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Show Military personnel must pay Utah income taxes SALT LAKE CITY Each year, military personnel stationed in Utah and Utahns serving in the armed forces outside of the state wonder whether they must file a Utah State Income Tax Return. The Utah State Tax Commission says the answers are fairly simple, if you ask yourself a few questions: Am I a Utah resident? Utah residents who go into military service do not lose their Utah residency solely by being absent ab-sent from Utah due to military orders. They are still liable for filing fil-ing resident income tax returns in Utah on all income regardless of source. If an income tax is required to be paid to another state on nonmilitary income, a credit is allowed for the tax paid to the other state. Nonresidents who are stationed in Utah solely due to military orders are not subject to tax on their military pay in Utah. However, if nonresident military personnel residing in Utah earn income in-come from Utah sources - other than active military service pay -they are required to file nonresident returns and pay any tax due. Note: A Utah resident in military service, stationed outside the United States, will be granted a waiver of penalty for late filing if the return is filed on or before the 15th day of the fourth month after the taxpayer's tax-payer's return to the United States or his discharge date, whichever is earlier. Interest would still be owing on any unpaid amounts from the original due date of the return until the tax is paid. What if my spouse earns an income in-come in Utah? Any income of a resident spouse is taxable by the State of Utah. If a spouse is a nonresident, any income from Utah sources is taxable by the State of Utah. Any income of the part-year resident spouse is taxable by Utah during the period of residency. What if my spouse is a Utah resident and I am not? The following filing procedure should be followed when one spouse is a resident and the other spouse is a nonresident or part-year resident: 1 . If you file separate federal fed-eral returns, you should file separate Utah returns. 2. If you file a joint federal return, you may elect to file a joint Utah return or you may file separate returns with Utah. If you file a joint return with Utah, you must include all income of both spouses as reported on your federal return. How do we file a joint federal return and separate Utah returns? If a joint federal return is filed and you choose to file separate Utah returns, you must compute your state taxable incomes as though your federal income had been computed com-puted separately, as follows: 1. First, you must determine the amount of the total federal adjusted ad-justed gross income pertaining to each spouse. If you have any adjustments ad-justments that apply jointly to both of you, those adjustments have to be divided in proportion to your respective incomes before you can deduct them. Unless the separate earnings of the spouses are clearly evident from attached W-2 forms, etc., you need to attach a statement to each spouse's return showing a breakdown of the items and amounts of the federal adjusted gross income pertaining to each spouse. 2. Next.determine the amount of federal taxable income for each spouse. Each spouse's percentage of the standard or itemized deductions is the same as that which each spouse's own Federal Fed-eral Adjusted Gross Income (FAGI) bears to their combined total FAGI. Exam pie: If the husband earns 80 percent of the couple's FAGI, his portion of the total itemized deductions deduc-tions would be 80 percent The wife's portion would be 20 percent of the total itemized deductions. The same ratio applies for claiming ' dependents. Each spouse claims his or her own exemption, plus his or her portion of the exemptions for dependents. 3. Next.each spouse must make the additions, subtractions subtrac-tions and equitable adjustments applicable to their own return.NOTE: For the nonresident or part-year resident spouse, the Utah income tax is a percentage of the amount that would be his or her Utah income tax as if the taxpayer were a full-year resident The Utah portion of the FAGI is the portion that was derived from Utah sources or was received while a Utah resident |