Miscellaneous

The IRS toll-free disaster assistance telephone number, 1-866-562-5227, if you are a hurricane victim with specific questions about tax relief or disaster related tax issues.

The IRS is providing help to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Special tax relief and assistance is available to taxpayers in the Presidential Disaster Areas.
So far, the IRS filing and payment relief applies to the following localities identified by FEMA for Individual Assistance due to Hurricane Sandy:
In Connecticut: Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven, and New London Counties and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Mohegan Tribal Nation located within New London County;
In Maryland: Somerset County
In New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren;
In New York: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Sullivan, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester;
In Rhode Island: Newport and Washington counties.
Other locations may be added in coming days based on additional damage assessments by FEMA.

For information on disaster recovery, individuals should visit disasterassistance.gov or http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Help-for-Victims-of-Hurricane-Sandy

Yes. Members of the armed forces serving in a combat zone which is considered tax free can contribute to Traditional and Roth IRA plans.

The four branches of the US military operate their own service academies. They are all four-year institutions. Competition to get into these schools is highly competitive. Students become commissioned officers immediately upon graduation. Those who are accepted get full scholarships and a small monthly allowance. For more information, speak to your HS guidance counselor or contact: The Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut at 800-883-8372, The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. at 800-822-8762, The Naval Academy in Maryland at 800-638-9156, The Air Force Academy in Colorado at 800-443-9266.

Veteran status is needed for Federal financial aid purposes when determining dependency status. A veteran is a former member of the US Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard) who served on active duty and was discharged other than dishonorably, meaning: received an honorable or medical discharge. You are a veteran even if you serve just one day on active duty, (not active duty for training before receiving your DD-214 and formal discharge papers). In order for a veteran to be eligible for VA educational benefits, they must have served for more than 180 consecutive days on active duty before receiving an honorable discharge. There are exceptions for participation in Desert Storm/Desert Shield and other military campaigns.) ROTC students, members of the National Guard, and most reservists are not considered veterans. Since the 1995-96 academic year, a person who was discharged other than dishonorably from one of the military service academies (the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs or the Coast Guard Academy at New London) is considered a veteran for financial aid purposes. Cadets and midshipmen who are still enrolled in one of the military service academies, however, are not considered veterans. According to the US Department of Education's Action Letter #6 (February 1996), "a student who enrolls in a service academy, but who withdraws before graduating, is considered a veteran for purposes of determining dependency status". Having a DD-214 does not necessarily mean that you are a veteran for financial aid purposes. As noted above, you must have served on active duty and received an honorable discharge.

Payment for service outside a designated combat zone is not excluded from income unless the pay is hostile fire/imminent danger pay for serving an area in direct support of military operations in the combat zone. The Department of Defense certifies areas that meet these requirements. Hostile fire/imminent danger pay received for service in a non-certified area is taxable. Generally, hostile fire/imminent danger pay is included on Forms W-2 for persons who do not qualify for the exclusion and not included on Forms W-2 for persons who do qualify for the exclusion.

Yes. Military pay received by enlisted personnel who are hospitalized as a result of injuries sustained while serving in a combat zone is excluded from gross income for the period of hospitalization, subject to the 2-year limitation provided below. Commissioned officers have a similar exclusion, limited to the maximum enlisted pay amount per month. These exclusions from gross income for hospitalized enlisted personnel and commissioned officers end 2 years after the date of termination of the combat zone.

Yes. The combat zone includes the airspace over it, so you are serving in the combat zone. See Q&A-2 above for a discussion of the amount of your military pay that is excluded.