To complete DD Form 2058, the State of Legal Residence Certificate, first establish genuine domicile in the state you want to claim, then fill in the six fields on the January 2018 edition of the form, sign the certification, and submit it through your installation’s finance or pay office so the Defense Finance and Accounting Service can update your state tax withholding.
The form itself takes a few minutes. The groundwork that has to be in place before you sign is where service members get into trouble.
Establish Domicile Before You Sign
DD Form 2058 does not change your state of legal residence. It tells DFAS which state you have already made your legal residence so that withholding goes to the right place. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, only your state of legal residence can tax your military pay, no matter where you are stationed.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 4001 – Residence for Tax Purposes
Before you sign, three things must be true at the same time: you are physically present in the new state, you intend to remain there permanently or treat it as your permanent home, and you intend to abandon your old state of legal residence.2U.S. Army. What’s the Difference Between State of Legal Residence, Domicile, and Home of Record Physical presence by itself is not enough. The instructions printed on the form list actions that demonstrate the required intent:
- Register to vote in the new state.
- Title and register your vehicle in the new state.
- Purchase residential property or an unimproved residential lot.
- Notify your previous state of the change in domicile.
- Prepare a new will that identifies the new state as your legal residence.
Obtaining a driver’s license in the new state is another common step, even though it is not on the form’s list. The more of these actions you complete, the stronger your position if your former state later questions the move. Filing the form without doing this work first can leave you liable to the old state for back taxes, interest, and penalties, and in serious cases criminal prosecution for failing to pay state income taxes.3U.S. Army. Home of Record or State of Legal Residence Change
One boundary worth flagging: DD Form 2058 does not change your home of record. Home of record is almost always the state where you first entered the military and is used to calculate travel and transportation benefits. Changing it is generally only possible after a break in service exceeding one full day, or to correct an original recording error.3U.S. Army. Home of Record or State of Legal Residence Change
Where to Get the Form
DD Form 2058 is available as a fillable PDF from the Department of Defense Executive Services Directorate website, or in hard copy from your installation’s legal assistance or finance office.4Executive Services Directorate. DD Form 2058 – State of Legal Residence Certificate The January 2018 edition is the current version and has six fields on a single page.
Filling In the Six Blocks
Work through the fields in order:
- Block 1, Name. Last name, first name, middle initial. It should match your pay record exactly.
- Block 2, DoD ID Number. Your 10-digit DoD ID number, not your Social Security number. It is printed on the back of your Common Access Card.
- Block 3, Legal Residence/Domicile. The city or county and state you are claiming as your legal residence.
- Block 4, Signature. Your signature certifying that you have met the residency requirements.
- Block 5, Current Mailing Address. Your full mailing address including ZIP code.
- Block 6, Date. The date you sign, in YYMMDD format.
The form does not ask for your previous state of legal residence. The certification statement above your signature does, however, acknowledge that the tax authorities of your former state will be notified of the change.5Department of Defense. DD Form 2058 – State of Legal Residence Certificate That notification happens automatically once finance processes the form, though notifying the old state yourself is one of the steps that strengthens your domicile claim.
Read the certification before signing. It reads: “I certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief, I have met all the requirements for legal residence/domicile in the State claimed above and that the information provided is correct.” This is a formal declaration. Under Article 107 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a service member who signs a false official document knowing it to be false may be punished as a court-martial directs.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 907 – Art. 107. False Official Statements; False Swearing
Submitting the Form
Route the completed form through your local pay office or finance office.7Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Change State of Residency DFAS guidance directs service members to go through the pay office rather than uploading directly through MyPay, even if the unit encourages digital workflows for other paperwork. Your finance office can confirm the exact submission procedure for your branch and installation.
The change is not retroactive. DFAS stops withholding for the old state the month after the month in which the certificate is filed, and no adjustments are made to prior months.8U.S. Army Human Resources Command. DD Form 2058 State of Legal Residence Certificate File in March and the old state’s withholding continues through March, stopping in April. Any overlap gets sorted out when you file that year’s state returns.
Confirm the Change on Your LES
After submitting, check your Leave and Earnings Statement each month. The state tax field should show your new state and the corresponding withholding.9Defense Finance and Accounting Service. How to Read an Active Duty Army Leave and Earnings Statement If the change has not appeared after two pay periods, go back to your finance office for a status check. Keep a copy of the signed form in your personal records. If a former state ever disputes the change, you may need to produce it years later.
If You Are Married
Military spouses have separate protections that a DD Form 2058 filing does not address. Under 50 U.S.C. ยง 4001(a)(2), a spouse does not lose or acquire a state of residence for tax purposes solely by moving with the service member under military orders.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 4001 – Residence for Tax Purposes The Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022 added a further election: for any taxable year of the marriage, the couple may elect to use the service member’s residence, the spouse’s residence, or the service member’s permanent duty station as their residence for state tax purposes, regardless of when the marriage occurred.11U.S. Congress. H.R.7939 – Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022 A spouse making this election handles it through their civilian employer’s payroll department, not through your DD Form 2058.
What Happens If the Change Is Not Valid
The most common error is treating the form as the thing that changes domicile. It is not. If you file DD Form 2058 without genuinely establishing residence in the new state, the old state can still treat you as a resident and pursue unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties.2U.S. Army. What’s the Difference Between State of Legal Residence, Domicile, and Home of Record Audit triggers include keeping a home in the old state that is larger or better furnished than your new-state residence, holding onto your old driver’s license or voter registration, and leaving a spouse and children there while claiming domicile elsewhere. Auditors verify physical presence with credit card receipts, toll records, cell phone data, and travel documents.
The clean path is to complete as many domicile-establishing actions as you reasonably can in the new state, sever the equivalent ties in the old state, and only then sign and submit the form. If your paperwork tells two different stories about where you live, that is the story auditors will follow.