District of Columbia Income Tax for Service Members and Military Spouses

The District follows the federal rules on military residence, and its return tells you so directly. District domiciliaries. The 2025 D-40 instructions say you must file if "You were a member of the United States (US) armed forces and DC was your legal residence for tax purposes for all or part of 2025". Active duty pay is taxable to a District domiciliary wherever they serve, less whatever federal law excludes, such as combat zone pay. Stationed here, domiciled elsewhere. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. 4001, keeps a service member's domicile and military income out of the reach of the place they are stationed. The Act's definition of State at 50 U.S.C. 3911(6) expressly includes the District of Columbia. A member stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling or Fort McNair whose DD Form 2058 names another state owes the District nothing on military pay. If District tax was withheld in error, the D-40B nonresident refund request is the form, and the instructions say military spouses must attach DD Form 2058. Military spouses. Under the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, which is part of the same federal statute, a spouse who is in the District only to be with a service member on orders may keep the same domicile as the service member. The D-40's Schedule I has a separate subtraction line headed "Military Spouse Residency Relief Act" for a District return that includes such income. Combat zones. The instructions extend deadlines for "persons in the Armed Forces serving in a Combat Zone or a Contingency Operation", and the extension also reaches a spouse or registered domestic partner filing jointly or separately on the same return, following IRS Publication 3. The Army benefits library describes it as 180 days after return; IRS Publication 3 is the rule the District adopts. Filing thresholds. The District requires a return from a single filer with gross income of $15,000 or more, or $30,000 for a joint filer, for tax year 2025.