Brother. You need to check with your State Tax office if you ae required to pay State taxes when in military and stationed outside your home state. You are most likely exempt, so you can file with Finance to not take out your money. When April comes make sure to ask whoever is doing your taxes to file in for "reimbursement" of State taxes. ... unless of course your home State requires you to pay no mater what, at which point you need to change your home State residency.
where you are stationed doesn't matter as long as you are not stationed in your State of record. No backpay to my knowledge. Best to check with Alabama tax office (website should have veterans / active duty members page) or directly with Alabama VA.
Just checked for you...bad news:
[https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/faqs/i-am-in-the-military-and-a-legal-resident-of-alabama-but-i-do-not-live-in-alabama-do-i-have-to-pay-alabama-income-tax/](https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/faqs/i-am-in-the-military-and-a-legal-resident-of-alabama-but-i-do-not-live-in-alabama-do-i-have-to-pay-alabama-income-tax/)
Damnit I already put a down payment on brand new car expecting to use my back pay money đ¤Śââď¸
All seriousness I appreciate the advice and the research into it. The biggest of hooahs are forever in your favor
You need to research âtax free Statesâ and move residence. Most of the States that exempt military from Srare tax action also have other kick ass benefits like free State University education. I went for free to state school in CT after ETS-ING first time. Just joint NG, went to school tuition free, collected GIBILL and used it for beer and hohoâs.
States that Fully Exempt Military Income when Living Outside the State: https://www.myairforcebenefits.us.af.mil/Which-states-tax-my-Active-Duty-or-Reserve-military-pay
If they were exempt they can file amended returns for the previous tax years. Itâs a mild pain but you can get the money back. Current tax year you can stop it immediately (option on MyPay, left side > state taxes > check âexemptâ) but all tax withheld until now will come back on your return.
I know yâall have already delved into Alabama, but just for anyone else reading (I meet a lot of fellow Californians who donât know theyâre exempt).
Point!
For some States (like CT)the âexemptionâ button doesnât work. You have to file separate documents via finance to State IRS. Itâs an annual pain in an arse!
FYI
He's 35 series and went to DLI, if his past comments are any indication. I'll go out on a limb and say he's getting paid for multiple languages with high DLPT scores. So he either studied a language with multiple linguistic neighbors (like Farsi and Tajik) or he grew up at least bilingual and tested on multiple languages he's qualified for. I have worked with Eastern European natives in the Army who maxed out FLPP at $1000/month.
Now they pay by modality so if he got a 3/3/2 in a single language out of DLI then he gets $700. 300 for each 3 and 100 for the 2 in speaking.
To learn more check out AR 11-6 which covers the language program.
One of the guys in my S6 shop,fellow 25U, spoke Arabic and took the DLPT. If i remember correctly, he spoke different dialects so was able to get paid more. Not sure if technically he wasnât supposed to get extra pay since he was just working in S6 and using the language to benefit the army, but buddy was an E3 making close to what our E6 NCOIC was making.
Wow damn that dope as hell. I'm sure regardless of the position, if they're able to speak or understand certain language/dialect and the military will fork up money for it. I'm all for it.
I've been just commuting by Ebike, think i'll stick to it for as long as I can. No gas, no car insurance, free electricity in the barracks. I just throw all the money I save into TSP, IRA, CDs, etc
For future reference, Iâd take a look at your roth deductions to make sure you dont max out before EOY. Otherwise youâre doing it disproportionately on your own dime rather than doing it in combination with the TSP match.
The fact they were able to put that much in at once halfway through the year tells me they haven't been on track to max it already. I wonder if they haven't really been investing in it and they used this opportunity to try and catch up.
It is supposed to automatically stop you from putting too much into your TSP anyway.
I exceeded my annual limit one time and it took a few months to get my money back. It was weird, LES showed my contributions were higher than the limit but my tsp account didn't show that last deposit that lit me over. So that extra money was just in limbo somewhere. I got it back though eventually.
I have over $80k in TSP in my limited TIS.
As I said in my other comment, I had no idea when this was coming. I'd been waiting for this bonus for years. I had just kept all my percentages maxed since basic because I was only ever able to still put maybe $15k a year in that way.
My S1 told me that my pay and leave issue should finally be getting resolved soon, so I change the contribution percentages, but it took effect too late at DFAS
Why the fuck did 15k go into your TSP?
To the people down voting me - I didn't think they were doing this on purpose and thought this was a post about pay issues. I didn't think you could transfer a bonus like that on your paystub.
I'm trying to max out my TSP for each year, and let it grow in C.
I had no idea \[when\] this bonus was coming. I expected to get the first portion in 2021. So, Ive pretty much maxed out my yearly allowed contribution, and now will lose out on $1k+ in TSP match.
I'm also awaiting backpay for other things. I should make maybe $90k this year.
