist activity primarily
directed against the United States or its allies or any military action involving the U.S. Armed Forces and resulting
from violence or aggression against the United States or
its allies (or threat thereof).
Any multinational force in which the United States participates is considered an ally of the United States.
The beneficiary or trustee of the estate of a deceased
servicemember doesn't have to pay tax on any amount received that would have been included (had the servicemember not died) in the deceased member's gross income for the year of death.
Example. Army Private John Kane died in 2025 of
wounds incurred in a terrorist attack in 2024. His income
tax liability is forgiven for all tax years from 2023 through
2025.
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“KITA” on the front of the return and on the line for total
tax.
Computation when the decedent filed joint returns. Only the decedent's part of the joint income tax liability is eligible for the refund or tax forgiveness. To determine the decedent's part, the person filing the claim must:
1. Figure the income tax for which the decedent would
have been liable if a separate return had been filed,
2. Figure the income tax for which the spouse would
have been liable if a separate return had been filed,
and
3. Multiply the joint tax liability by a fraction. The top
number of the fraction is the amount in (1) above. The
bottom number of the fraction is the total of (1) and (2)
above.
The amount in (3) is the decedent's tax liability that is eligible for the refund or tax forgiveness. If you are unable to
complete this process, you should attach a statement of
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all income and deductions, indicating the part that belongs
to each spouse. The IRS will determine the amount eligible for forgiveness.
Computation when in a community property state.
If the decedent's legal residence was in a community
property state and the spouse reported half the military
pay on a separate return, the spouse can get a refund of
taxes paid on their share of the pay for the years involved.
The forgiveness of unpaid tax on the military pay would
also apply to the half owed by the spouse for the years involved. See Community Property, earlier, for a discussion
of community property.
Step 4: Provide Form 1310, if required. Form 1310
must accompany the return unless the person filing the return is:
• A surviving spouse filing an original or amended joint
return, or
• A personal representative filing an original Form 1040
or 1040-SR for the decedent and a court certificate
showing the appointment as personal representative
is attached to the return.
Step 5: Provide the death certification. The death certification must come from the proper agency.
For military and civilian employees of the DoD, certification must be made by the Department on DD Form 1300,
Report of Casualty.
For civilian employees of all other agencies who are killed overseas, certification must be a letter signed by the
Director General of the Foreign Service, Department of
State, or their delegate. The certification must include the
deceased individual's name and SSN, the date of injury,
the date of death, and a statement that the individual died
as the result of a terrorist or military action. If the individual
died as a result of a terrorist or military action outside the
United States, the statement must also include the fact
that the individual was a U.S. employee on the date of injury and on the date of death.
For additional information, see Revenue Procedure
2004-26, 2004-19 I.R.B. 890, which is available at
IRS.gov/IRB/2004-19_IRB#RP-2004-26.
Can I get more time to file if I don't have enough tax
information by the deadline? If the death certification
required in Step 5 has been received but there isn't
enough tax information to file a timely claim for refund, file
Form 1040, if no prior return has been filed, or Form
1040-X with Form 1310 by the deadline. Include a statement saying that an amended claim will be filed as soon
as the necessary tax information is available. File the
amended Form 1040-X as soon as you get the needed tax
information.
Who Can File a Claim for Tax Forgiveness?
If a member of the Armed Forces dies, a surviving spouse
or personal representative handles duties such as filing
any tax returns and claims for refund involving tax forgiveness. A personal representative can be an executor, an
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administrator, or anyone who is in charge of the decedent's assets.
Deadline for Filing a Claim for Tax
Forgiveness
Whether a credit or refund is requested, generally, the period for filing the claim is 3 years from the time the return
was filed or 2 years from the time the tax was paid, whichever expires later. If the decedent's return was filed before
it was due, it will be considered filed on the regular due
date, usually April 15.
Extension of deadline when the death is combat
zone related. If the death occurred in a combat zone or
from wounds, disease, or injury incurred in a combat zone,
the deadline for filing a claim for credit or refund is extended using the rules discussed later under Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and Other Extensions Specifically for
Those in a Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation.
Where To File a Return Requesting Tax
Forgiveness
A return requesting tax forgiveness must be filed at the following address.
Internal Revenue Service
333 W. Pershing Street, Stop 6503, P5
Kansas City, MO 64108
Filing Returns
This section discusses the procedures members of the
Armed Forces should follow when filing their federal income tax returns. These same rules apply when the return
is filed on behalf of a member of the Armed Forces, for example, by a tax preparer or by a surviving spouse or personal representative. Special rules apply when filing returns for those involved in a combat zone or a contingency
operation. See Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and Other
Extensions Specifically for Those in a Combat Zone or a
Contingency Operation, later.
