Wyoming SCRA Benefits: State-Duty SCRA, No Tax

Wyoming gives a Guard member both halves of a good deal at once: real civil relief on state orders and no income tax on the pay. It imports the federal SCRA, backs it with a criminal penalty, shields your duty pay from creditors, and taxes none of it.

What Wyoming brings on top of the federal SCRA

Protection	Federal SCRA	Wyoming
Guard on state active duty (30+ continuous days)	✕ Not covered	✓ Full federal SCRA applies (W.S. § 19-11-122)
6% cap, lease exit, default judgment	✓ On federal orders	✓ Extended to state orders
Garnishment of military-duty pay	n/a	✓ Exempt
Penalty for violating your rights	Federal enforcement	✓ Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine
State income tax on the duty-station election	Depends on state	✓ None. 0%

One import, with teeth

Section 19-11-122 adopts the federal SCRA for state service of more than 30 continuous days, so on those orders you can cap a pre-service loan at 6% with the standard rate-cap letter, terminate a lease, and raise the default-judgment and foreclosure shields. Two extras set Wyoming apart. Knowingly violating those rights is a misdemeanor carrying a fine up to $1,000, which gives a creditor a real reason to comply. And your military-duty pay is exempt from garnishment, so the income you earn while activated stays yours.

The line to check is the threshold: more than 30 continuous days of state active duty. On federal orders the SCRA applies regardless.

The tax side: no income tax

Wyoming has no state income tax, which turns an assignment here into the cleanest version of the duty-station tax election: you and your spouse may elect the duty-station state and pay $0 state income tax on covered income, even if domiciled in a state that taxes. Stack the car-tax rules and the math gets better.

The Wyoming rundown

1. WY Guard past 30 continuous days of state active duty: send the 6% cap letters on pre-service debt and cite W.S. § 19-11-122 as the bridge to the SCRA.
2. A creditor ignores the law: it is a misdemeanor under 19-11-122; document it and raise the penalty.
3. A creditor tries to garnish your duty pay: it is exempt; cite the statute and stop it.
4. PCS or activation with a lease: use the lease exit and the termination calculator.
5. Stationed in Wyoming: make the duty-station tax election the month you arrive. There is no state income tax to pay.

The law behind this: W.S. § 19-11-122

Military service member protections: the federal SCRA extended to the Guard on state active duty over 30 continuous days, with a misdemeanor penalty and garnishment exemption: read the statute.