E-FILING tax troubles??? Look no further than your address!

  • Published
  • By Catherine Harrington
  • 36th Wing JA Tax Center
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  As you may have heard, a local Guam addresses can cause problems when you E-FILE, or electronically file, your Federal tax return. Although Guam is an "overseas" assignment for some things, because we have access to U.S. Postal Service delivery, similar to Alaska or Hawaii, APO address are not issued for all military personnel assigned to Guam.

For those servicemembers who live in base housing with a Yigo, Guam, delivery address or who receive local mail delivery off-base we encounter some issues. Not only do some popular stores not ship to us, but we also face a frustrating situation with filing our federal tax returns. Unfortunately, servicemembers who use their local Guam addresses run in to three problem areas: One, the member MUST paper file their Federal tax return with the IRS and cannot use E-FILE; two, the member may be disallowed Earned-Income-Credit even if eligible; and three, processing the return, including any refund, is oftentimes delayed.

In fact, when trying to E-FILE with a local address, you will likely receive a rejection code which states, "Tax returns from the US Possessions of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands may not be electronically filed." Although paper filing with the IRS is an acceptable option, it takes weeks or months to process your return versus e-filing which usually takes 14 to 21 days from the time the IRS accepts your federal tax return.

Servicemembers who live in unaccompanied housing/dormitories and off-base, without mail delivery, are issued APO addresses. This personal APO address should allow you to E-FILE your federal tax return while stationed on Guam without these problems.

While the IRS has elected not to issue any concrete guidance on this address issue despite our requests, two other options exist. Military members can use their unit APO address or their home of record continental U.S. Address in order to E-FILE their returns while stationed on Guam. Remember, your E-FILE return can not reflect a Guam address anywhere on the return, including on your W-2s . If your W-2 has been updated with your current Guam address, you must select the option to leave the address matching the APO address or home of record. Additionally, if you or your spouse received a W2-GU, you MUST paper file. Unfortunately the system is unable to accept these documents electronically.

Please note, whatever address you use on your tax return will be the address the IRS will use to contact you. Therefore, this address must have a person who can forward your important documents quickly.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Andersen Tax Center at 366-4TAX.