What is my filing status if I am in a same-sex marriage? For federal tax purposes, marriages of couples of
the same sex are treated the same as marriages of couples of the opposite sex. The term “spouse” includes an
individual married to a person of the same sex. You must
select married, or married filing separately, as your filing
status.
What is my filing status if I am in a registered domestic partnership, civil union, or other similar relationship? If you have entered into a registered domestic partnership, a civil union, or other similar relationship that isn't
considered a marriage under state (or foreign) law, you
aren't considered married for federal tax purposes. You
must select single (or head of household, if eligible) as
your filing status. For more details, see Pub. 501.
Publication 3 (2025)
Where To File My Return
Electronic filing (e-filing) of your tax return. You are
encouraged to e-file your return. Eight in 10 taxpayers get
their refunds faster by using direct deposit and e-file. You
may be eligible to e-file your 2025 federal income tax return free through Free File. Go to IRS.gov/Efile for more information on e-filing and Free File.
If you e-file your return, there is no need to mail it.
Paper returns. A tax return for Forgiveness of Decedent's Tax Liability, discussed earlier, must be filed on paper. For the address where those returns should be filed,
see Where To File a Return Requesting Tax Forgiveness
under Forgiveness of Decedent's Tax Liability, earlier.
If you choose to file a federal income tax return on paper and you aren't claiming tax forgiveness on the return,
send your federal tax return to the Internal Revenue Service Center for the place where you live. The Instructions
for Form 1040 give the address for the Service Centers.
Example. Sgt. Kane, who is stationed in Maine but
whose permanent home address is in California, should
send her federal return to the Service Center for Maine.
When To File My Return
Most individuals must file their tax returns by the regular
due date. You may be eligible for an extension. Some extensions are automatic, some aren't. See Extensions of
Deadlines To File Your Tax Return, To Pay Your Taxes, and
for Other Actions, later.
What Is the Regular Due Date of My Return?
For calendar-year taxpayers, the regular due date is April
15 of the following year. If April 15 falls on a Saturday,
Sunday, or legal holiday, your tax return is considered
timely filed if it is filed by the next business day that isn't a
Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. For 2025 tax returns,
the regular due date is April 15, 2026.
When Is the Latest I Can Pay
My Tax?
You should always pay your tax by the regular due date for
filing your return. An extension of time to file doesn't mean
you have an extension of time to pay any tax due. You
must estimate your tax due and pay it by the regular due
date for the return unless you qualify for one of the extensions described under Can I delay my payment of income
taxes? next. You don't have to send in any payment of tax
due when you file Form 4868. However, if you pay the tax
after the regular due date, you will be charged interest
from the regular due date to the date the tax is paid. You
may also be charged a penalty for paying the tax late unless you have an explanation meeting reasonable-cause
criteria for not paying your tax when due. (If you have an
Publication 3 (2025)
explanation meeting the criteria for reasonable cause, include it with your return.)
Electronic payments and direct deposit. Per Executive Order No. 14247 (EO 14247), if you have access to
U.S. banking services or electronic payment systems, you
should use direct deposit for any refunds. The IRS recommends paying electronically whenever possible. Options
to pay electronically include using your bank account with
Direct Pay, your debit or credit card, your digital wallet, or
your online account. Go to IRS.gov/Payments to see all
your payment options. For additional information, go to
ModernPayments.
Can I delay my payment of income taxes? If you
are a member of the Armed Forces, you may qualify for an
extension of time to pay income tax that becomes due before or during your military service.
If you serve in a combat zone, have qualifying service
outside a combat zone, or are outside the United States in
a contingency operation, you may be eligible for the extension discussed under Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and
Other Extensions Specifically for Those in a Combat Zone
or a Contingency Operation, later.
If you don't meet the criteria detailed in Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and Other Extensions Specifically for
Those in a Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation, you
may still be able to extend the time to pay your tax. See
Can I Get an Extension To Pay My Tax if I Am Not in a
Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation, later.
Tip: If you are unable to pay the tax owed by the end of
the extension period, you may want to ask the IRS for an
installment payment agreement that reflects your ability to
pay the tax owed. To do that, go to IRS.gov/OPA to apply
for an online payment agreement. Or download and file
Form 9465, which is available at IRS.gov/Form9465.