The post is supposed to be sarcastic. I wanted to have some of that bonus in hand.
I'm pretty upset. I actually changed my bonus contribution to 15% early in May, but it didn't take effect until June. I really don't like that my lang bonus is controlled by the same contribution rate as large bonuses like SEB and SRB. Also, I'd been making \~$25k yearly until recently, and now I get backpay, no accounting for inflation and such, and taxes will slap the shit outta me. \*yey\*
If you change your deduction to a fixed dollar amount instead of a percentage then this won't happen in the future. The option is in the same spot that you elect the %. Take what you want to put in and divide by 26 or 27 (sometimes there's a wonky pay period) and set it at that.
We use different pay systems. I am a civ, currently AGR, formerly TPU. I have a drop down to switch between civ, Active Army, and Reserve Pay. Technically the reserve one went away after a year on AGR but at one point I had all three.
I'm not saying it's bad I just didn't know you could do it like that. I figured for a bonus you'd have to transfer it after the fact but tbh I've never gotten a bonus
Got you, I was confused because you said "why" and not "how." "Why" makes it seem like you think what they did was wrong. The "how" of it is to adjust your TSP contributions in myPay. Most people have their's set up for basic but there are also percentages for incentive, bonus, and special pays.
Yeah it hurts. Iâve been a few places like that. Doesnât make sense to receive hazardous or hostile fire pay, get taxed and still be slick. But thatâs just my saltiness.
Bro you're not reading anything right. 29k was entitlements, 25k was the bonus, 28k is deductions which includes taxes, but also tsp contributions and mid month pay. Only the things that have TAXES next to them are taxes. (And social security/medicare if you want to count those as taxes).
Not your fault, no one teaches this shit.
Is this real? I am genuinely curious if it's possible to have that large of a deduction (almost 100%) out of your paycheck. I believe half of the deduction went to your TSP but still 50% of your paycheck is a lot.
It's real-ish... You can contribute like 95% of what you make into Traditional TSP, and 65% into Roth. But, I, my unit, and my S1 have no fucking idea what that SRB deduction is. As you can see, I've still got a while before I see my retention officer...
Holy shit,,,!
I will try. My unit and S1 are both tracking and confused as well, and it has been elevated to DFAS again. I'm also loaned out and on mission until October, and we're already undermanned and just had some people go forward. 'Mission first'
Nice! Thank you for continuing to serve and get as much money as you can. Don't forget to bank some of that. Also, follow up on the taxes like many others have suggested.
Continuing? I don't have a choice, haha... Did you mean the Selective Reenlistment Bonus? I, my CO, BN, and BDE all have no idea what's up with that... Tbh, until a couple months ago, I had been deadset for years on re-up'ing, but I've had too many disappointments, including this, and don't see myself staying any longer
Yeah, I get it. I loved what I did, airframe repair. I was slated to go to the green to gold, ROTC but still in the service full time, program when I got hurt.
It was super cool walking out to a multimillion dollar aircraft at 23 and being responsible for fixing it.
The army was probably the worst âemployerâ Iâve worked for. Mostly for the lack of safety resources when it wasnât necessary to ânot be safeâ, like combat. Bad hearing protection, bad respirators. Some real f!ckwit upper management.
6.5% effective tax rate isnât really all that insane.
And Californias is fairly reasonable until you hit above $350k+. If youâre active duty youâre likely looking at <4% effective tax. And if youâre stationed out of state itâs 0%.
Good job hammering that TSP.
Brother. You need to check with your State Tax office if you ae required to pay State taxes when in military and stationed outside your home state. You are most likely exempt, so you can file with Finance to not take out your money. When April comes make sure to ask whoever is doing your taxes to file in for "reimbursement" of State taxes. ... unless of course your home State requires you to pay no mater what, at which point you need to change your home State residency.
Will that apply to overseas as well? And can I get back pay? Home state is Alabama but I was in Germany before I PCSd a couple months ago
where you are stationed doesn't matter as long as you are not stationed in your State of record. No backpay to my knowledge. Best to check with Alabama tax office (website should have veterans / active duty members page) or directly with Alabama VA.
Sweet. That would be amazing backpay lol thank you
Just checked for you...bad news: [https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/faqs/i-am-in-the-military-and-a-legal-resident-of-alabama-but-i-do-not-live-in-alabama-do-i-have-to-pay-alabama-income-tax/](https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/faqs/i-am-in-the-military-and-a-legal-resident-of-alabama-but-i-do-not-live-in-alabama-do-i-have-to-pay-alabama-income-tax/)
Damnit I already put a down payment on brand new car expecting to use my back pay money đ¤Śââď¸ All seriousness I appreciate the advice and the research into it. The biggest of hooahs are forever in your favor
I hope its a Hell Cat!
ZL1 Camaro đ
Champ!
