To get your military W-2, log in to myPay and download it from the Tax Statement (W-2) section once your branch’s release date has passed. Coast Guard members use Direct Access instead. If you’ve separated from service, you keep myPay access for 13 months; after that, you have to request a duplicate from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).
2026 Release Dates by Branch
DFAS staggers the release of military W-2s across January. For the 2025 tax year, the schedule is:
- January 7, 2026: Reserve Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force
- January 16, 2026: Active and Reserve Marine Corps
- January 21, 2026: Active Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force
- January 22, 2026: Civilian employees (DoD and non-DoD)
- January 23, 2026: Army Non-Appropriated Fund civilians
- January 31, 2026: Travel and miscellaneous W-2s
If your form hasn’t shown up on myPay by your branch’s date, wait a day or two before contacting customer service. Traffic in the release window sometimes slows the load.1Defense Finance and Accounting Service. DFAS Announces 2025 Tax Statement Release Schedule
Downloading From myPay
myPay is the portal for active duty and reserve members of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force, along with retirees, annuitants, JROTC instructors, and certain civilian employees.2Military OneSource. About the myPay Website You can sign in with a username and password or with a Common Access Card (CAC) and a compatible reader.
After logging in, open the Tax Statement (W-2) section from the main menu. You can view, download, and print your current and prior-year forms from there. Save a copy outside of myPay too. A PDF on your own computer or a printed page is fine. Your portal access won’t last forever if you leave the service.
Coast Guard: Direct Access, Not myPay
Coast Guard members use Direct Access, a separate payroll system. W-2s are usually posted there by late January, and members who haven’t opted out of paper delivery also get a mailed copy at the address on file.3U.S. Coast Guard. ALCGPSC 144/22 – 2022 IRS Forms W-2 and 1095-C Information To download, log in and go to Employee, then View, then View/Print My Year End Forms.
Air Force and Space Force: Same Portal, Different Help Line
Air Force, Space Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve members download their W-2 from myPay the same way everyone else does. What changes is who to call when something is wrong. Instead of DFAS, use the Total Force Service Center at 1-800-525-0102, or submit a myFSS ticket online. The center handles military pay support around the clock.4Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Ask Military Pay
National Guard: Watch for a Second W-2
If you served on federal orders (Title 10 or Title 32), your W-2 comes from DFAS through myPay. If your governor activated you on State Active Duty, you were a state employee for those days, and your state’s adjutant general or payroll office issues a separate W-2 for that pay.5National Guard Bureau. National Guard Duty Statuses Fact Sheet If you had both kinds of duty in the same year, expect two forms and file both.
After You Separate: The 13-Month Window
Once you leave the military, myPay access stays open for 13 months. When that window closes, you’re locked out and can’t retrieve any documents from the portal.6Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Getting Into myPay After You Separate
DFAS recommends handling the following at least 30 days before your separation date:
- Update your personal email in myPay so password resets can reach a non-military address.
- Update your correspondence address to where you’ll actually be living. Changes take 3 to 7 days to take effect.
- Set up security questions, since you won’t have your CAC after you leave.
- Establish a username and password login if you’ve always signed in with your CAC.
- Download and save every W-2 you might still need before the 13 months run out.
If you’re already past the 13-month mark, the portal is closed to you and you’ll need to request a duplicate directly from DFAS.
Retirees and Annuitants
Military retirees and annuitants keep ongoing myPay access and pull their tax forms from the portal each year. Most retirees receive a 1099-R for retirement pay rather than a W-2. For phone help, the Retired and Annuitant Pay Customer Care Center is at 800-321-1080, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.7Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Customer Service
Requesting a Duplicate W-2
If myPay is closed to you, the form never arrived, or you just can’t get in, request a duplicate from DFAS two ways:
- AskDFAS online. Submit a secure request through the AskDFAS application on the myPay or DFAS website. A payroll technician verifies your identity and mails the document to the address on file.
- Phone. Call the Military Pay customer care center at 1-888-332-7411, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
Air Force and Space Force members should use the Total Force Service Center at 1-800-525-0102 or submit a myFSS ticket.8Defense Finance and Accounting Service. 1099-R and W-2 Tax Statement Requests Have your Social Security number, full name, and the tax year you need ready when you call. Local military finance offices can also reissue W-2s in some cases.
What to Expect on the Form
A military W-2 looks like any other at first glance, but a couple of items catch service members off guard.
BAH and BAS Won’t Be in Box 1
Basic Allowance for Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, and several other allowances are exempt from federal income tax, so they don’t appear in Box 1 (Wages, tips, other compensation). Box 1 shows only your taxable compensation: basic pay, special pays like flight or hazardous duty pay, and bonuses. Your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) lists everything you were paid, tax-free allowances included, so its year-to-date total will be noticeably higher than Box 1. That gap is normal. If BAH or BAS does appear in Box 1, contact your finance office; you need a corrected W-2.
Combat Zone Pay in Box 12, Code Q
Nontaxable combat pay earned in a designated combat zone shows up in Box 12 with Code Q. It isn’t included in Box 1 wages, but it’s reported separately because it can count as earned income for the Earned Income Tax Credit.9Internal Revenue Service. 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
If the W-2 Is Wrong
If your W-2 has the wrong wages, wrong Social Security number, or taxable income that should be exempt, request a corrected form (a W-2c) before you file. A return that doesn’t match what DFAS reported to the IRS will almost certainly draw a notice.
For most branches, call 1-888-332-7411, use AskDFAS online, or visit your local finance office. Air Force, Space Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve members should use the Total Force Service Center at 1-800-525-0102 or submit a myFSS ticket.8Defense Finance and Accounting Service. 1099-R and W-2 Tax Statement Requests
If You Still Can’t Get It Before the Filing Deadline
Two IRS-sanctioned fallbacks exist when the real form just won’t materialize.
Form 4852
Form 4852 is a substitute for a missing W-2. You fill in your wage and withholding figures from the best data you have and describe the steps you took to obtain the real form. The IRS expects a genuine effort before you use it.10Internal Revenue Service. Using Form 4852 When Missing the Form W-2 or 1099-R For military members, your December LES is the most reliable source: it carries year-to-date totals for wages, federal tax withheld, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and state withholding. Match those to the corresponding boxes on Form 4852.
IRS Wage and Income Transcript
You can also pull a Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS, which shows the W-2 data reported on your behalf. Request it through your IRS online account or by mailing Form 4506-T. Transcripts cover the past ten tax years, though the current year’s data may be incomplete until the employer’s reporting is fully processed.11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 159, How to Get a Wage and Income Transcript or Copy of Form W-2