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Under a joint IRS and U.S. Department of the
Treasury ruling issued in 2013, same-sex
couples, legally married in jurisdictions that
recognize their marriages, are treated as
married for federal tax purposes, including
income and gift and estate taxes. The ruling
applies regardless of whether the couple lives
in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex
marriage or a jurisdiction that does not
recognize same-sex marriage.
In addition, the ruling applies to all federal
tax provisions where marriage is a factor,
including filing status, claiming personal and
dependency exemptions, taking the standard
deduction, employee benefits, contributing to an
IRA and claiming the earned income tax credit or
child tax credit.
Any same-sex marriage legally entered into in
one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia,
a U.S. territory or a foreign country is covered
by the ruling. However, the ruling does not
apply to registered domestic partnerships, civil
unions or similar formal relationships
recognized under state law.
Legally-married same-sex couples generally must
file their 2013 federal income tax return using
either the married filing jointly or married
filing separately filing status.
Individuals who were in same-sex marriages may,
but are not required to, file original or
amended returns choosing to be treated as
married for federal tax purposes for one or more
prior tax years still open under the statute of
limitations.
Generally, the statute of limitations for filing
a refund claim is three years from the date the
return was filed or two years from the date the
tax was paid, whichever is later. As a result,
refund claims can still be filed for tax years
2010, 2011 and 2012. Some taxpayers may have
special circumstances, such as signing an
agreement with the IRS to keep the statute of
limitations open, that permit them to file
refund claims for tax years 2009 and earlier.
In addition, employees who purchased same-sex
spouse health insurance coverage from their
employers on an after-tax basis may treat the
amounts paid for that coverage as pre-tax and
excludable from income.
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