Extensions of Deadlines To File
Your Tax Return, To Pay Your
Taxes, and for Other Actions
In this section, we discuss extensions of the deadlines for
tax return filing, tax payments, and other actions. We discuss extensions related to combat zone service and contingency operations, and those not related to combat zone
service and contingency operations.
• Can I Get an Extension To File My Return if I Am Not
in a Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation?
• Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and Other Extensions
Specifically for Those in a Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation?
• Can I Get an Extension To Pay My Tax if I Am Not in a
Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation?
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Can I Get an Extension To File My
Return if I Am Not in a Combat Zone
or a Contingency Operation?
What if I'm filing as married filing separately? For
married persons filing separate returns, only the spouse
who satisfies the criteria in Situation 1 or Situation 2 qualifies for the automatic 2-month extension.
If you aren't in a combat zone or a contingency operation,
you may still be eligible for an extension of time to file your
return. Different rules apply depending on whether you live
inside or outside the United States.
The additional automatic 4-month extension (Form
4868). You can request an additional 4-month extension
by filing Form 4868 by June 16, 2026, for a 2025 calendar-year tax return. Check the box on line 8. This will extend your due date to October 15, 2026, if you are a calendar-year taxpayer.
Getting an Extension if I Am Inside the
United States
If you are inside the United States, you can receive an automatic 6-month extension to file your return by the regular
due date of your return. You either file Form 4868 or pay
any part of your expected tax due by credit or debit card.
You can file Form 4868 electronically or on paper. See
Form 4868 for details.
This extension of time to file is automatic, and you won't
receive any notice of approval. However, your request for
an extension will be denied if it isn't made timely. The IRS
will inform you of the denial.
Caution: You can't use the automatic extension if you
choose to have the IRS figure the tax or you are under a
court order to file your return by the regular due date.
Where on my return do I enter the amount paid with
my request for an extension? Enter the amount you
paid with your request for the extension on Schedule 3
(Form 1040), line 10.
Getting an Extension if I Am Outside the
United States and Puerto Rico
If you are outside the United States and Puerto Rico, there
are two automatic extensions that apply to you and a third
extension that is discretionary.
The automatic 2-month extension. If you are a U.S.
citizen or resident alien, you qualify for an automatic
2-month extension of time without filing Form 4868 if either of the following situations applies to you.
Situation 1. You live outside the United States and
Puerto Rico and your main place of business or post of
duty is outside the United States and Puerto Rico.
Situation 2. You are in military or naval service on an
assigned tour of duty outside the United States and
Puerto Rico for a period that includes the entire due
date of the return.
You will be charged interest on any amount not paid by the
regular due date until the date the tax is paid.
If you use this automatic extension, you must attach a
statement to the return showing that you are described in
Situation 1 or 2 above.
What if I'm filing a joint return? A married couple filing a joint return is given the automatic 2-month extension
if one of the spouses met the requirement under Situation
1 or Situation 2 above.
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The additional discretionary 2-month extension. In
addition to the 6-month extension (automatic 2-month and
additional automatic 4-month extensions), you can request a discretionary 2-month additional extension of time
to file your return to December 15, 2026, if you are a calendar-year taxpayer.
To request this extension, you must send the IRS a letter explaining the reasons why you need the additional 2
months. Send the letter by the extended due date (October 15, 2026, if you are a calendar-year taxpayer) to the
following address.
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Austin, TX 73301-0045
You won’t receive any notification from the IRS unless
your request is denied.
Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and
Other Extensions Specifically for
Those in a Combat Zone or a
Contingency Operation?
The postponements for filing, tax payment, and the other
actions listed under For Which Actions Are My Deadlines
Extended, later, such as collection and examination actions, are specifically for persons in the Armed Forces in
combat zones or contingency operations. As noted in
some of our earlier discussions, these postponements are
referred to as “extensions of deadlines.”
What Type of Service Will Qualify Me for
These Extensions?
You will qualify for these extensions if either of the following statements is true.
• You serve in the Armed Forces in a combat zone or
you have qualifying service outside of a combat zone.
• You serve in the Armed Forces on deployment outside
the United States away from your permanent duty station while participating in a contingency operation.
A contingency operation is a military operation that is
designated by the Secretary of Defense or results in calling members of the uniformed services to active duty (or
retains them on active duty) during a war or a national
emergency declared by the President or Congress.
