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Military Pay Newsletter |
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March 2009 |
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Making
Work Pay |
The Making
Work Pay credit will lower Federal Income Tax Withholding for
most members. This credit was part of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which became law in February
2009.
The Making Work Pay credit, available for 2009 and 2010, is
6.2 percent of a taxpayers' earned income with a maximum
credit of $800 for a married couple filing a joint return and
$400 for other taxpayers. It is phased out for married couples
filing a joint return with modified adjusted gross income (AGI)
between $150,000 and $190,000 and other taxpayers with
modified AGI between $75,000 and $95,000.
The credit will be spread out over the year through the new
withholding tables for 2009 released by the IRS. The new
withholding tables were implemented for March 2009 paydays for
Air Force, Army and Navy members. The new withholding tables
were implemented for April 2009 paydays, retroactive to March
1, 2009, for Marine Corps members.
Remember it is each tax payer's responsibility to ensure you
have enough withheld to cover your tax liability. Members do
not need to fill out a new W-4 to receive this tax credit.
Single and married members with multiple jobs may want to
submit revised W-4 forms to ensure enough withholding is held
to cover the tax for the combined income. IRS Publication 919
(available at www.irs.gov ) provides additional guidance for
tax withholding.
The IRS also released new tables for computing the advance
payment of earned income credit. These tables change the
percentage formula to increase payments for some married
members. The new percentage formula was implemented for March
2009 paydays for Air Force, Army and Navy members and
implemented for May 2009 paydays for Marine Corps members. Any
differences in advance payments of earned income credit due to
the later Marine Corps implementation will be adjusted on the
2009 tax return. |
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Tax
Time Help |
If you need
a W2 or W2C and have myPay access, you can retrieve these tax
statements electronically at https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx
. Tax statements available through myPay are approved for use
by the IRS. If you have lost, do not remember or have not
received a PIN, you can request myPay to mail/e-mail a new
random temporary PIN on the myPay Web site.
If you do not have access to myPay, you can obtain a W2 or W2C
by calling DFAS at 1-888-332-7411. That number can also be
used if there is any problem with your W2 or W2C. However,
specific instructions for Marine Corps members are listed at
http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/2008taxinformation/2008marinecorpstaxinformation.html
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If you need help filing a tax return, IRS publications and
forms are available at
www.irs.gov , or call the IRS at 1-800-829-3676. Publication
3, "Armed Forces' Tax Guide" includes information on extension
of tax return deadlines and deferral of payments for military
members. Unless you have an extension, 2008 tax returns are
due April 15, 2009. |
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Active
Duty Alert! |
Thanks to
amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are
now able to place an "active duty alert" in your credit
report. What this alert does is require creditors to verify
your identity before extending credit in your name. Your
credit report contains all kinds of personal information
including your residence, your financial history - how you pay
your bills, bankruptcy - even whether or not you've been sued
or arrested. Consumer reporting agencies sell this information
to creditors, insurers, employers and other business concerns.
The information is used to evaluate credit applications,
insurance, prospective employment and applications to rent a
home or apartment. In short, your credit report can make you
or break you.
Your credit report can be used to protect you from identity
theft. It can also be used to discover identity theft which
happens when identity thieves use your personal data to
perpetrate fraud. They may use your personal information to
open credit accounts and when the account becomes delinquent,
it is reported on your credit report. Delinquent entries on
your credit report affect your ability to secure credit or
housing, and identity theft can take a long time to clear your
record and restore your good name.
Placing an active duty alert on your credit report minimizes
the likelihood of an identity theft occurrence while you are
deployed or away from your customary duty station. Any credit
request will then alert the business to verify your identity,
and they may try to contact you directly before credit is
extended to the requestor. In cases where you cannot be
contacted, you can designate a representative to place or
remove an alert on your behalf. Active duty alerts will stay
in effect for a year unless you remove the alert sooner, or if
you are deployed longer than a year, you can place another
alert on your report. Another thing to remember is to update
your contact information if it changes before your alert
expires.
You can place or remove your active duty alert by contacting
one of three nationwide consumer reporting agencies: Experian,
Equifax and TransUnion. You will be asked to provide proof of
your identity (e.g., your name, SSN, address or other personal
information). You need only contact one company as that one is
required to inform the other two, and by so doing an alert
will be placed on other versions of your credit report. Here
is the contact information:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com
Transunion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com
Placing an active duty alert provides you the added benefit of
removing your name from nationwide marketing lists and
"pre-approved" credit and insurance offers. Your name will be
removed from these lists for two years unless you request that
your name be added back before the two years has expired.
DFAS-CL assisted the Navy and Marine Corps with their identity
theft campaign by placing a message on past Leave and Earnings
Statements (LES) about pre-deployment " anti-identity theft"
actions service members can take. In addition to placing the
active duty alert, we remind members to shred papers with
personal information before they deploy. The Navy Fleet and
Family Support Center or the Marine Corps Community Services
Center has additional information for protecting against
identity theft.
For more information about identity theft and your rights
under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Accurate Credit
Transactions Act, go to http://ftc.gov/credit . |
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Consumer Complaint |
The
Department of Defense and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
have jointly created a Web site, Military Sentinel, to collect
consumer complaints from the military communities. It is not
used to resolve individual complaints, but the data gathered
on the site is used by law enforcement organizations to target
cases for prosecution, other enforcement measures and consumer
education initiatives. The site is located at http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/military
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Complaints filed via Military Sentinel's secure online form
are forwarded to the FTC. The complaints are reviewed by FTC
staff and entered into the FTC's Consumer Information System
or Identify Theft Data Clearinghouse. Military Sentinel also
has links to information on consumer matters and legal
assistance.
The FTC also has a site that has many publications on consumer
protection, at www.ftc.gov . See "Other Publications" under
the "Consumer Protection" tab or type " Military" in the
search field for military related material. |
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BAS |
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Basic
Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) rates are linked to the
Agriculture Department's food-cost index. The 2009 BAS rates
represent an increase of 10 percent over 2008. The new rates
as of January 1, 2009 are: Officers (including commissioned
officers, warrant officers and aviation cadets) $223.04 per
month; and Enlisted $323.87 per month. Contact your local
personnel office for additional information. |
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(Source:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Military News Network
is not affiliated with the United States Department of
Defense) |
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Military Pay Newsletter March 2009
