Am I required to pay taxes on income earned as a military spouse stationed in Michigan?

Under the Federal Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, the spouse of an individual in the military is a nonresident of a state and consequently not subject to that state's taxation if:

• The service member is present in that state due to military orders
• The spouse is in that state solely to accompany the service member
• The spouse maintains a domicile in another state

If a nonresident military spouse earned wages in Michigan, they are required to file an MI-1040, Schedule 1, Schedule NR, and Schedule W even if no Michigan tax was withheld.

Therefore, a military spouse who is a Michigan resident and plans to return to Michigan as his/her permanent home should include income earned in the other state on his/her Michigan individual income tax return. A Michigan military spouse may not claim a credit for the income taxes paid to another state. The military spouse must file a nonresident return with the other state to obtain a refund of taxes paid to that state.