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See Combat Zone Defined earlier, under Combat Zone
Exclusion for the beginning dates for the Afghanistan area
combat zone, the Kosovo area combat zone, the Arabian
Peninsula combat zone, and the Sinai Peninsula, and the
beginning and ending dates for the former Yugoslavia
area.
Do the extensions apply to those in missing status?
Time in a missing status (missing in action or prisoner of
war) counts as time in a combat zone or a contingency operation.
Do the extensions apply to support personnel?
Deadlines are also extended if you are serving in a combat zone or a contingency operation in support of the
Armed Forces. This applies to Red Cross personnel, accredited correspondents, and civilian personnel acting under the direction of the Armed Forces in support of those
forces.
Do the extensions apply to spouses? Spouses of individuals who served in a combat zone or contingency operation are entitled to the same deadline extensions with two
exceptions.
• The extension doesn't apply to a spouse for any tax
year beginning more than 2 years after the date the
area ceases to be a combat zone or the operation
ceases to be a contingency operation.
• The extension doesn't apply to a spouse for any pe-
riod the qualifying individual is hospitalized in the United States for injuries incurred in a combat zone or
contingency operation.
How Much Extra Time Do These Extensions
Give Me?
Your deadline for filing your return, paying your tax, claiming a refund, and taking other actions with the IRS is extended in two steps.
First, your deadline is extended for 180 days after the
later of the following.
1. The last day you are in a combat zone, have qualifying
service outside of the combat zone, or serve in a contingency operation (or the last day the area qualifies
as a combat zone or the operation qualifies as a contingency operation).
2. The last day of any continuous qualified hospitalization (defined later) for injury from service in the combat zone or contingency operation or while performing
qualifying service outside of the combat zone.
Second, in addition to the 180 days, your deadline is
extended by the number of days that were left for you to
take the action with the IRS when you entered a combat
zone (or began performing qualifying service outside the
combat zone) or began serving in a contingency operation. If you entered the combat zone or began serving in
the contingency operation before the period of time to take
the action began, your deadline is extended by the entire
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period of time you have to take the action. For example,
you had 31/2 months (January 1–April 15, 2025) to file your
2024 tax return. Any days of this 31/2-month period that
were left when you entered the combat zone (or the entire
31/2 months if you entered the combat zone by January 1,
2025) are added to the 180 days when determining the
last day allowed for filing your 2024 tax return.
Example 1. Captain Margaret Jones, a resident of
Maryland, entered Saudi Arabia on December 1, 2023.
She remained there through March 31, 2025, when she
departed for the United States. She wasn't injured and
didn't return to the combat zone. The deadlines for filing
Captain Jones' 2023, 2024, and 2025 returns are figured
as follows.
The 2023 tax return. The deadline is January 12,
2026. The deadline is 286 days (180 plus 106) after
Captain Jones' last day in the combat zone (March 31,
2024). The 106 additional days are the number of days
in the 31/2-month filing period that were left when she
entered the combat zone (January 1–April 15, 2024).
The 2024 tax return. The deadline is January 10,
2026. The deadline is 285 days (180 plus 105) after
Captain Jones' last day in the combat zone (March 31,
2025). The 105 additional days are the number of days
in the 31/2-month filing period that were left when she
entered the combat zone (January 1–April 15, 2025).
The 2025 tax return. The deadline isn't extended because the 180-day extension period after March 31,
2025, plus the number of days left in the filing period
when she entered the combat zone (108) ends on
January 12, 2025, which is before the due date for her
2025 return (April 15, 2026).
Tip: When the due date for doing any act for tax purposes—filing a return, paying taxes, etc.—falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is delayed until
the next business day.
Example 2. You generally have 3 years from April 15,
2025, to file a claim for refund against your timely filed
2024 tax return. This means that your claim must normally
be filed by April 17, 2028. However, if you serve in a combat zone from November 3, 2027, through March 23,
2028, and aren't injured, your deadline for filing that claim
is extended 347 days (180 plus 167) after you leave the
combat zone. This extends your deadline to March 30,
2029. The 167 additional days are the number of days in
the 3-year period for filing the refund claim that were left
when you entered the combat zone on November 3 (November 3, 2027–April 17, 2028).
Qualified hospitalization. The hospitalization must be
the result of an injury received while serving in a combat
zone or a contingency operation. Qualified hospitalization
means:
• Any hospitalization outside the United States, and
• Up to 5 years of hospitalization in the United States.
