In December, Congress passed and the President signed, with much fanfare, the “Tax relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010” (P.L. 111-312).   This law includes a number of tax changes that affect Servicemembers and their families and DoD civilian employees in 2011.  There has been much media reporting on the effects of this tax bill, but many are still unsure of how the changes in the tax rules and guidelines directly affect them.  The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) website has the information DoD personnel need.  The DFAS news bulletin includes a summary of the relevant tax law changes and factors that may affect your net pay.  In addition, it briefly describes when Active duty, Guard, and Reserve members, military retirees, and civilian employees can expect to see changes in their 2011 pay resulting from the new tax law.  DFAS advises its customers to contact their financial advisors or visit the IRS website for more detailed tax information.  And don’t forget, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended the filing date for 2010 federal tax returns to April 18, 2011 and advises waiting until mid- to late February to file.