Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is about 33 miles, or 44 minutes, from our office in Arab. Our founder, Rodney V. Melton, worked at Redstone Arsenal during his federal career, and we are glad to help the people who work there today.
We have one office, in Arab. We do not have an office in Huntsville.
This is general information, not advice for your return. Every return is different, so please call us to talk about yours.
Alabama does not tax Civil Service retirement or other defined-benefit pensions. TSP withdrawals are treated like 401(k) withdrawals: taxable in Alabama, though people 65 and older can exclude part of their retirement income. The federal return is a separate question. Planning for the first year of retirement is where our help tends to be most useful.[9,10]
As part-year residents, you file Alabama Form 40 for the months you lived here, and most likely a part-year return in the state you left. Bring every W-2, including the one from your previous job.[11]
Consulting income is self-employment income. It goes on its own schedule, you may owe self-employment tax on it, and it usually calls for estimated payments during the year. The expenses of earning it can count against it.
No. Alabama exempts military retirement pay from state income tax.[9]
Huntsville counted 215,006 people at the 2020 Census, making it Alabama’s largest city, and it is the only one in the state that reaches into four counties. Redstone Arsenal, which the Army began buying up in 1941, now hosts more than 75 tenant agencies, including NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. With so much federal and research work in one place, many of the returns we see from Huntsville involve federal pay, retirement plans and careers that have crossed state lines.[1,2,3,4]
Cummings Research Park is home to some 300 companies and organizations, and in September 2025 the Army announced that U.S. Space Command headquarters would move to Redstone. Our founder, Rodney V. Melton, spent part of his federal career at the Arsenal, in the Hellfire Project Office. It is one reason we are glad to work with Arsenal employees and retirees on their returns and retirement questions.[5,6,7]
Huntsville has no city tax on wages; its city taxes are sales, use, lodging and similar taxes.[8]
Alabama does not tax federal Civil Service retirement or military retirement pay.[9]
Thrift Savings Plan and 401(k) withdrawals are taxed by Alabama, with a partial exclusion for people 65 and older.[10]
Call 256-586-4635 to set a time at our office in Arab. We are glad to talk through your federal pay or retirement questions when you come in.
Local details on this page come from these public sources, checked in September 2026.
Melton Tax Services