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Example. Petty Officer Leonard Brown's ship entered
the Persian Gulf on January 5, 2024. On February 15,
2024, Petty Officer Brown, a resident of Maryland, was injured and was flown to a U.S. hospital. He remained in the
hospital through April 21, 2025. The deadlines for filing
Petty Officer Brown's 2023, 2024, and 2025 returns are
figured as follows.
The 2023 tax return. The deadline is January 26,
2026. Petty Officer Brown has 280 days (180 plus 100
days) after his last day in the hospital (April 21, 2025)
to file his 2023 return. The additional 100 days are the
number of days in the 31/2-month filing period that
were left when he entered the combat zone (January
5–April 21, 2025).
The 2024 tax return. The deadline is February 2,
2026. Petty Officer Brown has 285 days (180 plus 105)
after April 21, 2025, to file his 2024 tax return. The additional days are the number of days in the 2024 filing
period that were left when he entered the combat zone
(January 1–April 15, 2025).
The 2025 tax return. The deadline isn't extended because the 180-day extension period after April 21,
2025, plus the number of days left in the filing period
when he entered the combat zone (105) ends on January 31, 2026, which is before the due date for his
2025 return (April 15, 2026).
For Which Actions Are My Deadlines
Extended?
The actions to which this deadline extension provision applies include:
• Filing any return of income, estate, gift, employment,
or excise tax;
• Paying any income, estate, gift, employment, or excise
tax;
• Filing a petition with the Tax Court for redetermination
of a deficiency, or for review of a Tax Court decision;
that you are entitled to an extension of the deadline, contact your legal assistance office. No penalties or interest
will be imposed for failure to file a return or pay taxes during the extension period.
Other actions to which the deadline extension provision
applies are listed in Revenue Procedure 2018-58, available at IRS.gov/irb/2018-50_IRB#RP-2018-58, or its successor.
Tip: Even though the deadline is extended, you may
want to file a return earlier to receive any refund due. See
Filing Returns earlier.
Can I Get an Extension To Pay My Tax
if I Am Not in a Combat Zone or a
Contingency Operation?
If you are a member of the Armed Forces or a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service or the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, you may qualify
for an extension to pay (that is, defer or delay payment of)
income tax that becomes due before or during your military service. To qualify, you must:
• Be performing military service, and
• Notify the IRS that your ability to pay the income tax
has been materially affected by your military service
(defined later).
You will then be allowed up to 180 days after termination or release from military service to pay the tax. If you
pay the tax in full by the end of the extension period, you
won't be charged interest or penalties for that period.
This exception doesn't apply to the employee's share of
social security and Medicare taxes.
If a deferment is granted, the statutory collection period
is suspended during your military service, plus an additional 270 days after the day following military service.
• Filing a claim for credit or refund of any tax;
• Bringing suit for any claim for credit or refund;
• Making a qualified retirement contribution to an IRA;
• Allowing a credit or refund of any tax by the IRS;
• Assessment of any tax by the IRS;
• Giving or making any notice or demand by the IRS for
Military service. The term “military service” means the
period beginning on the date on which you enter military
service and ending on the date on which you are released
from military service or die while in military service. If you
are a member of the National Guard, your military service
will include service meeting all three of the following criteria.
• Collection by the IRS of any tax due (Note: As a result
• For a period of more than 30 consecutive days under
the payment of any tax, or for any liability for any tax;
of section 309 of Public Law 114-113, item 2 under
How Much Extra Time Do These Extensions Give Me,
earlier, discussing continuous qualified hospitalization,
doesn't apply when figuring the period for the IRS to
take collection actions for taxes, even those assessed
before the law was enacted); and
• Bringing suit by the United States for any tax due.
If the IRS takes any actions covered by these provisions or sends you a notice of examination before learning
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• Under a call to active service authorized by the President or the Secretary of Defense.
section 502(f) of title 32, United States Code.
• For purposes of responding to a national emergency
declared by the President and supported by federal
funds.
How do I request an extension of time to pay my tax?
If you have a current payment agreement (such as an installment agreement), you must make a written request for
an extension of time to pay the tax to the IRS office where
you have the agreement.
Publication 3 (2025)
If you don't have a current payment agreement, you
must wait until you receive a notice asking for payment before you request an extension of time to pay the tax. Once
you have received a notice, you must make a written request for an extension of time to pay the tax to the IRS office that issued the notice.
In either case, your request must include:
• Your name,
• SSN,
• Monthly income and source of income before military
service,
• Description and amount of expenses incurred be-
cause of military service if current monthly income is
greater than monthly income before military service,
• Current monthly income,
• Military rank,
• Date you entered military service, and
• Date you are eligible for discharge.
