Should military retirement income be exempt from state taxation?
That’s the goal of one of the very first bills filed for the 2025-26 legislative session.
From Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican whose 32nd Senate district includes Yorba Linda, SB 1 seeks to exempt from state taxes military retirement income and Survivor Benefits Plans. Similar to a life insurance policy they are paid out to a spouse or eligible dependent monthly when a retired servicemember dies, according to the Department of Defense.
Life insurance payments are tax-free, Seyarto’s office said, but SBP payments are subject to state income.
Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Seyarto)And California is the only state in the U.S. that fully taxes those SBP payments and military retirement income, according to Seyarto.
“It is time for California to join the rest of the nation in supporting our veterans and ensuring their families are not unfairly burdened by taxation,” Seyarto said in a letter announcing his inaugural bill for this session.
“These individuals have given everything to serve our country; we must now do our part to support them,” he said. “Surely one of the simplest ways we can express our gratitude is not to tax the very compensation we give them for their loss.”
According to Seyarto’s office, more than 27,000 family members and 141,000 retirees receive their benefits in California.
Seyarto spearheaded similar efforts in years past. Last year, his legislation would have made the first $20,000 of SBP payments tax-free in the state. While it saw initial success in the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, it failed to make it out of the upper chamber.
California’s Franchise Tax Board estimated that bill would have resulted in a loss of $7.5 million in general fund revenues in the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Sign up for Down Ballot, our Southern California politics email newsletter. Subscribe here.A fiscal impact has not yet been assigned to SB 1.
The new legislative session technically kicked off on Dec. 2, but legislators recessed for the month after swearing in new members and getting a jump on filing legislation.
The legislature reconvenes on Jan. 6.
Related Articles
Politics | Should California’s right-to-die law expand to include people with dementia? OC legislator wants to consider it Politics | Orange County legislator pushes for statewide access to treatment courts under Prop. 36 Politics | Candidates can now file to run in the special election for the 36th state Senate district Politics | Josh Newman, recently ousted from state Senate, is already eyeing political comeback Politics | Assemblyman Avelino Valencia launches 2026 bid for state Senate seat Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Legislator wants California to stop taxing military retirement income )
Also on site :
- Israel to commission pastors as Friends of Zion ambassadors
- Fans Love Lancôme's Juicy Tubes & 2000s Icons Reunion
- Meghan Markle's Bare Bump Photo: A Royal First?