Pay error means Guard troops owe taxes for Operation Lone Star

Source: Air Force Times and Texas Tribue

Pay error means Guard troops owe taxes for Operation Lone Star

By James Barragán, The Texas Tribune and Davis Winkie
Oct 6, 08:03 PM

Texas National Guard troops deployed to the border by Gov. Greg Abbott could be stuck paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unexpected federal taxes for their work on Operation Lone Star because of a payroll error made by state officials.

On Thursday, officials with the Texas Military Department acknowledged that the payroll system they used for the mission has withheld too little in federal taxes from service members’ paychecks since October 2021, when Abbott ramped up the number of troops on the mission from 2,500 to a peak of 6,500 in November. Many of those called up after November came to the mission involuntarily.

Officials said they became aware of the issue in July 2022.

“TMD and OLS responded to this issue rapidly through publications, command guidance, town halls, and other means to accomplish full awareness and support individual adjustments to tax withholding forms as needed,” the department’s public affairs office said in an email Thursday.

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Read more: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2022/10/07/pay-error-means-guard-troops-owe-taxes-for-operation-lone-star/