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.
We have one office, in Arab. We do not have an office in Huntsville.
General information, not advice for your return. Every return is different, so call us 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 the first year of retirement is where we can save you the most trouble.[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 old job.[11]
The consulting 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.[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.[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.
Local details on this page come from these public sources, checked in September 2026.
Melton Tax Services
