According to Utah Publication 57, "All Utah income of the nonresident spouse of a nonresident active duty service member may be exempt from Utah tax if all of the following three conditions are met:
- the nonresident spouse had the same domicile as the nonresident service member prior to moving to Utah
- the nonresident active duty service member is in Utah under military orders, and
- the nonresident spouse is in Utah solely to be with their military service member spouse."
Also for income tax purposes, a service member's spouse may choose to:
- use their original state of residency, or
- my use their service member spouse's state of residency for easier filing.
The service member's spouse may choose the service member's state of residence even if they never lived there.
To claim tax-exempt from Utah withholding:
If the nonmilitary spouse qualifies for the exclusion of the income on the tax return, the spouse should provide the employer with a Federal W-4 Form claiming exempt from Utah withholding taxes.
Mark “Utah Copy” at the top of Form W-4
Write the words “Utah Exempt” in box 7.
To claim a refund of taxes withheld from your Utah income, follow these steps in the program:
- State Section
- Nonresident Utah Return
- Subtractions from Income
- Subtractions from Income (again)
- Add New
- Enter the income that was taxed in Utah and choose the reason for exemption from the drop-down menu-Nonresident military spouse earned income.
- Continue to save
Military Spouse income may be taxable on your state return where you file as a resident.