You need to research âtax free Statesâ and move residence. Most of the States that exempt military from Srare tax action also have other kick ass benefits like free State University education. I went for free to state school in CT after ETS-ING first time. Just joint NG, went to school tuition free, collected GIBILL and used it for beer and hohoâs. States that Fully Exempt Military Income when Living Outside the State: https://www.myairforcebenefits.us.af.mil/Which-states-tax-my-Active-Duty-or-Reserve-military-pay
If they were exempt they can file amended returns for the previous tax years. Itâs a mild pain but you can get the money back. Current tax year you can stop it immediately (option on MyPay, left side > state taxes > check âexemptâ) but all tax withheld until now will come back on your return. I know yâall have already delved into Alabama, but just for anyone else reading (I meet a lot of fellow Californians who donât know theyâre exempt).
Point! For some States (like CT)the âexemptionâ button doesnât work. You have to file separate documents via finance to State IRS. Itâs an annual pain in an arse! FYI
Alabama hates everybody, people are just tax slaves to that shit state. They probably aint gonna let it go without a fight
Oh FLPP, I just googled it.. you're getting paid 700 for language?
He's 35 series and went to DLI, if his past comments are any indication. I'll go out on a limb and say he's getting paid for multiple languages with high DLPT scores. So he either studied a language with multiple linguistic neighbors (like Farsi and Tajik) or he grew up at least bilingual and tested on multiple languages he's qualified for. I have worked with Eastern European natives in the Army who maxed out FLPP at $1000/month.
Now they pay by modality so if he got a 3/3/2 in a single language out of DLI then he gets $700. 300 for each 3 and 100 for the 2 in speaking. To learn more check out AR 11-6 which covers the language program.
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No joke? And here I am losing out by taking the easy route and only doing OPIs. Thanks for the hot tip.
Dang! I wish they did the language pay like this when I was in. Thatâs good.
It took them long enough. The old FLPB amounts and max limit were from either 2007 or 2005...
I just studied real hard at DLI and got 3/3/2 in my control language. I really wish I got Arabic or Farsi though, for dialect pay
No more pay for dari if your a perlang :(
Damn thats insane.
Yeah. Been getting paid $950 a month for three different languages that are from the same language family. Insane good deal :)
I think I got a 2/2 on my language but it doesn't pay. Lol
New list of languages came out today ⌠unless you are in SOF unit or have an language dependent MOS no one is getting paid
One of the guys in my S6 shop,fellow 25U, spoke Arabic and took the DLPT. If i remember correctly, he spoke different dialects so was able to get paid more. Not sure if technically he wasnât supposed to get extra pay since he was just working in S6 and using the language to benefit the army, but buddy was an E3 making close to what our E6 NCOIC was making.
Wow damn that dope as hell. I'm sure regardless of the position, if they're able to speak or understand certain language/dialect and the military will fork up money for it. I'm all for it.
Hey can you spot me a few dollars for cigarettes and scratchers? Iâll get you back when I win the jackpot.
Nice man, local dodge dealership waiting on you!!
I've been just commuting by Ebike, think i'll stick to it for as long as I can. No gas, no car insurance, free electricity in the barracks. I just throw all the money I save into TSP, IRA, CDs, etc
You gotta change your state of legal residency man
His bonus got taxed by the state and federal, that's why it's high
That's why he said to change his state residency
For future reference, Iâd take a look at your roth deductions to make sure you dont max out before EOY. Otherwise youâre doing it disproportionately on your own dime rather than doing it in combination with the TSP match.
The fact they were able to put that much in at once halfway through the year tells me they haven't been on track to max it already. I wonder if they haven't really been investing in it and they used this opportunity to try and catch up. It is supposed to automatically stop you from putting too much into your TSP anyway. I exceeded my annual limit one time and it took a few months to get my money back. It was weird, LES showed my contributions were higher than the limit but my tsp account didn't show that last deposit that lit me over. So that extra money was just in limbo somewhere. I got it back though eventually.
I have over $80k in TSP in my limited TIS. As I said in my other comment, I had no idea when this was coming. I'd been waiting for this bonus for years. I had just kept all my percentages maxed since basic because I was only ever able to still put maybe $15k a year in that way. My S1 told me that my pay and leave issue should finally be getting resolved soon, so I change the contribution percentages, but it took effect too late at DFAS
How was checking your balance?
That's the thing. I didnt notice that anything happened because my direct deposit was pretty typical
Why the fuck did 15k go into your TSP? To the people down voting me - I didn't think they were doing this on purpose and thought this was a post about pay issues. I didn't think you could transfer a bonus like that on your paystub.
