RDNKCPA Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 I have a client that serves in the National Guard. Last year he got deployed to Afghanistan and most all of his pay was combat pay, which is not taxable. Q Code on the W2. He also receives a 1099R for a disability retirement from the local Sherriff's office, also non-taxable. His AGI is $32K, he's married and has two children which are dependents. Everything that I see, he qualifies. Am I missing anything? He's my only client that has qualified for the EIC, I want to be sure before I file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 Yes, he qualifies. HERE ARE THE SPECIAL MILITARY EITC RULES http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Special-EITC-Rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneInAlabama Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 WOW! On disability retirement and deployed to Afghanistan. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogTom Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 WOW! On disability retirement and deployed to Afghanistan. That was my thought too? How can someone be physically unable to work as a cop, but fight as a soldier? Tom Hollister, CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 It makes sense because if you are deployed to Afghanistan that is not considered earned income, it is considered earned income ONLY for EIC purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 That was my thought too? How can someone be physically unable to work as a cop, but fight as a soldier? Tom Hollister, CA That just comes down to crazy rules the unions have gotten put in place for qualifying for disability. Remember the case about the cop who got full disability because he stapled his finger? http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-Jersey-Transit-Police-Officer-Disability-Lifetime-Pension-Shooting-Gun-Facebook-Video-235336831.html http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/12/12/Police-officer-staples-finger-gets-lifetime-disability-study-finds/UPI-65141386875426/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDNKCPA Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 That just comes down to crazy rules the unions have gotten put in place for qualifying for disability. Remember the case about the cop who got full disability because he stapled his finger? http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-Jersey-Transit-Police-Officer-Disability-Lifetime-Pension-Shooting-Gun-Facebook-Video-235336831.html http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/12/12/Police-officer-staples-finger-gets-lifetime-disability-study-finds/UPI-65141386875426/ I appreciate all the advice given on the board. He had the W2 income to qualify for the EIC, however there is a fair amount of income he received, Basic Allowance for Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, family separation pay, combat pay, hazardous duty pay that is not taxable. If you add all of his basic pay and allowances up plus his non-taxable portion of his police disability he made a decent amount of money. I don't think the EIC law was written for that, and we are taking advantage of a huge loop-hole. As far as the disability, people have offered some opinions here that are borderline offensive. I have served on active duty with this client, and oh by the way he received a bronze star for his last deployment. He's in his late 40's now and is more physically fit than most 19 year olds. As you might imagine being a patrol officer is just a little more stressful than banging out tax returns. In his late 30's after being on the job for almost 20 years, he had chest pains and a difficult time breathing. He went and saw his doctor and he ended up getting two stents put in his heart, put on blood pressure medication and a slew of other drugs. The police department he worked for was worried that the continued stress of being a patrol officer might kill him, so the police department, not the union, not my client, forced him to medically retire. In 2008 when our unit mobilized to go to Iraq, he was non-deployable because of all the medication he was on. After nearly 5 years of taking even better care of himself, stabilizing his blood pressure, and getting off of a lot of the medication he was on, he was able to deploy last year. He's not an infantryman, or special forces, he was there to train Afghan police, something he knew about and something he is extremely good at. Also, he likes to serve his country and has done most of his life, either as a local Sherriff's deputy or US Army Soldier & National Guardsman. So before you fire off with uninformed opinions you need the entire story. That being said, I appreciate all the sound advice I have received on this board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Sounds like someone who deserves that EITC, IMHO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogTom Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 RDNKCPA, I am sorry if it sounded offensive. I think of disability as something that keeps you from being able to work. I was only commenting that being a cop and being a soldier are both very physically demanding jobs. From just the information that he was on disability from his cop job, but serving as a soldier, I was a little perplexed as to how that could happen. I meant absolutely no offense, and I definately appreciate his service to our country. Tom Hollister, CA 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 RDNKCPA, I am sorry if it sounded offensive. I think of disability as something that keeps you from being able to work. I was only commenting that being a cop and being a soldier are both very physically demanding jobs. From just the information that he was on disability from his cop job, but serving as a soldier, I was a little perplexed as to how that could happen. I meant absolutely no offense, and I definately appreciate his service to our country. Tom Hollister, CA That was beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneInAlabama Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I too apologize. It just seemed very unusual that a person could be on disability retirement and be in the military at the same time. The way you explained it certainly makes sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDNKCPA Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Sorry everybody if I sound a little defensive. The disability mainly was done by the sherriff's office as a preventative measure. They didn't want him dying on duty. In the National Guard he was put on a non-deployable status and got a position training other MP soldiers. He is an excellent trainer and was specifically tapped for this mission because of his natural ability to teach. He can take the most dry and boring stuff on the planet and can keep everybody interested. He went through a battery of tests and was cleared to deploy. But I see where you are coming from. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 A perfect example of why you need a lot of info before you can make a fair determination of most any situation. Something we are reminded of a lot in our business. I'm glad we're all back to being friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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