In a couple states across the nation, gay marriage is legal. Yes, in the eyes of the law! But come April 15, when millions of Americans will have filed their annual tax return, they’ll be forced to lie to the government. Forced.
That’s because the federal tax return we remit to the IRS makes you sign acknowledgment of this line: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are true, correct, and complete.”
But what if you’re legally in a same-sex marriage, as Connecticut and Massachusetts (and California, briefly) permit? You’re still forced to mark the box “single” because, courtesy the Defense of Marriage Act, the feds don’t recognize same-sex unions — and, effectively, you’ve just lied “under penalties of perjury” to the government. Points out Edge New England:
That’s what the IRS expects, and yet its Web site and instruction booklets offer only one sentence of guidance to married same-sex couples who must prepare tax returns for the federal government. That sentence simply states the impact of DOMA: “For federal tax purposes, a marriage means only a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife.”
Massachusetts and California, on their Web sites, have extensive, easy-to-find guides for same-sex married couples on how to file their state taxes. Instructions for Connecticut, which began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in November 2008, are more muddled, in part because the state also has civil unions.
The number of same-sex couples having to tackle the insults and inequities of the federal tax return is growing. They numbered about 10,000 – all in Massachusetts – last year. This year, Massachusetts has topped 16,000 (according to Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) and California (between June and November) added more than 18,000. (Figures for Connecticut are not yet available, due to technical issues.)
What these couples will discover – if they didn’t already know – is that DOMA not only renders them second-class citizens – by virtue of requiring that their legitimate marriages be deemed invisible – but it forces them to pay more taxes than similarly situated heterosexual couples.
And don’t even get us started on how the tax code screws gay couples financially.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Pragmatist
DOMA sucks. Royally. But this is silly — you’re being perfectly honest with the IRS when you tick the ‘Single’ box. Under DOMA, you are single as a matter of federal law. It’s irrelevant whether state law holds a different opinion, because of the Supremacy Clause.
Jeff
Fuck em. Check Married and when they make a stink about it. Turn it into a media circus.
illuman23
By a strange twist of fate, I end up saving money in taxes by filing my Federal return as single and California as married. Although I agree that DOMA needs to be revoked, it’s worked out in my favor. So I would watch blanket statements like “And don’t even get us started on how the tax code screws gay couples financially.” I’d like Queerty to actually provide how we get screwed, or on the tax inequalities caused by DOMA. Get Started!
kevin (not that one)
@illuman23: Google it. It’s not that hard.
Here’s what I found out in just under 30 seconds:
On the order of 1,400 legal rights are conferred upon married couples in the U.S. Typically these are composed of about 400 state benefits and over 1,000 federal benefits. Among them are the rights to:
– joint parenting;
– joint adoption;
– joint foster care, custody, and visitation (including non-biological parents);
– status as next-of-kin for hospital visits and medical decisions where one partner is too ill to be competent;
– joint insurance policies for home, auto and health;
– dissolution and divorce protections such as community property and child support;
– immigration and residency for partners from other countries;
– inheritance automatically in the absence of a will;
– joint leases with automatic renewal rights in the event one partner dies or leaves the house or apartment;
– inheritance of jointly-owned real and personal property through the right of survivorship (which avoids the time and expense and taxes in probate);
– benefits such as annuities, pension plans, Social Security, and Medicare;
– spousal exemptions to property tax increases upon the death of one partner who is a co-owner of the home;
– veterans’ discounts on medical care, education, and home loans;
– joint filing of tax returns;
– joint filing of customs claims when traveling;
– wrongful death benefits for a surviving partner and children;
– bereavement or sick leave to care for a partner or child;
– decision-making power with respect to whether a deceased partner will be cremated or not and where to bury him or her;
– crime victims’ recovery benefits;
– loss of consortium tort benefits;
– domestic violence protection orders;
– judicial protections and evidentiary immunity;
California law is better than most when it comes to recognizing the rights of Domestic Partnerships, but even they don’t cover all of the rights that heterosexual married couples are given by the Feds.
GPW
If one spouse makes the majority of the income then that couple is extremely overtaxed by the IRS because of DOMA.
GPW
In California we are required to complete a “phoney” IRS tax return as a married couple to file with our state return. On that federal return we would of received over $8,000 of a refund from the IRS. Then when we file seperately we will receive a refund of under $200
Why, Medical Insurance my employer pays for my spouse is Taxable Income which grossly overstates my income, seperately I made too much to qualify for the 600 stimulus from 2008, he made too little, combined as a family our income would qualify us for the $1200
InExile
Very good article! A gay couple in California I know were preparing their taxes and when they checked the “married” box the tax software said they would get $8,000.00 dollars back, when checking the “same sex married” box the program said they would get $750 dollars back. Hard to believe this is life in the USA!!!!!
When is the march on Washington for equal rights? Rights are won through fighting for them, not delivered on a silver platter.
husky14620
I’m not in one of the affected states, nor am I part of a couple, but IF it were me, I’d file the thing as married, attach a copy of the marriage license, and then file a lawsuit when it was rejected. The only way we are going to defeat / repeal DOMA is in the court of public opinion. To do that, you have to fight it in the legal system, very publicly. Maybe with the help of Lambda Legal AND the ACLU. In deed, I’d even be looking to get CLASSICAL conservatives filing amicus briefs, because REAL conservatives are OPPOSED to the government having power over peoples individual (private) lives.
Brian
Lambda Legal also recommends that married same-sex couples who are filing federal taxes as “single” include a disclosure statement identifying that they are married as a matter of state law and are filing singly only because they are forced to. This is because apparently your tax filing status can be used against you if anyone wishes to claim that your marriage is invalid.
They have a sample disclosure statement here: http://data.lambdalegal.org/pdf/tax_bulletin_2006_attachment.pdf
Mark
Imagine 2 couples, one male and female, another 2 females. Both have one earner, and one child.
But the woman in the same gender couple will pay $3,813 more per year at the top of the marginal 25% single tax bracket ($67900). That means less for the equal opportunity of their child to a college education fund. That amount invested each year over 18 years at the average historical 5 year t bond rate of %5.10 yeilds a $117,621 college fund.
Discrimination against certain adults, results in the discrimination against certain children. I am for the equal protection clause protecting that child.
Due to the higher taxes the same gender couple and child will walk a narrower risk corridor from a health insurance standpoint. All other things being equal they have less money and so may have to choose higher deductibles and copays. They may not get the health care they need in time, and may die out.
There is no need for a flood of blood like that. Other people’s children do not have to die out in order for a heterosexual’s child to live. A flood of blood, DOMA is the adulteration of love. Cancel DOMA and bring women’s rights and equal rights for all mankind.
Dave
Hey, what about singles? Why the hell should we be taxed more? We’re represented less! This is grounds for a violent revolution.