Bismarck, N.D. – According to the state officials, the adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard, Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, and the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 2293, state Sen. Scott Meyer of Grand Forks, were among those who joined Burgum for a bill signing ceremony in the Black Hawk helicopter hangar at the North Dakota Army National Guard’s Aviation Support Facility in south Bismarck.
Statewide, SB 2293 is estimated to reduce North Dakota service members’ income taxes by $4 million in the 2023-25 biennium.
Military pay encompasses all federal pay for training, education, mobilization and bonuses as well as state pay when called to support an emergency on state active duty.
Currently, 12 states fully exempt military income from state income tax, including Minnesota, and 14 states partially exempt it, according to testimony on the bill. Nine states have no income tax, including South Dakota.
As a result, military service members often choose a state with exemptions for military pay or no income tax as their official state of residence.
North Dakota currently has about 5,500 Guard and Reserve members and nearly 7,300 active duty service members primarily at the Grand Forks Air Force Base and Minot Air Force Base, according to the Department of Defense.
The bill passed the House 89-3 and the Senate 40-4. Bill co-sponsors were Sen. Jordan Kannianen and Reps. Jason Dockter, Craig Headland, Mike Nathe and Steve Vetter.
