With Tax Day quickly approaching, you’d be wise to get all your W-2s in order. At least one gay tried doing just that with the help of the software program TurboTax, which bills itself as an easy (and less costly) alternative than taking your financials to an accountant. Which sounds great … unless you’re one of those confusing homosexuals:
“I paid for turbotax software and they prevent me from e-filing because I am gay,” writes MrJokerHyde. Balls! Does anyone have a similar experience? Or can you suggest a e-filing option that can handle the government’s noxious complications for our kind? [via/via]
FinanceGuru
It’s not a TurboTax issue. It’s an IRS issue. TurboTax knows that your efile will be rejected.
K in VA
This is the sort of absurd situation you should describe to your straight friends. It’s this very sort of thing that wins allies in the battle to end DOMA and all other restrictions on marriage equality.
CooperDuper
According to TurboTax they will have this fixed by March 10th. (allegedly) I’m still not sure if e-file will work but it will handle the community property issue. See their post at: http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/You-and-Your-Family/New-IRS-Rules-for-Registered-Domestic-Partners-in-Some-Community-Property-States/GEN45613.html
kelehe
I guess if someone spent 20 seconds doing research, they could have found this on the TurboTax website.
“Once TurboTax receives the updated information from the IRS, we’ll add a worksheet to the product that allows RDPs to accurately divide their community property income and e-file their returns. We’re estimating that the updated publication and worksheet will be available on or around March 10, 2011.”
I filed with Tax Act, then a week later found out about this change in requirements, so I have to file an amended return.
CooperDuper
According to TurboTax they are working on a fix that will be available by March 10th. I’m not clear if it fixes the e-file issue (you may still have to print, sign and mail your return) but it will address the community property split and schedule to accompany return is my understanding.
http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/You-and-Your-Family/New-IRS-Rules-for-Registered-Domestic-Partners-in-Some-Community-Property-States/GEN45613.html
Spike
This has to do with that income splitting nonsense and again I ask, if myself and partner split out income, neither of our Fed. returns will not match our W-2 yet there is no where on the form to indicate that the incomes were split and the SS# associated with the split. Which pretty much guarantees three things, an error letter, delay in receiving the refund and an audit.
FUCK THE IRS. When the Fed govt. recognizes same sex marriage, we will fill out the form as a married couple. Till then, they do not need to know.
Cain
Did you get this from Reddit without citing?
oneway
My partner and I simply filled out Turbo Tax by clicking “single”. No muss no fuss.
If there’s a “patch” next week that results in being able to e-file an amended return and increases our refund, we’ll deal with it then.
And, btw, Queerty: could you quit with the inflammatory bullshit headlines already? As another commenter noted, it would have been very little effort to ALSO provide the explanation for what’s going on. Jeebus!
Jacob H
My husband and I had this problem last year and, after hours on the phone with staff clearly untrained for this issue (and an unexpectedly hostile interaction with their official twitter account after tweeting about it), they finally caved and gave us a free download of the desktop software (since we had already paid for a filing online). With the desktop software, we essentially prepared our taxes several times so that we could e-file three separate times: Married filing jointly for the state, and then federal individual returns for each of us.
When the IRS released a quiet memo about community property benefits to married couples in states where it was legal, we filed an amendment according to the paperwork but got a response that more information was needed. It was complicated, so we took it to a tax guy and are still on our 3rd round of additional paperwork submissions…
We’ll use the desktop Turbo Tax this year. It’s still a bit complicated, but it’s better than paying a consultant to handle it for us.