Military pay and allowances

IRS Publication 3 separates military compensation into items included in gross income, such as basic pay, and items excluded from gross income, such as certain allowances.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide; Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.

26 U.S.C. § 134 excludes qualified military benefits from gross income, a category the statute defines by reference to benefits provided under laws administered for members of the uniformed services.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: 26 U.S.C. § 134 — Certain military benefits; Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide.

• Whether a specific allowance falls inside the statutory definition depends on the underlying benefit authority.

The Department of Defense and DFAS publish the official descriptions of military pay and allowance types, including basic pay and housing and subsistence allowances.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Military compensation — allowances; Military member pay and entitlements.

• Allowance rates change annually and are not restated here.

IRS Publication 3 lists the Basic Allowance for Housing among the allowances it identifies as excluded from gross income, and the Department of Defense publishes the official description of that allowance.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide; Military compensation — allowances.

• Publication 3 is re-read each revision because the excluded-item list is restated annually.
• Housing allowance amounts and locality rates are not restated here.

IRS Publication 3 lists the Basic Allowance for Subsistence among the allowances it identifies as excluded from gross income, and the Department of Defense publishes the official description of that allowance.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide; Military compensation — allowances.

• Publication 3 is re-read each revision because the excluded-item list is restated annually.
• Subsistence allowance rates are set annually and are not restated here.

The IRS describes several categories of combat-zone related compensation, including basic pay, reenlistment or continuation bonuses, imminent danger or hostile fire pay, certain student loan repayment amounts, leave sold that was earned in a combat zone, and awards, as items that can fall inside the combat zone exclusion.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Tax exclusion for combat service; Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide.

• Each category carries its own conditions in the source and those conditions are not restated here.

26 U.S.C. § 217(g) preserves a moving expense deduction for members of the Armed Forces on active duty who move pursuant to a military order and incident to a permanent change of station.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: 26 U.S.C. § 217 — Moving expenses, including subsection (g) for members of the Armed Forces; Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide.

• Which specific expenses are deductible and how reimbursements are treated are not restated here.

Form 3903 is the IRS form used to report moving expenses, and its instructions address the Armed Forces provision separately from the general suspension of the deduction.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Instructions for Form 3903, Moving Expenses; Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide.

IRS Topic no. 455 describes the Armed Forces moving expense provision as covering an active duty move due to a military order and incident to a permanent change of station, and describes the covered moves as including a move to a first post of active duty, a move between permanent posts of duty, and a move from a last post of duty to a home or nearer point in the United States.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Topic no. 455, Moving expenses for members of the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community; 26 U.S.C. § 217 — Moving expenses, including subsection (g) for members of the Armed Forces; Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide.

• The source states time limits for a move from the last post of duty; those limits are not restated here.

IRS Topic no. 455 describes unreimbursed qualified moving expenses as reported on Form 3903 and deducted as an adjustment to income, and states that moving expenses covered by government reimbursement or payment excluded from income are not also deductible.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: Topic no. 455, Moving expenses for members of the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community; Instructions for Form 3903, Moving Expenses.

• Storage-fee reporting has its own described exception in the source.

Form 8822 is the IRS form for notifying the IRS of a change of home mailing address, which is the federal procedure that exists when an address on file with the IRS changes after a relocation.

Tax year 2025. Read as effective from 2025-01-01. Source: About Form 8822, Change of Address.

• The IRS also accepts address changes through other channels; the form page is the authority relied on here.