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Texas State Tax

Does Texas tax military retirement pay?

No. Texas has no income tax for individuals.Its constitution rules one out. Across the line, Oklahoma does have an income tax, but since the 2022 tax year it does not tax military retirement pay either.

This page shows what each state does with your retired pay, a surviving spouse's payments and your other income.

Texas, Oklahoma and federal law sourcedChecked October 2026

Start Here

Why Texas does not tax it

The Texas Constitution says the legislature may not tax the net incomes of individuals. So Texas has no income tax for you to pay on your military retired or retainer pay.

The same goes for active duty pay, a surviving spouse's payments, and any other income you have. Texas does not tax an individual's income at all.

That line was added to the Texas Constitution in November 2019.

Sources: Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

What The Line Changes

Texas or Oklahoma

Federal law says a state cannot tax the retirement income of someone who is not its resident and does not keep their legal home there, and that includes military retired pay. Each state uses its own law to decide who its residents are.

So the state where you are a resident decides, not where you served or where you retired from.

You live in Texas

Texas resident
Military retired pay

Not taxed

Texas has no income tax for individuals.

Married, both retired

Not taxed

The same for both of you.

A surviving spouse

Not taxed

Texas has no income tax for individuals, so these payments are not taxed either.

Your other income

Not taxed

A job, another pension or a spouse's pay: Texas taxes none of it.

You live in Oklahoma

Oklahoma resident
Military retired pay

Not taxed

You subtract all of it, from the 2022 tax year on. You claim it on Form 511, Schedule 511-A, line 4.

Married, both retired

Each of you subtracts all of yours

Oklahoma's rule is for each person who gets this pay.

A surviving spouse

Not named in Oklahoma's rule

Oklahoma's retired pay law and form instructions name retirement pay from the Armed Forces and do not mention survivor payments. Ask the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Your other income

Taxed by Oklahoma's rules

Oklahoma counts a resident's income from inside and outside the state. It subtracts Social Security benefits, and other pensions have their own rules.

For the retired pay itself, the line does not change the answer: neither state taxes it. What the line changes is your other income, and how clear the rule is for a surviving spouse.

Every other state sets its own rule. If you are looking across a different state line, ask that state's tax agency how it treats military retired pay.

Sources: 4 U.S. Code 114. Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a. Oklahoma Statutes, Title 68, Section 2358 (subsection E, paragraph 17). Oklahoma Tax Commission, 2025 Form 511 packet. Oklahoma Tax Commission, Income Tax Help Center. All retrieved 30 October 2026.

When You Move

Check your state withholding

DFAS, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, can take state income tax out of your retired pay for one state at a time.

You can start, stop or change it in myPay, or with DD Form 2866. DFAS's table lists Texas as a state it cannot withhold for, and Oklahoma as one it can. If you move, check which state, if any, your retired pay is set to.

DFAS says it cannot take state tax out for annuitants. DFAS calls people who get Survivor Benefit Plan payments "SBP annuitants".

This page is about state tax. DFAS says whether some or all of your retired pay is taxed by the federal government depends on your own case.

Sources: DFAS, How to Start, Stop or Change State Income Tax Withholding from Your Military Retired Pay. DFAS, Taxes. DFAS, Is it Taxable?. All retrieved 30 October 2026.

Before You Buy

What to ask before you choose a side

Ask these before you sign, so the tax is part of the plan.

  1. Which state will I live in, and what does that state's law say makes me a resident?
  2. If I live in Oklahoma, what else will Oklahoma tax, like a job, my spouse's pay or another pension?
  3. If my spouse would get Survivor Benefit Plan payments, how would Oklahoma treat them? Ask the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
  4. Is my state withholding in myPay set to the right state, or to none?
  5. What about property and sales taxes? This page covers only income tax.

This page is not legal or tax advice. The Oklahoma Tax Commission decides how an Oklahoma return is treated. Ask a tax professional about your own case.

A page can explain the tax rule.An agent who works in Wichita Falls and Sheppard Air Force Base (AFB) can walk a specific home with you.

Tim Lockhart is a Mission Ready Operator in Wichita Falls and Sheppard AFB and a retired U.S. Air Force Major. He represents buyers, including military families relocating into the Wichita Falls and Sheppard AFB area.

See the operator pageHow we verify operators

Last reviewed October 2026 · Maintained by My Military HQ

Common Questions

Questions retirees ask about Texas tax

Does Texas tax military retirement pay?

No. Texas has no income tax for individuals, so it does not tax military retired or retainer pay. The Texas Constitution says the legislature may not tax the net incomes of individuals.

Does Oklahoma tax military retirement pay?

No, for the 2022 tax year and later. Each Oklahoma resident who gets retirement pay from any part of the U.S. Armed Forces can subtract all of it on Oklahoma's resident return, Form 511, Schedule 511-A. Before 2022, Oklahoma limited how much you could subtract.

Do Texas and Oklahoma tax active duty military pay?

Texas does not, because it has no income tax for individuals. Oklahoma residents can subtract all of their active military pay, including Reserve and National Guard pay, on Oklahoma's Schedule 511-C.

Does Texas tax a surviving spouse's Survivor Benefit Plan payments?

No. Texas has no income tax for individuals. Oklahoma's retired pay law and its Form 511 instructions do not mention Survivor Benefit Plan payments, so a surviving spouse in Oklahoma should ask the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

If I move to Texas, can the state I retired from tax my military retirement pay?

Not once you are no longer its resident and your legal home is somewhere else. Federal law says a state cannot tax the retirement income of someone who is not its resident and does not keep their legal home there, and that includes military retired pay. Each state uses its own law to decide who its residents are. If you are a Texas resident, Texas has no income tax to apply.

How do I change state tax withholding on my military retirement pay?

Use myPay, or send DD Form 2866, says DFAS, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. DFAS takes out tax for one state at a time, and its table lists Texas as a state it cannot withhold for. If you move to Texas, check which state, if any, your retired pay is set to.

Sources

Where every fact came from

Everything on this page comes from Texas law, Oklahoma law, federal law, or the agencies that apply them. Where they do not say something, we left it out.

What we left out on purpose. We give no tax rates, because they change, and we do not say how much you would save, because that depends on your whole return. We cover only income tax, not property or sales tax. We cover only Texas and Oklahoma, because each other state sets its own rule. Oklahoma's retired pay law and tax form do not mention Survivor Benefit Plan payments, so we do not say how they are treated. And we leave out Oklahoma's smaller limits before the 2022 tax year, and the forms for a year you move in or out.

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