Publication 3 (2008), Armed Forces' Tax Guide

State bonus payments. Bonus payments made by a state (or a political subdivision thereof) for service in a combat zone may not be taxable. See State bonus payments , later under Gross Income .

Earned income credit. The maximum amount of income you can earn and still claim the earned income credit has increased. You may be able to take the credit if you earned less than $38,646 ($41,646 for married filing jointly) if you have two or more qualifying children; $33,995 ($36,995 for married filing jointly) if you have one qualifying child; and, $12,880 ($15,880 for married filing jointly) if you do not have any qualifying children. See Earned Income Credit, later, under Credits.

Standard mileage rate. The standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car for business use in 2008 is 50.5 cents a mile (58.5 cents a mile after June 30, 2008). The standard mileage rate for operating your car during 2008 to get medical care or to move is 19 cents a mile (27 cents a mile after June 30, 2008).

Recovery rebate credit. You may be able to claim the recovery rebate credit for 2008. See Recovery Rebate Credit, later, under Credits.

Change of address. If you change your mailing address, be sure to notify the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using Form 8822, Change of Address. Mail it to the Internal Revenue Service Center for your old address. (Addresses for the Service Centers are on the back of the form.)

Third party designee. You can check the Yes box in the Third Party Designee area of your return to authorize the IRS to discuss your return with a friend, family member, or any other person you choose. This allows the IRS to call the person you identified as your designee to answer any questions that may arise during the processing of your tax return. It also allows your designee to perform certain actions. See your income tax package for details.

Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

This publication covers the special tax situations of active members of the U.S. Armed Forces. It does not cover military pensions or veterans' benefits or give the basic tax rules that apply to all taxpayers. For information on military pensions or veterans' benefits, see Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income. If you need the basic tax rules or information on another subject not covered here, you can check our other free publications. See Publication 910, IRS Guide to Free Tax Services, for a list and descriptions of the different tax publications.

For federal tax purposes, the U.S. Armed Forces includes commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted personnel in all regular and reserve units under control of the Secretaries of the Defense, Army, Navy, and Air Force. The U.S. Armed Forces also includes the Coast Guard. It does not include the U.S. Merchant Marine or the American Red Cross.

Members serving in an area designated or treated as a combat zone are granted special tax benefits. In the event an area ceases to be a combat zone, the IRS will do its best to notify you. Many of the relief provisions will end at that time.

Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.

You can write to us at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224

We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence.

You can email us at *[email protected]. (The asterisk must be included in the address.) Please put “Publications Comment” on the subject line. Although we cannot respond individually to each email, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax products.

Ordering forms and publications. Visit www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the address below and receive a response within 10 days after your request is received.

Internal Revenue Service
1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway
Bloomington, IL 61705-6613

Tax questions. If you have a tax question, check the information available on www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions sent to either of the above addresses.

Publication

54 Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
463 Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses
501 Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
503 Child and Dependent Care Expenses
505 Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
516 U.S. Government Civilian Employees Stationed Abroad
519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
521 Moving Expenses
523 Selling Your Home
525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income
527 Residential Rental Property
529 Miscellaneous Deductions
553 Highlights of 2008 Tax Changes
559 Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
590 Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
596 Earned Income Credit (EIC)
970 Tax Benefits for Education
3920 Tax Relief for Victims of Terrorist Attacks

Form (and Instructions)

1040X Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
1310 Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
3903 Moving Expenses
4868 Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
8822 Change of Address
9465 Installment Agreement Request

Publication 3 - Introductory Material

What's New

Reminders

Introduction

Useful Items - You may want to see: