Working with the Department of Defense, the Internal Revenue Service identifies taxpayers who are serving in a combat zone so that we may suspend compliance actions, such as audits or enforced collections, until 180 days after the taxpayer has left the zone.

Taxpayers qualifying for such combat zone relief may also notify the IRS directly of their status through a special e-mail address: combatzone@irs.gov. They should provide name, stateside address, date of birth and date of deployment to the combat zone. They should not include any social security numbers in an e-mail. This notification may be made by the taxpayer, spouse, or authorized agent or representative.

The IRS cannot provide tax account information by e-mail. Therefore, we will send responses to any questions about the taxpayer’s account by regular mail to the address we have on record for the person, within two business days. We may provide general answers to questions regarding the status of individual combat zone updates via e-mail.

Please check the resources on this site for Help With Tax Questions.

IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide, (PDF 207K) has information on various tax issues affecting members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including reservists, decedents, and persons missing in action.