If possible, enclosing a copy of your orders would be helpful.
How will I know if my request for an extension of time
to pay the tax has been granted? The IRS will review
your request and advise you in writing of its decision.
Should you need further assistance, go to IRS.gov/UAC/
Tax-Law-Questions for a wide selection of resources.
Maximum Rate of Interest
When There Is Hardship
If the deferment is denied, no more than 6% interest (unless the applicable interest rate is below 6%) per year will
be charged while you are in active military service. The reduced rate applies regardless of whether the military service materially affects your ability to pay. To substantiate
the claim for reduced interest rate, you must provide the
IRS a copy of your orders or reporting instructions detailing the call to military service. You must do so no later
than 180 days after the date of your termination or release
from military service.
Tax Returns of Aliens
For tax purposes, an alien is an individual who isn't a U.S.
citizen. An alien is in one of the three categories discussed below: resident, nonresident, or dual-status.
Placement in the correct category is crucial in determining
what income to report and what forms to file.
If you are an alien and in the Armed Forces. Most
members of the Armed Forces are U.S. citizens or resident aliens. Under peacetime enlistment rules, you generally can't enlist in the Armed Forces unless you are a citizen or have been legally admitted to the United States for
permanent residence. If you are an alien enlistee in the
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Armed Forces, you are probably a resident alien. If, under
an income tax treaty, you are considered a resident of a
foreign country, see your base legal officer. Other aliens
who are in the United States only because of military assignments and who have a home outside the United
States are nonresident aliens. The U.S. territories have
separate taxing rules. Residents of the U.S. territories
should contact the applicable territory taxing authority with
their questions.
If you have questions about your alien status or the
alien status of your dependents or spouse, you should
read the information in the following paragraphs and see
Pub. 519.
Resident Aliens
What are the tax consequences of being a resident
alien? Generally, resident aliens are taxed on their worldwide income and file the same tax forms as U.S. citizens.
Am I a resident alien? You are considered a resident
alien of the United States for tax purposes if you meet either the “green card test” or the “substantial presence test”
for the calendar year (January 1–December 31).
First-year choice. If you do not meet either the green
card test or the substantial presence test for the calendar
year 2025, you may be able to choose to be treated as a
U.S. resident for part of 2025 if you:
• Did not meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test in 2024,
• Did not choose to be treated as a resident for part of
2024, and
• Meet the substantial presence test for 2026.
See First-Year Choice in Pub. 519. These tests are explained in Pub. 519.
Treating nonresident alien spouse as resident alien.
A nonresident alien spouse can be treated as a resident
alien if all the following conditions are met.
• One spouse is a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the
end of the tax year.
• That spouse is married to the nonresident alien at the
end of the tax year.
• You both choose to treat the nonresident alien spouse
as a resident alien.
Making the choice. Both you and your spouse must
sign a statement and attach it to your joint return for the
first tax year for which the choice applies. Include in the
statement:
• A declaration that one spouse was a nonresident alien
and the other was a U.S. citizen or resident alien on
the last day of the year;
• A declaration that both spouses choose to be treated
as U.S. residents for the entire tax year; and
• The name, address, and taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN) of each spouse. If the nonresident
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alien spouse isn't eligible to get an SSN, they should
file Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer
Identification Number. For more details regarding this
statement and on making this election, see Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident in chapter 1 of
Pub. 519.
• If you and your spouse choose to treat a nonresident
alien or dual-status alien spouse as a U.S. resident for
2025, or if a prior year's choice to treat a nonresident
alien spouse as a U.S. resident remains in effect for
2025, check the box in the Filing Status section. See
the Instructions for Form 1040 for more information.
Tip: Once you make this choice, the nonresident alien
spouse's worldwide income is subject to U.S. tax. If the
nonresident alien spouse has substantial foreign income,
there may be no advantage to making this choice. Also, if
you make this election, you may forfeit the right to claim
benefits otherwise available under a U.S. tax treaty.
Ending the choice. Once you make this choice, it applies to all later years unless one of the following situations
occurs.
• You or your spouse revokes the choice.
• You or your spouse dies.
• You and your spouse become legally separated under
a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
• The IRS ends the choice because you or your spouse
kept inadequate records.
For specific details on these situations, see Pub. 519.
If the choice is ended for any of these reasons, neither
spouse can make the choice for any later year.
Choice not made. If you and your nonresident alien
spouse don't make this choice, the following restrictions
apply.
