The tax code and a handful of federal statutes carve out real protections for military members and veterans, and in my experience they are chronically underused - partly because the people who earned them are dealing with deployments, transitions, and VA paperwork instead of tax research.
While You Serve
Combat zone service triggers the broadest relief in the code: pay earned in a designated combat zone is excluded from income for enlisted members and warrant officers, with a capped exclusion for officers, and filing and payment deadlines are suspended for the time in the zone plus 180 days. Collection actions pause too. If the IRS pursued a balance that accrued around a deployment, the deadline math deserves a hard second look.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act adds more: a 6 percent interest cap on tax debts incurred before active duty, when service materially affects ability to pay, and protections against certain enforcement while serving. Military legal assistance offices know these rules, but the IRS does not apply them automatically - someone has to invoke them.
After You Serve
VA disability compensation is not taxable. Period. It does not belong on the return, and notices generated by mismatched reporting around it are fixable. Military retirement pay is taxable federally, but the interaction between retirement pay, VA offsets, and concurrent receipt confuses payers and the IRS alike, and I have seen veterans assessed on money they never actually received.
The big one: veterans who received disability severance pay and had taxes withheld from it may be owed that money back. The Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act recognized that disability severance was wrongly taxed for decades, and special claim procedures with extended deadlines were created for affected veterans. If you received a lump-sum disability severance and never filed for the refund, that is worth a conversation all by itself.
When a Vet Owes the IRS
All the standard resolution tools apply, and a few apply with extra force. VA disability income is protected from IRS levy in most circumstances, and a household living on disability compensation frequently qualifies for hardship status or strong offer terms because the IRS expense standards treat fixed disability income realistically.
I handle these cases with the respect they deserve. If you served and the IRS is on you, call me - the consultation is free, and there may be relief on the books written specifically for you.