| > | | | | Combat Areas |
| | | | The following areas of have been designated as |
| Reservists called to active duty and enlistees in the | | | | combat areas. |
| armed forces may qualify for a deferral of taxes | | | | 1. Afghanistan and the airspace above was designated |
| owed if they can show that their ability to pay taxes | | | | a combat zone effective Sept. 19, 2001. |
| was affected by their military service. | | | | 2. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia |
| The deferral covers active duty members of the | | | | Montenegro) |
| military services Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine | | | | 3. Albania |
| Corps and Coast Guard and commissioned | | | | 4. Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| officers of the uniformed services Public Health | | | | 5. Croatia |
| Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric | | | | 6. Macedonia |
| Administration. Reservists must be placed on active | | | | 7. The Adriatic Sea |
| duty to qualify. National Guard personnel not serving in | | | | 8. The Ionian Sea north of the 39th parallel |
| a federalized status that is, called to active | | | | 9. The Persian Gulf |
| duty specifically by the president of the United States | | | | 10. The Red Sea |
| are not covered. | | | | 11. The Gulf of Oman |
| The deferral applies to taxes that fall due before or | | | | 12. The part of the Arabian Sea that is north of 10 |
| during military service, and extends the payment | | | | degrees north latitude and west of 68 degrees east |
| deadline to six months (180 days) after the military | | | | longitude |
| service ends. No interest or penalty accrues during the | | | | 13. The Gulf of Aden |
| deferral period. | | | | 14. The total land areas of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, |
| The deferral is not automatic. A taxpayer must apply | | | | Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates |
| for it. When applying, the taxpayer must show how | | | | 15. Incerlik Air Base in Turkey, effective Sept. 21, 2001 |
| the military service affected the taxpayer's ability to | | | | 16. Pakistan, Tajikistan and Jordan, effective Sept. 19, |
| pay. A taxpayer must also have received a notice of | | | | 2001 |
| tax due, or have an installment agreement with the | | | | 17. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, effective Oct. 1, 2001 |
| IRS, before applying for the deferral. | | | | 18. The Philippines, effective Jan. 9, 2002 |
| The deferral does not extend the deadline for filing any | | | | 19. Yemen, effective April 10, 2002 |
| tax returns. However, taxpayers in the armed forces | | | | 20. Djibouti, effective July 1, 2002 |
| may get extra time to file under other provisions, such | | | | While deferring back taxes is a helpful notion, a better |
| as being stationed overseas, in a combat zone or in a | | | | method would be simply to waive all taxes on military |
| qualified hazardous duty area, or if they are serving in | | | | personnel. |
| direct support of a combat zone. | | | | |