• You can't file a joint return. You can file as married filing separately, or head of household if you qualify.
• The nonresident alien spouse generally doesn't have
to file a federal income tax return if they had no income from sources in the United States. If the spouse
has to file a return, see Nonresident Aliens, later. The
nonresident alien spouse isn't eligible for the EIC, the
credit for the elderly or disabled, or any education
credit if they have to file a return.
Treating a dual-status alien spouse as a resident
alien. A similar choice is available if you are married at
the end of the tax year and all of the following conditions
are met.
• One spouse is a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the
end of the tax year.
• The other spouse was a nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year and is a resident alien at the
end of the tax year (is a dual-status alien for the tax
year).
• You both choose to treat the other (dual-status)
spouse as a resident alien.
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If this choice is made, the dual-status alien spouse will
be treated as a resident alien for the entire year. This
choice applies only to the election year. See Nonresident
Spouse Treated as a Resident in Pub. 519.
Choice not made. See What are the tax consequences of being a dual-status alien? below, and the Instructions for Form 1040-NR for more information.
Nonresident Aliens
Am I a nonresident alien? You are a nonresident alien if
you are an alien who doesn't meet the requirements discussed earlier for being classified as a resident alien.
What are the tax consequences of being a nonresident alien? If you are required to file a federal tax return,
you must file Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return. See the Instructions for Form 1040-NR
for information on who must file and filing status.
If you are a nonresident alien, you must generally pay
tax on income from conducting a trade or business in the
United States or other income from sources in the United
States. Your income from conducting a trade or business
in the United States is taxed at graduated U.S. tax rates.
Other income from U.S. sources is taxed at a flat 30% (or
lower treaty) rate. For example, dividends from a U.S. corporation paid to a nonresident alien are generally subject
to a 30% (or lower treaty) rate.
Dual-Status Aliens
Am I a dual-status alien? You are a dual-status alien if
you are both a nonresident and resident alien during the
same tax year. This usually occurs in the year you arrive in
or depart from the United States.
What are the tax consequences of being a dual-status alien? If you are a dual-status alien, you are taxed on
income from all sources for the part of the year you are a
resident alien. Generally, for the part of the year you are a
nonresident alien, you are taxed only on income from
sources in the United States. See the Instructions for Form
1040-NR for more information.
Signing Returns
Generally, you must sign your return. If you e-file your tax
return, you must sign the return electronically using a personal identification number (PIN). If you are filing online
using software, you must use a Self-Select PIN. If you are
filing electronically using a tax practitioner, you can use a
Self-Select PIN or a Practitioner PIN. See Electronic Return Signatures in your tax return instructions.
If you are overseas or incapacitated, you can grant a
power of attorney to an agent to file and sign your return.
If you are acting on behalf of your spouse, see Do both
my spouse and I have to sign our joint return, later.
Publication 3 (2025)
Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of
Representative. A power of attorney can be granted by
filing Form 2848. These forms are available at IRS.gov/
Form2848 or at your nearest legal assistance office. While
other power of attorney forms can be used, they must contain the information required by Form 2848.
In Part I of the form, you must indicate that you are
granting the power to sign the return, the tax form number,
and the tax year(s) for which the form is being filed. Attach
the power of attorney to the tax return. Follow the Instructions for Form 2848 for properly completing the form.
Do both my spouse and I have to sign our joint return? Generally, joint returns must be signed by both
spouses. However, when a spouse is overseas, in a combat zone, in a missing status, incapacitated, or deceased,
one spouse may sign for the other when the conditions
described below are met. Otherwise, a power of attorney
may be needed.
Spouse overseas. If one spouse is overseas on military duty, there are two options when filing a joint return.
• One spouse can prepare the return, sign it, and send it
to the other spouse to sign early enough so that it can
be filed by the due date.
• The spouse who expects to be overseas on the due
date of the return can file Form 2848 specifically designating that the spouse who remains in the United
States can sign the return for the absent spouse.
Spouse in combat zone. If your spouse is unable to
sign the return because they are serving in a combat zone
or performing qualifying service outside of a combat zone,
and you don't have a power of attorney or other statement,
you can sign for your spouse. Attach a signed statement
to your return that explains that your spouse is serving in a
combat zone.
Spouse in missing status. The spouse of a member
of the Armed Forces who is in a missing status in a combat zone can still file a joint return. A joint return can be
filed for any year beginning not more than 2 years after the
end of the combat zone activities. A joint return filed under
these conditions is valid even if it is later determined that
the missing spouse died before the year covered by the
return.
