Be counted! It’s time for the US Census once again. Filling out the ten-question sheet helps to determine where Americans live, and how resources get distributed—it lets the government know where to build schools, or how many legislators should be representing a given area.

And for military families, it can get a little puzzling—do you count your deployed service member? Will questionnaires be send to them overseas? What if you are both stateside but not together?

If your soldier is living away from you, either abroad or in the U.S. as of April 1, 2010, don’t count him or her in your household totals. They’ll still be counted—the Census bureau will get the details on deployed soldiers from the Department of Defense, which they’ll use to determine the appropriate number of seats in the House of Representatives.

What about the Military Spouse’s Residency Relief Act? If you’ve made your home state the same as your soldier’s but you’ve PCSd in the meantime, your answer should be where you physically are, not where your taxes and car are registered.

For more information, visit www.2010.census.gov.