Ohio retired pay

Is military retirement taxed in Ohio?

Not taxed

Line 34 Deduction Covers NOAA and PHS.

No. Ohio deducts all retired pay for service in the uniformed services, their reserve components, or the National Guard, to the extent it is in federal adjusted gross income, and SBP payments to a surviving or former spouse get the same deduction. Claim it on line 34 of the 2025 Ohio Schedule of Adjustments. The one limit: a federal civil service annuity that counts military years is deductible only for the military share.

The law: R.C. 5747.01(A)(23), with "uniformed services" defined in R.C. 5747.01(FF)
Current rule since: Not dated in the department's guidance; Information Release IT 2008-02, first issued October 17, 2008 and reissued February 1, 2024, already describes the R.C. 5747.01(A)(23) deduction, so it covers every year still open for refund. It was line 33 on the 2024 Schedule of Adjustments and is line 34 for 2025.
Where you claim it: Ohio Schedule of Adjustments, line 34 (Uniformed Services Retirement Income) for tax year 2025; line 33 on the 2024 schedule

Read on Ohio’s own sources October 9, 2026

What Ohio’s rule is worth on your retired pay

Enter your annual taxable retired pay (box 2a of your DFAS or Coast Guard 1099-R). The rate starts at Ohio’s top 3.125% rate for 2025 (nonbusiness income over $100,000; a single 2.75% rate above $26,050 from 2026) for tax year 2025; change it to your own bracket if you know it.

One rate applied to the whole amount, not Ohio’s full return: brackets, other income, deductions and credits change the real figure. Use it to compare, then check the state’s own form instructions.

How it works in Ohio

Enter the taxable retired pay from your DFAS 1099-R on line 34 of the 2025 Ohio Schedule of Adjustments. The 2025 instructions allow the deduction when two things are true: the income is in federal adjusted gross income, and it relates to service in the uniformed services, their reserve components, or the National Guard. Guard and Reserve retired pay therefore goes on the same line as active-component retired pay.

If military years were credited toward a CSRS or FERS annuity, deduct only the military share. Divide your years of uniformed service by your total federal service, then multiply by the annuity amount in federal AGI. The department's worked example uses 10 Army years out of 30 years of federal service and $90,000 of a $100,000 pension in federal AGI, for a $30,000 deduction. The instructions suggest asking the Office of Personnel Management for the service totals used in your annuity.

Line 34 money cannot also earn a credit. The 2025 instructions say amounts deducted there cannot be used to calculate the retirement income credit or the lump sum retirement credit, and R.C. 5747.01(A)(23) bars the deduction for any amount used for a credit under R.C. 5747.055. An IRA or private pension on top of your retired pay can still qualify for the retirement income credit, which tops out at $200 per return and requires modified adjusted gross income less exemptions under $100,000.

For 2025, Ohio charges nothing when nonbusiness income after exemptions is $26,050 or less; above that the tax is $342 plus 2.75% of the excess up to $100,000, and 3.125% applies to income over $100,000. On an assumed $36,000 pension added to other income that already passes $26,050, the deduction saves $990 as long as the total stays under $100,000. For 2026, R.C. 5747.02 as amended by H.B. 96 replaces the brackets with $332 plus 2.75% of everything above $26,050, though the department's annual rate page still stops at 2025.

School district income tax does not reach the pension either. Traditional-base districts start from modified adjusted gross income, which the instructions define as Ohio adjusted gross income plus any business income deduction, so the line 34 amount is already out. Earned-income-base districts exclude retirement income from their base altogether.

Survivor Benefit Plan annuities

Deductible in full. R.C. 5747.01(A)(23) covers amounts a surviving spouse or former spouse receives under the survivor benefit plan on account of the member's death, and the 2025 instructions put those payments on line 34 with retired pay. The department may ask for the federal 1099-R to verify the deduction (read October 9, 2026).

Active-duty pay in Ohio

Depends on where you are stationed. A resident's military pay and allowances earned while stationed outside Ohio are deducted on the 2025 Schedule of Adjustments, line 32, while military pay earned while stationed in Ohio is taxed, per the department's military page.

Missed it in an earlier year?

The 2025 Ohio instructions say you generally have four years from the date of the payment to request a refund. Amend by filing a new IT 1040 with the amended box checked at the top of page 1 and Schedule IT RE.

What trips Ohio retirees up

NOAA Corps and Public Health Service retirees qualify. R.C. 5747.01(FF) defines uniformed services as the armed forces plus the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and of the Public Health Service, and the department's military page lists the Space Force and Coast Guard beside them. Ohio's line is wider than a deduction written for the armed forces alone.
The line number moved between years. Uniformed services retirement income was line 33 on the 2024 Schedule of Adjustments and is line 34 for 2025, with the out-of-state active duty deduction on line 32. Use the schedule for the year you are filing or amending, not the current one.
The statute names a former spouse only for survivor benefit plan payments after the member's death. The department's pages do not address a former spouse's court-ordered share of retired pay while the retiree is alive (read October 9, 2026), so get a written answer from the department before deducting it.

Federal side: DFAS reports retired pay on Form 1099-R, and the IRS taxes it as a pension. VA disability compensation is not taxable income under federal law (IRS Publication 525). The SCRA’s tax-home rule (50 U.S.C. § 4001) protects servicemembers on orders, not retirees, so where a retiree lives decides which state taxes the pension. Compare every state on the 51-state ledger. Ohio’s other servicemember protections are on the Ohio SCRA page.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ohio tax military retirement pay?

No. R.C. 5747.01(A)(23) lets you deduct retired personnel pay for service in the uniformed services, their reserve components, or the National Guard, to the extent it is in federal adjusted gross income. The 2025 Ohio instructions put it on the Schedule of Adjustments, line 34, with no age test or dollar cap. Ohio's definition of uniformed services includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, and the commissioned corps of NOAA and the Public Health Service, according to the department's military page (read October 9, 2026).

Is SBP taxed in Ohio?

No. The same statute, R.C. 5747.01(A)(23), covers payments a surviving spouse or former spouse receives under the survivor benefit plan because of the servicemember's death, as long as they are in federal adjusted gross income. The 2025 instructions tell you to deduct them on line 34 of the Schedule of Adjustments, and say the department may require a copy of the federal 1099-R. Information Release IT 2008-02, reissued February 1, 2024, gives the same answer.

Do I have to file an Ohio return if my only income is military retirement?

Possibly not, but the department suggests you do. The 2025 instructions say no Ohio return is required when your Ohio adjusted gross income on IT 1040, line 3 is $0 or less, or when your exemption amount equals or exceeds it, unless you owe school district tax. A retiree whose federal income is all military retired pay will usually land there after the line 34 deduction. The instructions still recommend filing an IT 1040 or IT 10 when federal adjusted gross income is over $28,450, to avoid delinquency billings.

How does Ohio treat a civil service pension that includes military time?

Only the military share is deductible. R.C. 5747.01(A)(23) limits the deduction on a federal civil service or federal employees retirement annuity to the portion attributable to uniformed service. The 2025 instructions tell you to divide military years by total federal service years and multiply by the annuity amount in federal adjusted gross income. In the department's example, 10 Army years out of 30 total years and $90,000 of taxable annuity produce a $30,000 deduction on line 34.

Sources, read October 9, 2026

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