Spouse incapacitated. If your spouse can't sign because of disease or injury and they tell you to sign, you
can sign your spouse's name in the proper space on the
return, followed by the words “by [your name], Husband
(or Wife).” Be sure to sign your name in the space provided for your signature. Attach a dated statement, signed
by you, to your return. The statement should include the
form number of the return you are filing, the tax year, the
reason your spouse couldn't sign, and that your spouse
has agreed to your signing for them.
Spouse died during the year. If one spouse died
during the year and the surviving spouse didn't remarry
before the end of the year, the surviving spouse can file a
joint return for that year, writing in the signature area “Filing as surviving spouse.” If an executor or administrator
Publication 3 (2025)
has been appointed, both they and the surviving spouse
must sign the return filed for the decedent.
How To Get Tax Help
Most military installations offer some degree of free tax
assistance at their installation legal assistance offices. If
your installation doesn't offer such assistance, check one
of the nearby installations and consider visiting an office
from another Service (for example, Air Force personnel
may want to visit an Army Legal Assistance Office or Tax
Center)
or
visit
MilitaryOneSource
(MilitaryOneSource.mil).
If you have questions about a tax issue; need help preparing your tax return; or want to download free publications, forms, or instructions, go to IRS.gov to find resources that can help you right away.
Tax reform. Tax reform legislation impacting federal
taxes, credits, and deductions was enacted in P.L. 119-21,
commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, on July
4, 2025. Go to IRS.gov/OBBB for more information and
updates on how this legislation affects your taxes.
Preparing and filing your tax return. After receiving all
your wage and earnings statements (Forms W-2, W-2G,
1099-R, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, etc.); unemployment
compensation statements (by mail or in a digital format) or
other government payment statements (Form 1099-G);
and interest, dividend, and retirement statements from
banks and investment firms (Forms 1099), you have several options to choose from to prepare and file your tax return. You can prepare the tax return yourself, see if you
qualify for free tax preparation, or hire a tax professional to
prepare your return.
Free options for tax preparation. Your options for preparing and filing your return online or in your local community, if you qualify, include the following.
• Free File. This program lets you prepare and file your
federal individual income tax return for free using software or Free File Fillable Forms. However, state tax
preparation may not be available through Free File. Go
to IRS.gov/FreeFile to see if you qualify for free online
federal tax preparation, e-filing, and direct deposit or
payment options.
• VITA. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
program offers free tax help to people with
low-to-moderate incomes, persons with disabilities,
and limited-English-speaking taxpayers who need
help preparing their own tax returns. Go to IRS.gov/
VITA, download the free IRS2Go app, or call
800-906-9887 for information on free tax return preparation.
• TCE. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) pro-
gram offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly
those who are 60 years of age and older. TCE volunteers specialize in answering questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.
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Go to IRS.gov/TCE or download the free IRS2Go app
for information on free tax return preparation.
• MilTax. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and quali-
fied veterans may use MilTax, a free tax service offered by the Department of Defense through Military
OneSource. For more information, go to
MilitaryOneSource (MilitaryOneSource.mil/MilTax).
Also, the IRS offers Free Fillable Forms, which can
be completed online and then e-filed regardless of income.
Using online tools to help prepare your return. Go to
IRS.gov/Tools for the following.
• The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (IRS.gov/
EITCAssistant) determines if you’re eligible for the
earned income credit (EITC).
• The Online EIN Application (IRS.gov/EIN) helps you
get an employer identification number (EIN) at no
cost.
• The Tax Withholding Estimator (IRS.gov/W4App)
makes it easier for you to estimate the federal income
tax you want your employer to withhold from your paycheck. This is tax withholding. See how your withholding affects your refund, take-home pay, or tax due.
• The Sales Tax Deduction Calculator (IRS.gov/
SalesTax) figures the amount you can claim if you
itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040).
Getting answers to your tax questions. On
IRS.gov, you can get up-to-date information on
current events and changes in tax law.
• IRS.gov/Help: A variety of tools to help you get answers to some of the most common tax questions.
• IRS.gov/ITA: The Interactive Tax Assistant, a tool that
will ask you questions and, based on your input, provide answers on a number of tax topics.
• IRS.gov/Forms: Find forms, instructions, and publica-
tions. You will find details on the most recent tax
changes and interactive links to help you find answers
to your questions.
• You may also be able to access tax information in you
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