Military Finishing and Filing the Return

Time Requirement: 30 minutes

Purpose

Review the special filing concerns of members of the U.S Armed Forces. The lesson covers how to determine where and when to file a federal tax return, who qualifies for a deadline extension, and who qualifies for special tax benefits.

Objectives

• Identify the special tax filing concerns of members of the Armed Forces
• Describe the extensions to file that are available for members of the Armed Forces
• Determine the effect on taxes of being in a combat zone
• Identify the tax forgiveness provisions related to military or terrorist actions

Teaching the Lesson

Refer to the Lesson Plan for helpful instructor notes, visual aids, TaxSlayer demos, and Internet links. Prompt students to share what they know about filing returns for military members.

• When is the due date for a typical service member's tax return?
• When is the due date for a tax return for a service member in a combat zone?
• How does a taxpayer request an extension on filing?
• Who may qualify for a deferral of taxes owed?

Refer students who may want to work independently to Publication 4491, Military Finishing and Filing the Return.

Key References

This lesson refers to the following publications and forms:

• Form 13614-C
• Publication 4012, Tab M, Other Returns, Tab D, Income, and Tab K, Finishing the Return
• Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax guide
• Publication 17, Part Two, Income, Mililtary
• Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

All references to materials can be found by clicking the Job Aids and Media buttons. There are also links to helpful tools that can be found on the irs.gov public portal. For this lesson, students can link to the following sites for additional help:

• Tax Trails - What geographic areas are considered combat zones?
• Tax Trails - Questions and Answers on Combat Zone Tax Provisions
• Tax Trails - Notifying the IRS by E-mail of Combat Zone Service
• Tax Trails - Extension of Your Time to File
• Tax Information for Members of the Military

TaxSlayer Demos and Tutorials

It is recommended to go to the Practice Lab and access the latest Taxslayer tutorial for this lesson. The TaxSlayer tutorials can be found by going to the Practice Lab and clicking on the link for TaxSlayer IRS training.

Publication 4012 for information on where and when to file a federal tax return, who qualifies for a deadline extension, and who qualifies for special tax benefits.