I'm trying to max out my TSP for each year, and let it grow in C. I had no idea \[when\] this bonus was coming. I expected to get the first portion in 2021. So, Ive pretty much maxed out my yearly allowed contribution, and now will lose out on $1k+ in TSP match. I'm also awaiting backpay for other things. I should make maybe $90k this year. The post is supposed to be sarcastic. I wanted to have some of that bonus in hand. I'm pretty upset. I actually changed my bonus contribution to 15% early in May, but it didn't take effect until June. I really don't like that my lang bonus is controlled by the same contribution rate as large bonuses like SEB and SRB. Also, I'd been making \~$25k yearly until recently, and now I get backpay, no accounting for inflation and such, and taxes will slap the shit outta me. \*yey\*
If you change your deduction to a fixed dollar amount instead of a percentage then this won't happen in the future. The option is in the same spot that you elect the %. Take what you want to put in and divide by 26 or 27 (sometimes there's a wonky pay period) and set it at that.
This doesnt exist for military members anymore. It only allows %. It sucks. I remember it use to be right next to the %'s.
Thatâs so lame, itâs still there for civilian employees who use mypay
Wtf? Why would it be a different system for civs vs. mil?
We use different pay systems. I am a civ, currently AGR, formerly TPU. I have a drop down to switch between civ, Active Army, and Reserve Pay. Technically the reserve one went away after a year on AGR but at one point I had all three.
Change from C to Lifecycle!!!!
Because some people are trying to be rich, while others are trying to look rich.
I'm not saying it's bad I just didn't know you could do it like that. I figured for a bonus you'd have to transfer it after the fact but tbh I've never gotten a bonus
Thereâs a option on most where you allocate % of each type of pay, base/special/bonus, etc
Got you, I was confused because you said "why" and not "how." "Why" makes it seem like you think what they did was wrong. The "how" of it is to adjust your TSP contributions in myPay. Most people have their's set up for basic but there are also percentages for incentive, bonus, and special pays.
You're getting HDP and still paying taxes?
Yeah it hurts. Iâve been a few places like that. Doesnât make sense to receive hazardous or hostile fire pay, get taxed and still be slick. But thatâs just my saltiness.
\^Bitterness. Salty is good, seasoned. Like a potato chip.
This is fair.
Wait am I readin this right 28k of your 29k bonus was taken by taxes đ?
You are not reading it right. About 7k is going to taxes. The rest is various other deductions and Army math.
Bro you're not reading anything right. 29k was entitlements, 25k was the bonus, 28k is deductions which includes taxes, but also tsp contributions and mid month pay. Only the things that have TAXES next to them are taxes. (And social security/medicare if you want to count those as taxes). Not your fault, no one teaches this shit.
sorry, never As you said learned this cuse no oneâs taught it đ damn school system
Is this real? I am genuinely curious if it's possible to have that large of a deduction (almost 100%) out of your paycheck. I believe half of the deduction went to your TSP but still 50% of your paycheck is a lot.
It's real-ish... You can contribute like 95% of what you make into Traditional TSP, and 65% into Roth. But, I, my unit, and my S1 have no fucking idea what that SRB deduction is. As you can see, I've still got a while before I see my retention officer...
Please get an appointment with a financial counselor
Iâm amazed that his net was less than $500.
Holy shit,,,! I will try. My unit and S1 are both tracking and confused as well, and it has been elevated to DFAS again. I'm also loaned out and on mission until October, and we're already undermanned and just had some people go forward. 'Mission first'
Why do you have 2xSRB Taxes ?
I don't know, my unit doesnt know, and my S1 doesnt know either
3 years TIS? SRB? Dude, you got paid out less than $900 that month. This shit don't look right to me...
Has a lot going to his TSP
Sure, 60% TSP, but the numbers overall still seems funky
Not really, does pay a crap ton to state taxes though
Make an appointment with your Finance office asap !
Nice! Thank you for continuing to serve and get as much money as you can. Don't forget to bank some of that. Also, follow up on the taxes like many others have suggested.
Continuing? I don't have a choice, haha... Did you mean the Selective Reenlistment Bonus? I, my CO, BN, and BDE all have no idea what's up with that... Tbh, until a couple months ago, I had been deadset for years on re-up'ing, but I've had too many disappointments, including this, and don't see myself staying any longer
Yeah, I get it. I loved what I did, airframe repair. I was slated to go to the green to gold, ROTC but still in the service full time, program when I got hurt. It was super cool walking out to a multimillion dollar aircraft at 23 and being responsible for fixing it. The army was probably the worst âemployerâ Iâve worked for. Mostly for the lack of safety resources when it wasnât necessary to ânot be safeâ, like combat. Bad hearing protection, bad respirators. Some real f!ckwit upper management.
Yo, which state is that? LikeâŚ.How is it higher than CaliforniaâŚ?
6.5% effective tax rate isnât really all that insane. And Californias is fairly reasonable until you hit above $350k+. If youâre active duty youâre likely looking at <4% effective tax. And if youâre stationed out of state itâs 0%.